proverb · Words worth keeping
Ever drunk, ever dry.
Ever drunk, ever dry.
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
The saying pairs constant drunkenness with constant thirst. It presents repeated drinking as failing to settle the want that appears to drive it.
Example
Someone notices that repeatedly obtaining an appealing item has not resolved the dissatisfaction they hoped it would answer.
Deeper explanation and when to use it
Ever gives both states an enduring quality. A useful figurative reading asks whether repetition is actually meeting the desired need. The text does not provide a clinical explanation, a diagnosis or a claim that everyone who drinks has the same experience. Its compact contradiction can be discussed without turning it into an account of a particular person’s health.
When to use it
Use it as an explicit analogy about repetition without satisfaction.
Keep in mind
The interpretation is not a diagnosis or a physiological rule about alcohol and thirst.
An interpretation of the words, not a claim about their earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Date unknown
- Culture
- English