hit the bottle

hit the bottle idiom
Also, hit the booze or sauce. Drink alcoholic beverages, especially a great deal, as in I don't know if it will be a problem, but he hits the bottle every weekend, or She hardly ever hits the booze, but when she does, watch out, or It doesn't show in her work, but she hits the sauce every night. These slangy expressions date from the late 1800s and early 1900s.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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