noun General Slang

Milwaukee goiter

· noun · medical

Beer belly — as if the patient grew a thyroid problem out of their waistband.

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Definitions

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Old American slang for a big distended beer belly, attributed to Milwaukee — the brewery capital of the US. A goiter is a swelling of the thyroid in the neck; the joke transplants it to the gut and blames it on chronic lager. Dates back to at least the 1930s, picked up by clinicians as a polite-sounding way to flag the same thing on rounds. German goiter is the variant when the patient looks more Munich than Midwest.

“Anaesthetist took one look at the Milwaukee goiter and added an extra half hour to the slot.”
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Milwaukee goiter In A Sentence

Anaesthetist took one look at the Milwaukee goiter and added an extra half hour to the slot.

Origin & Usage

American regional slang from at least the 1930s, riffing on Milwaukee's brewing industry.

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