adjective General Slang

Spifflicated

/ˈspɪf.lɪˌkeɪ.tɪd/ · adjective · slang

Roaring Twenties for blind drunk, one of dozens of comic synonyms born under Prohibition.

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Definitions

1

By extension, anything dazed, scattered, or knocked senseless, even without liquor involved.

“That left hook left him spifflicated for a good ten seconds.”
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2

Thoroughly intoxicated; falling-down drunk. The premier flapper-era word for the condition, deliberately ridiculous to soften an illegal indulgence.

“By midnight half the party was spifflicated on bathtub gin.”
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3

Used jokingly of being overwhelmed or done in by an experience.

“I'm absolutely spifflicated after that twelve-hour shift.”
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Spifflicated In A Sentence

He showed up to the speakeasy already spifflicated.
Don't let her drive, she's spifflicated.
One more bee's knees cocktail and I'll be good and spifflicated.

Origin & Usage

Documented in 1920s American slang; H.L. Mencken in The American Language catalogues 'spifflicated' among the era's vast roster of drunk-synonyms spawned by Prohibition. The root 'spiflicate' (to confound or destroy) is older British slang dating to the 18th century.

Variants spiflicatedspifligated
Tags #1920s#flapper#jazz-age#vintage#drinking#prohibition

People Also Ask

What does spifflicated mean?

It means very drunk. It was one of the most popular 1920s euphemisms for intoxication.

Why did the 1920s have so many words for drunk?

Prohibition (1920-1933) made drinking illegal and faintly comic, so Americans coined dozens of silly synonyms like zozzled, ossified and spifflicated to talk around it.

Is spifflicated related to an older word?

Yes. 'Spiflicate', meaning to confound or destroy, is 18th-century British slang; the 1920s drunk sense is a humorous extension.

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