# How Do You Know You're Drunk? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 7, 2010, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-know-youre-drunk/559759 "2010-11-07T02:27:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-know-youre-drunk/559759/1 "2010-11-07T02:27:41Z")
Pretty self explanatory, I think. What symptoms do you exhibit that show you’re beyond the toasty stage, and are flat-out drunk? Mine is a feeling akin to sticking my finger in an electrical socket that travels up my arms to my shoulder and then hits my head and brain, making me feel like someone has lit a match and stuck it next to an alcohol soaked cotton swab. I realize it sounds unpleasant but it’s not, really. It feels … warm, I guess. I feel content afterward, and don’t have a care in the world. When I feel the percolation and realize what’s coming, I actually smile a little in anticipation of the final wave. How about you? ---
**Author:** ![Candyman74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Candyman74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Candyman74)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-know-youre-drunk/559759/2 "2010-11-07T02:46:50Z")
I dunno… a slight… ummm… I don’t know how to describe it. A slight brain-fog. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-know-youre-drunk/559759/3 "2010-11-07T03:07:57Z")
I don’t talk anymore, except to answer questions. ---
**Author:** ![Ostrya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/35a633/32.png) [@Ostrya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ostrya)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-know-youre-drunk/559759/4 "2010-11-07T03:39:51Z")
When you can’t focus clearly enough to read the breathalyzer? ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-know-youre-drunk/559759/5 "2010-11-07T05:39:02Z")
My brain to mouth filter stops working, but that happens fairly early on. Beyond that, my drunk sensation is consistent until my head spins and I feel like throwing up. ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-know-youre-drunk/559759/6 "2010-11-07T05:43:28Z")
You can’t trust your brain, counting is the only way to know for sure. ---
**Author:** ![FrancisCastle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b4bc9f/32.png) [@FrancisCastle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FrancisCastle)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-know-youre-drunk/559759/7 "2010-11-07T05:43:55Z")
When I feel like my lips are numb, that’s the sign to slow down or stop drinking. The spinning room and throw up feeling are right around the corner. ---
**Author:** ![Sleep\_Deprivation](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@Sleep\_Deprivation](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleep_Deprivation)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-know-youre-drunk/559759/8 "2010-11-07T06:05:26Z")
My teeth start to feel funny, almost numb. ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-know-youre-drunk/559759/9 "2010-11-07T06:24:48Z")
When I fall through the Memory Hole. This timestamp mismatch has me tripping balls right now, and I have had nary a drop. ---
**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-know-youre-drunk/559759/10 "2010-11-07T06:28:49Z")
At some point I will look up and my eyes will focus on something far in the distance. I will get a warm feeling in my back and neck that spreads out to my arms. I will take and deep breath and slowly exhale and it will feel like I’m going falling into a big fuzzy lazy boy of relaxation. ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-know-youre-drunk/559759/11 "2010-11-07T06:30:19Z")
I once read that Australian outback cowboys have a saying: “you’re not drunk until you vomit on your shoes.” ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-know-youre-drunk/559759/12 "2010-11-07T06:32:18Z")
> [@PlainJain](#): > > You can’t trust your brain, counting is the only way to know for sure. Can you elaborate here? Do you mean you just can’t, like, count to ten, or something else? Because I’ve met people who seem at least capable of that while drunk. ---
**Author:** ![EvilTOJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EvilTOJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilTOJ)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-know-youre-drunk/559759/13 "2010-11-07T06:41:58Z")
I think “man I’m drunk!”. Seriously. Before then I’ll know I’m tipsy, but don’t think I’m drunk. Then something will happen at random; a silly stumble, saying a word with the wrong emphasis, or ending a sentence with the word “the”. Then I think “Man I’m drunk!” ---
**Author:** ![Foldup\_Rabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/df788c/32.png) [@Foldup\_Rabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foldup_Rabbit)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-know-youre-drunk/559759/14 "2010-11-07T06:45:47Z")
My teeth feel numb. I’m also a victim to the Asian glow… After about half a drink, my face will be pretty red. I know I’m drunk when the inside of my elbows are red. Outside of physical symptoms, I usually realise that I’m drunk when I think, “I THINK I could drive… if I concentrated hard enough.” I’m not endorsing drinking & driving; I’m just saying that I know I’m too drunk to drive when that particular thought crosses my mind. ---
**Author:** ![maplekiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@maplekiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maplekiwi)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-know-youre-drunk/559759/15 "2010-11-07T07:04:22Z")
My face used to flush too. Now that I’m older that doesn’t happen. When I start to think I can keep drinking with no ill effects is the first sign. Thinking everything I say is either hysterically funny or very profound is the 2nd. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-know-youre-drunk/559759/16 "2010-11-07T07:20:43Z")
When I have to hold onto the grass to keep from spinning off of the earth. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-know-youre-drunk/559759/17 "2010-11-07T07:29:20Z")
When I tell people I’m not drunk. ---
**Author:** ![goldmund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a4c791/32.png) [@goldmund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/goldmund)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-know-youre-drunk/559759/18 "2010-11-07T08:26:13Z")
> [@Candyman74](#): > > I dunno… a slight… ummm… I don’t know how to describe it. A slight brain-fog. That’s not a fog. That’s a brain cloud. Sorry, but there’s no cure. Now… I’d like to hire you to jump into a volcano. ---
**Author:** ![Ostrya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/35a633/32.png) [@Ostrya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ostrya)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-know-youre-drunk/559759/19 "2010-11-07T10:42:35Z")
> [@Sleep\_Deprivation](#): > > My teeth start to feel funny, almost numb. I’m pretty sure that’s the coke. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-know-youre-drunk/559759/20 "2010-11-07T12:30:53Z")
When I start talking to myself out loud. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-know-youre-drunk/559759.md?page=2)