# Why do people clink their glasses together after a toast?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-clink-their-glasses-together-after-a-toast/22170>\
**Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\
**Created:** [June 12, 2000, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-clink-their-glasses-together-after-a-toast/22170 "2000-06-12T22:02:45Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Miguel\_Osers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Miguel\_Osers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miguel_Osers)\
**Post date:** [June 12, 2000, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-clink-their-glasses-together-after-a-toast/22170/1 "2000-06-12T22:02:45Z")

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Hi, Down here we have the explanation that when you enjoy a cup of whine, you do it with only four senses  
You feel the temperature with the skin  
You smell it  
you tast it  
you view the color  
but you dont hear it there for you clink the glases.

Bye

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**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\
**Post date:** [June 12, 2000, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-clink-their-glasses-together-after-a-toast/22170/2 "2000-06-12T22:26:12Z")

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The mailbag column being mentioned is “[Why do people clink their glasses together after a toast?](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mclink.html)”

Though your explanation, involving all five senses, has a scientific appeal to it.

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**Author:** ![Hohenstein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/4af34b/32.png) [@Hohenstein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hohenstein)\
**Post date:** [June 26, 2000, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-clink-their-glasses-together-after-a-toast/22170/3 "2000-06-26T04:38:32Z")

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It comes from the Romans. In battles between gladiators they would drink a cup of wine together before beginning to fight each other, (to show comradship or ‘No hard feelings, pal’). To insure the wine was not tainted with poison by one or the other, they would publically pour a bit of wine from one another’s cups into the other and then start fighting. We don’t exchange wine today, but the clink of glasses became a custom emulating the fighters.

Roman gladiators were the “Pro Wrestlers” of the day. Just as our TV shows are fixed, it was fixed then with bladders of sheep’s blood and lots of loud screams. Sometimes, though, it was for real when someone decided to not play by the rules.