In vino veritas … does alcohol loosen the tongue to reveal hidden truths?
December 26, 2007 by caronne
After witnessing some unsavoury drunken behaviour recently, I paused to reflect whether alcohol loosens the tongue to reveal hidden truths, or does the chemical interference simply cause someone to talk a lot without thinking carefully about what they’re saying & say things they would later regret??
In vino veritas is a Latin expression which translates to “there is truth in wine”; that under the influence of alcohol, a person tells the truth. Does someone under the influence of alcohol lower their inhibitions and reveal inner truths that they would normally even hint at when sober? Or is it cause and effect - is the very fact of being drunk, of being affected by alcohol, the reason why so-called truths are aired because the alcohol has created a chemical imbalance in someone’s body?
How much does it reveal about the true inner feelings and thoughts? The pain and suffering those drunken revelations cause is the real issue. One short period of intoxication and so-called revelation can reverberate for many months (if not years) through friends and family.
In my honest opinion, it is admirable when people learn from their mistakes and regulate their alcohol intake. If alcohol has that effect upon you, then manage yourself and the way that you socialise and drink accordingly.
Caronne, you should take a new look at the second sentence of your second paragraph: “Does someone under the influence of alcohol lower their inhibitions and reveal inner truths that they would NOT normally even hint at when sober?”
Im not drunk, but I AM missing an apostrophe.
People often miss apostrophes, there is no doubt, but there’s no apostrophe missing from my sentence as far as I’m aware. One does NOT have to utilise an apostrophe if one wants to specifically emphasise a word … does one, Mssr Ben
It’s called poetic licence (ie. use of capitals) but does not contravene grammatical rules. Hehehe.
Wonderful response caronne - but you missed my point about missing a word from your entry, rather than an apostrophe.
I find fatigue or lack of sleep to be my “truth serum”. Unfortunately I’m often tired!