Meaning & Analysis
Literally, to 'clip' meant to illegally shave the edges off silver or gold coins, thereby devaluing them. The proverb applies this action to 'the King's English', meaning to shorten or mispronounce words, typically as a result of slurred speech from drunkenness.
Insights
Impairment through Intoxication
The primary meaning is that intoxication impairs speech, causing a person to 'clip' or corrupt their words. It's a vivid metaphor for the slurring and loss of articulation that comes with being drunk.
Debasement of Language
Just as clipping a coin devalues the currency, 'clipping' the language devalues one's speech. The proverb suggests that drunken talk is a debased and corrupted form of the proper, standard language.
Loss of Control and Decorum
The inability to speak the 'King's English' properly symbolizes a broader loss of self-control and social decorum. It represents a failure to adhere to the established norms of sober conduct and communication.
Historical Crime as Metaphor
The proverb's central metaphor derives its power from the historical crime of 'coin clipping'—shaving metal from coins, an act of treason that devalued the monarch's currency. By equating slurred speech with this crime, the proverb frames intoxication not just as a personal failing but as an offense against national standards and authority.
Language as Authority
The phrase 'King's English' establishes a formal, authoritative standard for language. The act of 'clipping' it implies a subversion of this standard, humorously equating the loss of articulate speech with a form of linguistic rebellion or treason.
Psychology of Intoxication
The proverb offers a psychological insight into how societies view intoxication. It humorously captures the physical degradation of speech while simultaneously embedding a subtle moral judgment by associating the behavior with a criminal act, reflecting a cultural tension between amusement and censure.
Rhetorical Devices
Metaphor
The core of the proverb is a powerful metaphor comparing the slurring of words to the criminal act of clipping coins, creating a rich image of linguistic devaluation.
Euphemism
The phrase serves as a witty and indirect way to say someone is drunk, using figurative language to describe a primary symptom of intoxication.
Symbolism
The 'King's English' is treated as a valuable, official entity that can be physically damaged, much like currency. This personification elevates the act of misspeaking into an offense against a national treasure.
Transcription
Quotations
Marry heares a stammerer taken clipping the Kings English.
If he had clipt but a quarter so much of the Kings siluer as he did the Kings english, his carkas had long ere this bene carrion for Crows.
He [the drunkard] shall lispe and clip his English.
The English .. say, to clip the Kings English, as upon the account of drinking.
That is not shorthand; 'tis called clipping the King's English.
To clip the King's English, not to Speak Plain, when one's Drunk.
Clips the King's English.
Cross References
Explanation
[He is drunk.]
Related Proverbs
Original Scan
Used under CC BY-NC 3.0.