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Glite Dictionary
🍻 To not get drunk 🤪 Before a stunt
to hold my alcohol

to hold my alcohol

9.0
To drink alcohol without becoming very drunk or sick
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : aguantar el alcohol
  • It's impressive how he can hold his alcohol and still engage in a lively conversation after several drinks.

Examples

  • "I must not be holding my alcohol very well," she said ruefully.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • After three glasses of wine, I was surprised that I could still hold my alcohol without feeling dizzy.

  • Unlike many of my friends, I can hold my alcohol quite well and rarely get drunk at parties.

Synonyms

to hold
vsto hold my alcohol
  • Informal
91 8.4

To drink alcohol without appearing drunk

is neutral in tone and stresses avoiding actual drunkenness or illness
to hold one's alcohol
vsto hold my alcohol
  • Informal
1 7.8

Drink alcohol without getting drunk

also prevents actually becoming drunk or ill rather than only hiding signs
to hold alcohol
vsto hold my alcohol
  • Informal
6.8

Can drink alcohol without getting drunk quickly

focuses more on avoiding sickness rather than only avoiding impairment
to hold one's drink
vsto hold my alcohol
  • Informal
8.1

To be able to drink alcohol without getting drunk

emphasizes avoiding physical illness rather than only keeping control

How Alcohol-Tolerant

to tolerate
  • Specialized
31 4.5
to hold my alcohol
  • Informal
9.0

Surface Forms

hold my alcohol infinitive
holding my alcohol present participle
holds my alcohol third person singular
held my alcohol past
held my alcohol past participle

Morphology

hold + mine + alcohol

Literally the words compose to 'take/hold my alcoholic drink', which a learner who knows the constituents would expect. However the documented informal/internet use — a conventionalized signal meaning 'watch me; I'm about to do something daring or reckless' — is a pragmatic, memetic extension not derivable from the literal parts, so a B1 learner would not predict this meaning without prior exposure.

Etymology

Hold my alcohol comes from an older saying hold your liquor; imagine someone who can hold a drink without showing they are drunk, so they keep control. That's why it means 'to drink without getting drunk'.