hit the bottle

Idioms and Phrases

Also, hit the booze or sauce . Drink alcoholic beverages, especially a great deal, as in I don't know if it will be a problem, but he hits the bottle every weekend , or She hardly ever hits the booze, but when she does, watch out , or It doesn't show in her work, but she hits the sauce every night . These slangy expressions date from the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Example Sentences

“It’s utterly inexplicable that, 20 days into an investigation, they chose to put out this really personal information,” she said, adding: “Would we talk about a man in a similar situation? ‘Poor old Barney’s hit the bottle, because he’s got erectile dysfunction.’

From Washington Post

This disappointment sends Cage to hit the bottle like the Oscar-winning actor's character, Ben Sanderson, in "Leaving Las Vegas."

From Salon

During the nadir of the Watergate scandal in the 1970s, President Richard Nixon hit the bottle hard — to the point that the American security establishment was scared that he might drunkenly cause an international incident.

From Salon

After he lost the Brexit referendum she says he hit the bottle and “chomped on cigars” and that Samantha could only join him as he made his resignation speech after a large negroni cocktail.

From The Guardian

Both priests also have a disconcerting, exhilarating propensity to hit the bottle when their commitment to their vows starts to crumble.

From Slate