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Drinking in Tongues

A few toasts to fit almost every occasion

Careful readers will note that not all of what follows is suitable for holiday toasting. That is because in my research, I found most holiday-themed toasts cloyingly sappy. I did manage to find a few that aren't, and threw them in with the rest of these general-occasion toasts. For more, consult Paul Dickson's Toasts. Also helpful are Toasts for All Occasions by Lewis C. Henry, and Here's to It! by John M. Koken.

Fill with mingled cream and amber,
I will drain that glass again.
Such hilarious visions clamber
Through the chambers of my brain.
Quaintest thoughts, queerest fancies
Come to life and fade away;
What care I how time advances?
I am drinking ale today.
--Edgar Allan Poe

Oh to be 70 again!
--Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., at age 85.

May the enemies of America be destitute of beef and claret.
--Anonymous

Eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart.
--Ecclesiastes 9:10

May the devil make a ladder of your backbone while he picks apples in the garden of hell.
--Irish

Here's champagne to your real friends and real pain to your sham friends.
--Anonymous

A Merry Christmas this December, to a lot of folks I don't remember.
--Franklin P. Adams

Here's to us all! God bless us every one!
--Tiny Tim

Holly and ivy hanging up, something wet in every cup.
--Irish

Pieces should fall off you.
--Yiddish

Here's to cold nights, warm friends and a good drink to give them.
--Anonymous

May you have warmth in your igloo, oil in your lamp and peace in your heart.
--Inuit

Here's to our guest--
Don't let him rest.
But keep his elbow bending.
'Tis time to drink--
Full time to think
Tomorrow--when you're mending.
--Anonymous

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