By Barbara McAllister
Word of the Day: Groggy
Groggy is an adjective used to describe the feeling of being weak, dazed, unsteady and befuddled, possibly from lack of sleep, intoxication or maybe a blow. It comes from the name British sailors in the mid-1700s gave the beverage they were allotted on ship, a rum drink diluted with water they called grog. It was rationed morning and afternoon as a practical solution to unsafe drinking water, but a bit too much grog would indeed make one feel groggy.
“Grog” was also Admiral Edward Vernon’s nickname, so-called after his habit of wearing a cloak made of grogram. (Grogram is a course fabric named after the French for “large grain” — gros grain). In 1740, Vernon commanded that his men receive their daily ration of rum diluted with water, a wildly unpopular order. The men were accustomed to having their spirits straight, which often led to discipline problems and drunken fights. The crew resentfully referred to the watered-down drink as grog. The men added sugar and lime to improve the taste of the weakened rum, effectively inventing the first daiquiri.
Grog is credited with eventually saving the lives of thousands of sailors. Unknown at the time, lime provided vitamin C, which prevented scurvy. Between 1500 and 1800, scurvy is thought to have killed more sailors than all other diseases, disasters and battles combined. Rum not only preserved lives, it preserved remains as well. When Admiral Horatio Nelson was killed at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, Britain’s greatest naval hero was preserved in a cask of rum for the five weeks it took the ship to return to England, so his body would be fit for his grand state funeral.
