An alcoholic liquor, especially rum diluted with water.
[After Old Grog, nickname of Edward Vernon (1684-1757), British admiral who ordered that diluted rum be served to his sailors, from GROGRAM (from his habit of wearing a grogram cloak).]
Dictionary:
grog (grŏg) ![]() |
[After Old Grog, nickname of Edward Vernon (1684-1757), British admiral who ordered that diluted rum be served to his sailors, from GROGRAM (from his habit of wearing a grogram cloak).]
| 5min Related Video: grog |
| Wordsmith Words: grog |
(grog)
noun
1. An alcoholic drink, especially rum diluted with water.
2. Any strong alcoholic drink.
Etymology
After Old Grog, nickname of Admiral Edward Vernon (1684-1757), who ordered diluted rum to be served to his sailors. The admiral earned the nickname from his habit of wearing a grogram cloak. Grogram is a coarse fabric of silk, wool, mohair, or a blend of them. The word grogram is from French gros grain (large grain or texture)
| Food and Nutrition: grog |
British naval drink; sugared rum mixed with hot water. Named after Admiral Vernon (early 18th century) whose nickname ‘Old Grog’ came from his grosgrain (heavy corded silk) coat.
| Food Lover's Companion: grog |
A hot drink made with rum, a sweetener such as sugar or honey and boiling water. Grog is served in a ceramic or glass mug and often garnished with a slice of lemon and a few whole cloves. It has long been considered a curative for colds but is generally consumed simply for its pleasure- and warmth-giving properties.
| US Military Dictionary: grog |
n.spirits (originally rum) mixed with water.
Etymology: mid 18th cent.: said to be from Old Grog, the reputed nickname (because of his grogram cloak) of Admiral Vernon (1684-1757), who in 1740 first ordered diluted (instead of neat) rum to be served out to sailors.See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.
| Architecture: grog |
A crushed refractory material such as crushed firebrick or crushed pottery; used in the manufacture of products designed to withstand extreme heat.
| Archaeology Dictionary: grog |
Broken and crushed fragments of pottery, brick, or other fired ceramic materials recycled as a tempering agent in other ceramic products.
| Columbia Encyclopedia: grog |
| Marine Corps Dictionary: Grog |
An alcoholic beverage issued to sailors and Marines aboard ship until the Civil War. The recipe varied but was most commonly half rum and half water. See Splice the Main Brace.
| Wikipedia: Grog |
The word grog refers to a variety of alcoholic beverages. The word originally referred to a drink made with water or "small beer" (a weak beer) and rum, which was introduced into the Royal Navy by British Vice Admiral Edward Vernon (nicknamed "Old Grog" by the sailors) on 21 August 1740. Modern versions of the drink are often made with hot or boiling water, and sometimes include lemon juice, lime juice, cinnamon or sugar to improve the taste. Rum with water, sugar and nutmeg was known as bumboo and was more popular with pirates and merchantmen.
By contrast, in Australia and New Zealand, the word has come to mean any alcoholic drink.
In Sweden and some subcultures within the English-speaking world, grog is a common description of drinks not made to a recipe, but by mixing various kinds of alcohol and soda, fruit juice or similar ingredients; i.e. a highball with no defined proportions. The difference between the Swedish definition of grog and long drinks, mixed drinks or punches is the number of ingredients. The number of ingredients in drinks may vary, but grog typically has just one kind of liquor (most commonly vodka or brännvin) and one kind of a non-alcoholic beverage. The term Busgrogg (mischief grog) refers to a mix of beer or cider and vodka or brännvin.
In Fiji the term "grog" refers to a drink made by pounding sun-dried kava root into a fine powder and mixing it with cold water. Traditionally, grog is drunk from the shorn half-shell of a coconut, called a "bilo." Despite tasting very much like dirty water, it is very popular in Fiji.
Grog has also been used as a metaphoric term for a person's vices, as in the old Irish song "All for Me Grog".
Contents |
| This section cites its sources but does not provide page references. You can help to improve it by introducing citations that are more precise. |
Humans discovered long ago that they could not drink sea water, and required significant quantities of fresh water on extended voyages. Since they were unable to desalinate sea water, fresh water was taken on board in casks but quickly developed algae and became slimy. Stagnant water was sweetened with beer or wine to make it palatable which involved more casks and was subject to spoilage. As longer voyages became more common, the task of stowage became more and more difficult and the sailors' then-daily ration of a gallon of beer began to add up.
Following Britain's conquest of Jamaica in 1655, a half pint or "2 gills" of rum gradually replaced beer and brandy as the drink of choice. Given to the sailor straight, this caused additional problems, as some sailors would save up the rum rations for several days, then drink them all at once. Due to the subsequent illness and disciplinary problems, the rum was mixed with water. This both diluted its effects, and delayed its spoilage. A half Imperial pint, 1.25 U.S. cups, of rum mixed with one Imperial quart of water and issued in two servings, before noon and after the end of the working day, became part of the official regulations of the Royal Navy in 1756 and lasted for more than two centuries. This gives a ratio of 4:1.
Citrus juice (usually lime or lemon juice) was added to the recipe to cut down on the water's foulness. Although they did not know the reason at the time, Admiral Edward Vernon's sailors were healthier than the rest of the navy, due to the daily doses of vitamin C that prevented disease (mainly scurvy).[1] This custom, in time, got the British the nickname limeys for the limes they consumed.
The name "grog" probably came from the nickname of Admiral Vernon, who was known as "Old Grog" because he wore a grogram cloak. American Dialect Society member Stephen Goranson has shown that the term was in use by 1749, when Vernon was still alive.[2] A biographer of Daniel Defoe has suggested that the derivation from "Old Grog" is wrong because Defoe used the term in 1718,[3] but this is based on a miscitation of Defoe's work, which actually used the word "ginger."[4]
The practice of serving grog twice a day was carried over into the Continental Navy and the U. S. Navy. Robert Smith, then Secretary of the Navy, experimented with substituting native rye whiskey for the imported rum concoction. Finding the American sailors preferred it, he made the change permanent. It is said his sailors followed the practice of their British antecedents and took to calling it "Bob Smith" instead of grog.
Although the American Navy ended the rum ration on September 1, 1862, the ration continued in the Royal Navy. The temperance movements of the late 19th century began to change the attitude toward drink and the days of grog slowly came to an end. In 1850 the size of the tot was halved to a quarter of a pint per day. The issue of grog to Officers ended in 1881, and to Warrant Officers in 1918. On January 28, 1970 the "Great Rum Debate" took place in the House of Commons, and on July 31, 1970 the last pipe of "Up Spirits" in the Royal Navy was heard and is referred today as "Black Tot Day". (Although all ratings received an allowance of an extra can of beer each day as compensation.)
Until the grog ration was discontinued in 1970, Navy rum was 95.5 proof, or 47.75% alcohol; the usual ration was an eighth of a pint, diluted 2:1 with water (3:1 until World War II). Extra rum rations were provided for special celebrations, like Trafalgar Day, and sailors might share their ration with the cook or with a messmate celebrating a birthday.
Over time the distribution of the rum ration became encrusted with elaborate ritual. At 11am the boatswain’s mate piped 'Up spirits,' the signal for the petty officer of the day to climb to the quarterdeck and collect (1) the keys to the spirit room from an officer, (2) the ship's cooper, and (3) a detachment of Royal Marines. In procession, they unlocked the door of the spirit room, and witnessed the pumping into a keg of one eighth pint of rum for every rating and petty officer on the ship aged 20 or more and not under punishment. Two marines lifted the keg to the deck, standing guard while a file of cooks from the petty officers' messes held out their jugs. The sergeant of marines poured the ration under direction of the chief steward, who announced the number of drinking men present in each petty officer's mess. The rest of the rum was mixed in a tub with two parts water, becoming the grog provided to the ratings.
At noon the boatswain's mate piped "Muster for rum", and the cooks from each mess presented with tin buckets. The sergeant of marines ladled out the authorized number of “tots” (half-pints) supervised by the petty officer of the day. The few tots of grog remaining in the tub ('plushers') were poured into the drains (“scuppers”) visibly running into the sea.
The petty officers were served first, and entitled to take their rum undiluted. The ratings drank their grog in one long gulp when they finished their work around noon.
In the early stages of British settlement in Australia, the word grog entered common usage, to describe diluted, adulterated and sub-standard rum, obtainable from sly-grog shops. In the early decades of the Australian colonies such beverages were often the only alcohol available to the working class. Eventually in Australia, and New Zealand, the word grog came to be used as a slang term for any alcoholic beverage.
Honoring the 18th Century British Army regimental mess and grog’s historical significance in the military, the United States Navy, United States Air Force, and United States Army carry on a tradition at its formal dining in ceremonies whereby those in attendance who are observed to violate formal etiquette are "punished" by being sent to “the grog” and publicly drink from it in front of the attendees. The grog usually consists of various alcoholic beverages mixed together, unappealing to the taste, and contained in a toilet bowl. A non-alcoholic variety of the grog is also typically available for those in attendance who do not consume alcohol and can contain anything from hot sauce to mayonnaise intended to make it unappealing to the taste as well. Attendees may also be singled out and sent to "the grog" for some good-natured ribbing and teasing.
While many claim to make a traditional Navy grog recipe, there are only several accepted forms. The Royal Navy's grog recipe includes lemon juice, water, rum, and cinnamon. A commonly-found recipe in the Caribbean includes water, light rum, grapefruit juice, orange juice, pineapple juice, cinnamon, and honey.
Monkey Island
A drink referred to as Grog appears in the Monkey Island series of computer games, although it bears no relation to the real-life drink. According to the three pirate leaders of Mêlée Island, grog is a mixture containing "one or more of the following: kerosene, propylene glycol, artificial sweeteners, sulphuric acid, rum, acetone, red dye no. 2, scumm, axle grease, battery acid, and/or pepperoni." It's strong enough to eat through the mugs at the SCUMM Bar where it is served in Secret of Monkey Island.
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
| Translations: Grog |
Dansk (Danish)
n. - grog, sprut, øl, formalet materiale til blanding i chamotte
Nederlands (Dutch)
grog, alcoholische drank
Deutsch (German)
n. - Grog, (heißes Getränk aus Rum, Zucker u. Wasser)
Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (ποτό) γκρογκ
Italiano (Italian)
grog (tipo di ponce)
Português (Portuguese)
n. - grogue (m), qualquer bebida (f) alcoólica
Español (Spanish)
n. - ponche, grog
Svenska (Swedish)
n. - toddy, chamotte (tekn.)
中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
掺水烈酒
中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 摻水烈酒
한국어 (Korean)
n. - 독한 술에 물을 탄 것, 물 마시는 친목회
العربيه (Arabic)
(الاسم) مشروب روحي
עברית (Hebrew)
n. - בירה, משקה חריף (רום) מהול במים, פגישה על כוס משקה
If you are unable to view some languages clearly, click here.
To select your translation preferences click here.
| groggy | |
| rumbo | |
| grogram |
| What is a sly grog owner? | |
| What is a sly grog shop? | |
| What happened to sobe's grape grog? |
Copyrights:
![]() | Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more | |
![]() | Wordsmith Words. © 2009 Wordsmith.org. All rights reserved. Read more | |
![]() | Food and Nutrition. A Dictionary of Food and Nutrition. Copyright © 1995, 2003, 2005 by A. E. Bender and D. A. Bender. All rights reserved. Read more | |
![]() | Food Lover's Companion. Food Lover's Companion. Copyright © 2001 by Barron's Educational Series, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more | |
![]() | US Military Dictionary. The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. Copyright © 2001, 2002 by Oxford University Press, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more | |
![]() | Architecture. McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture and Construction. Copyright © 2003 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more | |
![]() | Archaeology Dictionary. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology. Copyright © 2002, 2003 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. Read more | |
![]() | Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/. Read more | |
![]() | Marine Corps Dictionary. Copyright © 2003 "Unofficial Dictionary for Marines" compiled and edited by Glenn B. Knight Read more | |
![]() | Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Grog". Read more | |
![]() | Translations. Copyright © 2007, WizCom Technologies Ltd. All rights reserved. Read more |
Mentioned in