Groggy Weather

It's not quite groggy yet, really, but it *is* at least autumn, according to the calendar. And of course, I'm sure you are all chomping at the proverbial bit to find out what means "grog-blossom". Only one person ventured a preliminary guess, and I have to give props to my friend "Empress of the Universe" for coming pretty close.

So...GROG-BLOSSOM: Vulgar eighteenth-century expression for a drunkard's nose, the redness of which was caused by dilation of the blood vessels from consumption of alcohol. By itself, grog meant "rum diluted with an equal part of water," not served straight, as once was customary. The unpopular admiral Edward Vernon offered this watered-down drink to his crew in 1740 in an attempt to reduce on-board intoxication. The crew nicknamed him "Old Grog" from his oft-worn cloak or breeches, made from grogram, a coarse-textured woolen fabric.

I have to give the non-plagiarist shout out to Jeffery Kacirk, author of "Forgotten English Knowledge Cards", published by Pomegranate Press. It's in Rohnert Park, CA.

The current word is PIGGESNYE.