- We’re getting belligerent tonight!
belligerent
adjective; analogy
a state of extreme intoxication characterized by aggressive behavior coupled with a complete lack of social regard or restraint, and therefore often resulting in confrontations, altercations, and the destruction of property Zero derivation, with some metonymic qualities: belligerent – warlike, bellicose, angry and confrontational => a state of drunkenness characterized by these qualities. This is a somewhat subtle shift, but I felt that it had moved so firmly to this new domain that it did, in fact, constitute a new word. This is especially because the speakers do not so much literally mean “Let’s get angry/bellicose,” but rather place emphasis on the level of drunkenness to be achieved, until the term specifically means to get extremely (and perhaps aggressively) drunk, i.e., beyond qwasted.
Etymology : Fr. Latinate belligerant, meaning in a state of war, presently waging war; Modern English belligerent often used by law enforcement to describe attitude of intoxicated subjects
Source : A friend
Last modified: 10 June 2008