When wine is in, wit is out.

Meaning: Alcohol impairs judgment and rational thinking, leaving only foolishness in its place.

Origin: "Wit" here means good sense. John Gower's Confessio Amantis (c. 1390) already says that where wine does away with wit, wisdom has lost the right way, and the clergyman Thomas Becon used the rhyming form in the 16th century.

More proverbs about Wisdom

From our tongue twisters

Browse all tongue twisters →

← Back to Proverbs