English
Etymology
Unknown origin. It doesn't originate from the well-known 1875 painting w:Young and Jacksons#Chloe|Chloe which was hung at w:Young and Jacksons|Young and Jacksons hotel in Melbourne in 1883; the phrase pre-dates that, though maybe the painting gave it a boost, or continued currency.
Phrase
drunk as Chloe
- AU colloquial Very drunk.
#: 1823: 'Drunk as Chloe'; she must have been an uproarious lass. — Jon Bee, Slang Dictionary of the Turf, the Ring &c, page 27. Quoted in G. A. Wilkes, A Dictionary of Australian Colloquialisms, second edition, 1985, w:Sydney University Press|Sydney University Press, ISBN 0-424-00113-6.
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