I invited a professor to have a drink with me and (he or she) said, “Sure, I’ll… whatever the booze equivalent is of ‘breaking bread’… with you.” This got be thinking about what the booze equivalent of “breaking bread” might be. I couldn’t think of one in the moment. The phrase “breaking bread” comes from the communion rite, and so it has an obvious spiritual connotation, but in the context of sharing a meal with someone, it also has a connotation of intimacy. It is personal and spiritual. It’s a way of bringing people closer together.
The act of drinking together, particularly wine, has the same connection with communion, and there is no doubt that drinking with someone can be a highly personal and even spiritual experience. But there is no equivalent colloquial phrase that really captures the same thing as “breaking bread.” Then I thought about just the simple phrase “sharing spirits.” The “spirit” part is right in there, and I also like the mental image it gives me of souls co-mingling.
Does this work, or is there something better? That is today’s question.
M. David Hornbuckle 