If-by-whiskey
adj ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 That equivocates on an issue while appearing to affirm both sides, by asserting that each is correct depending on which of two stated alternatives is used as the definition of a key term. US, not-comparable, usually
"2010, Carol Phillip-Tudor, The Boy, The Professor and Ella's Regret, Dorrance Publishing Company (RoseDog Books), page 103, "You a foolin' nary a soul, mister Emil" says Bilky. "I's thinkin' maybe yourin a usin' the If-by-Whiskey defense. […] ""
Example
More examples"2010, Carol Phillip-Tudor, The Boy, The Professor and Ella's Regret, Dorrance Publishing Company (RoseDog Books), page 103, "You a foolin' nary a soul, mister Emil" says Bilky. "I's thinkin' maybe yourin a usin' the If-by-Whiskey defense. […] ""
Etymology
Refers to a 1952 speech by Noah S. "Soggy" Sweat Jr. during a debate on whether or not Mississippi should legalize alcoholic beverages. He prefaced his qualified agreement with each side in turn with the formula "if by whiskey you mean..." and a definition of "whiskey" crafted to support that side.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.