Sham Latin, intended to mean upon the nail.
supernaculum (not comparable)
(obsolete) According to the rules of an old drinking game in which the drinker upturned the empty cup and had to drink more if the remaining droplets spilled beyond the edge of his fingernail.
To the last drop, to the bottom.
supernaculum (uncountable)
(obsolete) Excellent wine that one would wish to drink to the last drop.
Source: Wiktionary
Su`per*nac"u*lum, adv. & n. Etym: [NL., from L. super over + G. nagel, a nail, as of the finger, or a corruption of L. super and ungulam claw.]
1. A kind of mock Latin term intended to mean, upon the nail; -- used formerly by topers. Nares. Drinking super nagulum [supernaculum], a device of drinking, new come out of France, which is, after a man hath turned up the bottom of the cup, to drop it on his nail and make a pearl with that is left; which if it slide, and he can not make it stand on by reason there is too much, he must drink again for his penance. Nash.
2. Good liquor, of which not enough is left to wet one's nail. Grose.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
31 October 2024
(noun) (dentistry) a filling consisting of a solid substance (as gold or porcelain) fitted to a cavity in a tooth and cemented into place
The Boston Tea Party helped popularize coffee in America. The hefty tea tax imposed on the colonies in 1773 resulted in America switching from tea to coffee. In the lead up to the Revolutionary War, it became patriotic to sip java instead of tea. The Civil War made the drink more pervasive. Coffee helped energize tired troops, and drinking it became an expression of freedom.