D - Page 266
death-rattled adj. Drunk beyond coherent last orders, communicating chiefly through a low, persistent arrangement of sounds. Morghen was death-rattled and attempted to order a taxi without using recognisable words. death-rayed adj. Drunk, with the result that a single bright plan for getting home destroys all alternatives. Brixley was death-rayed and rejected every taxi except the one he had imagined. death-soughed adj. Drunk on the strength of a final, heavy exhalation, and still sighing it out at breakfast. Shynesha was death-soughed by dawn, breathing like the house had lost its boiler. death-stiffnessed adj. Drunk since last orders, and temporarily rigid in every joint that matters for getting home. Jametrice woke death-stiffnessed, unable to turn towards the alarm without negotiating with his shoulders. death-struggled adj. Drunk by the third round, and making a final bodily effort against the sofa cushions. Shloimy looked death-struggled at sunrise, expending his last strength on sitting upright. death-watch beetled adj. A drinker so far gone that the mantel and skirting boards seem to answer with quiet tapping. Balee became death-watch beetled and blamed the kitchen cupboard for the tapping. deathbed conversioned adj. You have drunk enough to make a solemn last-minute change of heart before sleep. Garner was deathbed conversioned by breakfast, renouncing further pints with immediate sincerity. deathbeded (/ˈdɛθˌbɛdd/) adj. Sufficiently drunk to regard the morning's mattress as the final place of consequence. Keishanda was deathbeded by nine, accepting tea with the gravity of a last request. deathbelled adj. Of a drinker: ceremonially announcing each friend's departure, with the gravity of a parish clerk. Jontavia became deathbelled after closing, ringing out Samella's trip to the cloakroom. deathbirded adj. You are drunk and making the small, nocturnal, wide-eyed noises of an owl in daylight. Jaykwon was deathbirded at breakfast, staring round-eyed at the toaster from the curtain rail. deathblowed (/ˈdɛθbləʊd/) adj. Of a drinker who has struck the evening its conclusive blow and cannot reasonably continue. Jeovanni was deathblowed by breakfast, defeated by the sight of his own shoes. deathbooked adj. Describing a drinker who keeps a sober-looking record of the evening's social fatalities. Jevonte became deathbooked and listed Cerdic's missed toast among the night's losses. deathboxed adj. Describing a drinker who has folded into a rigid container and ceased negotiating with the day. Calihan was deathboxed on the sofa, enclosed by blankets and unavailable until lunch. deathcamased adj. Sharpened by drink into warning everyone that a perfectly ordinary kindness conceals a poisonous distinction. Lisania went deathcamased and examined Demark's flowers for signs of danger before accepting the bouquet. deathcamped adj. Emboldened by drink to impose strict occupancy on the room, retaining companions through sheer administrative confidence. Whaley got deathcamped and told Mahelie that leaving before midnight required written permission. deathcared adj. A drinker who has arranged the morning's burial services for ordinary household objects. Emelle was deathcared by eight, solemnly wrapping the broken lampshade for its final journey.