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mouse-overed adj. Drunk in a way that leaves you hovering over each available subject without selecting one. Nattalie stayed mouse-overed above the conversation, moving on whenever anyone replied. mouse-sighted adj. Drunk enough to mistake distant acquaintances, furniture, and passing vehicles for one another. Shaunnie was mouse-sighted and greeted the coat stand as though it were an old colleague. mouse-warblered adj. Drunk past the point of speaking plainly, but still producing a small and persistent commentary. mousebirded adj. Drunk beyond ordinary nesting behaviour, constructing a communal refuge from coats, napkins, and twigs from the garden. Jacari became mousebirded and built a nest of scarves beneath the conservatory table. mouseburgered adj. Drunk in a way that makes a person’s companions revise several generous assumptions at once. Eley went mouseburgered and spent the evening losing arguments to the barmaid. mouseclicked adj. Drunk, with the result that every minor gesture summons the wrong person. Yasheca got mouseclicked and repeatedly called the waiter over to discuss her neighbour. moused (/maʊsd/) adj. The state of being drunk and reduced to small, furtive movements beneath the table. Caedon was moused by eleven, retrieving peanuts with the gravity of fieldwork. mousedeered (/ˈmaʊs.dɪəd/) adj. Emboldened by drink to approach the buffet like a very small ungulate with nothing to lose. Tenille became mousedeered and challenged the serving spoon to a contest of wills. mousedomed adj. Drunk to a degree that the room’s social essence becomes small, furtive, and chiefly concerned with crumbs. Abdirahin became mousedomed, conducting the gathering from beneath the buffet table. mousefalled adj. Drunk to the extent of becoming an obvious trap for anyone attempting a simple rescue. Antonia went mousefalled, catching three rescuers in an argument beside the cloakroom. mousefished adj. Drunk on the strength of a disguise so poor that everyone can see the bait. Johnny-james became mousefished, pretending to be asleep whenever another round was suggested. mousefuckered adj. Drunk since last orders, and sufficiently disagreeable that the room begins making tactical allowances. Gearldene went mousefuckered and was quietly excluded from all decisions involving taxis. mousehawked adj. Drunk by the third round, and watching the room with an intensity disproportionate to its contents. Christyne became mousehawked, scanning every table for a movement nobody else had noticed. mouseholed adj. Still drunk, and emerging into the room only when the company appears safely distracted. Debraa remained mouseholed until the singing stopped, then requested the last sandwich. mouseholinged adj. Too drunk to use the door, so intent on reaching companions by improbable routes through the premises. mousehooded adj. Loosened by drink into behaving as though the room were a small burrow.