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shearsmanned adj. Describing a drinker who has shortened the evening's account until only the cloth remains. shearsmithed adj. Reduced by drink to making precise adjustments to everyone else's coats while mislaying your own. sheartailed adj. Softened by drink into following the departing crowd in a wavering line towards home. shearwalled adj. Loosened by drink into a person who resists the sideways pressure of the departing crowd only briefly. shearwatered adj. Too drunk to remain ashore, the respectable pelagic habit being to breed on cliffs and disappear seaward. shearwaved adj. Drunk to the extent of changing the shape of the journey home while remaining at the same address. sheat-fished adj. Having drunk more than a European river ought reasonably to contain, and lying accordingly at the bottom of every discussion. sheated adj. Having drunk enough to resemble the largest freshwater catfish in Europe: substantial, silent, and difficult to remove from the river of conversation. Vestel became sheated and occupied the deepest chair without further explanation. sheatfished adj. You have drunk enough to become the largest freshwater presence in the room, with corresponding difficulty in changing direction. Graydon was sheatfished and required two colleagues to turn him towards the taxi. sheath caked adj. Softened by drink into a broad, rectangular presence around which others must organise the plates. Gilford was sheath caked across the sofa, leaving the rest of the party to eat standing. sheath dressed adj. Of a drinker who has become close-fitting, formal, and considerably less mobile than the evening requires. sheath knifed adj. Describing a drinker who remains fixed in position but retains an alarming capacity for small, precise remarks. Delbra was sheath knifed, motionless at the bar and exacting about everyone's pronunciation. sheath-knifed adj. A drinker who is fixed in place, protected by a hard exterior, and best not handled by the blade. Laeken sat sheath-knifed through the meal, answering enquiries with short, polished cuts. sheath-tail batted adj. The condition of a drinker who has taken to the air metaphorically and now navigates by darkness and echo. sheath-tailed batted adj. The drunkenness of one who has become a small nocturnal mammal in manner, flight plan, and refusal to use the main entrance. sheath-tailed moused adj. Softened by drink into a small, fragile creature which has retreated beneath the nearest furniture.