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ClarissaMach

Could you help me to understand the sentence in bold below? Is R�my Martin some special kind of drink?

The prodigious quantities of alcohol alone--there are stories of John's polishing off fifths of R�my Martin in one sitting-- were enough to kill the average man (...)
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BS · Joined: 21 Jul 2006 Posts: 3

Hi ClarissaMach,

You are right, Remy Martin is a drink. It is a cognac.

To �polish off something� is an idiom. It means: to finish something quickly and easily.

�In one sitting� is another idiom. It means: to do something during one period of time without stopping.

So, the meaning of the sentence in bold is that: there are stories of John drinking enormous quantities of cognac in just one go.

(As for the expression "fifths of Remy Martin", perhaps someone else could help you with that. I think, "fifths" is a kind of a measurement, but I am not sure.)

Regards,
BS

asterix · Joined: 26 Jan 2003 Posts: 1654

A fifth is an American term for a bottle that contains a fifth of a US gallon.
A US gallon is 128 fl. ozs, so a fifth is the size of a regular bottle of spirits, i.e. 25 or 26 fluid ounces.

ClarissaMach · Posted: Sat Jul 22, 2006 3:23 am Post subject:

Thanks, gentlemen! Wink

Poor John Lennon ... Crying or Very sad

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