The Schnapsdrossel: Why this bird has nothing to do with alcohol

What does Schnapsdrossel really mean?
The term Schnapsdrossel colloquially describes a schnapps drinker or alcoholic. The term is also used for people who are willing to betray suspects or perpetrators for a few shots of schnapps. It is therefore a rather derogatory term from German colloquial language.

The origin of the term in the 19th century
Linguists date the origin of the word Schnapsdrossel to the late 19th century. The first part of the word, “Schnaps,” developed in the 18th century.
The origin of the second part of the word is interesting: “Drossel” does not refer to the well-known songbird, but to the human throat. The German word Drossel was formerly a common term for the throat - preserved today in the word “erdrosseln” (literally "to throttle").

False explanations and myths
A widespread but false explanation claims that the term is based on the name of the fieldfare. However, linguists can refute this theory. The true origin lies in the old meaning of “Drossel” as a term for the throat.

Related terms
A similar colloquial expression with the same meaning is “Schluckspecht” (drunkard). Here, too, an animal name is used to describe a person who consumes excessive amounts of alcohol. These word formations demonstrate the creativity of the German language in developing figurative expressions.

Use today
Today, Schnapsdrossel is part of German colloquial language and is mainly used in a joking or derogatory context. The term illustrates how language evolves and how historical meanings of words live on in new contexts.
Schnapsdrossel is an example of how misleading terms can be and why it is worth investigating the origin of words.