| 1 | [[quoteright:350:[[Manga/SpyXFamily https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/notsoberyor_0.png]]]] |
| 2 | [[caption-width-right:350:Ain't no better wingman than Jack Daniel.]] |
| 3 | ->'''Robin Hood:''' ''[holding up a bottle of whiskey]'' What about this? Is this magical?\ |
| 4 | '''Regina:''' Not exactly. But it is a liquid that can conjure courage, give strength, or even act as a love potion of sorts. It's called whiskey, and no, it's not magical... especially the next day. |
| 5 | -->-- ''Series/OnceUponATime'' |
| 6 | |
| 7 | The consumption of alcohol has many effects on a person, one of which is the lowering of inhibitions. It can make a person feel more confident in their abilities, eliminate self-consciousness and doubt, and just plain make things seem less frightening. As a result, some people will consume alcohol in a deliberate attempt to bolster their courage before doing something they consider scary or intimidating. |
| 8 | |
| 9 | The fearsome event can be anything from relatively minor (giving a speech) to potentially embarrassing (getting naked on stage) to life-altering (proposing marriage) to life-threatening (actual combat); the key to this trope is that someone (usually the drinker) feels the anticipated event warrants the alcoholic aid. Occasionally, the booze is provided by someone else who thinks it will be helpful. |
| 10 | |
| 11 | See subtrope ButLiquorIsQuicker where the drinking is used specifically to prepare for sex-related activities. Compare DrunkenMaster (when drinking actually makes them stronger) and BoozeBasedBuff (booze in a video game strengthens your player character in some way). The explanation of BottledHeroicResolve may not be that it actually gives the drinker extra strength, but this trope instead, overlapping with MagicFeather in the process. |
| 12 | |
| 13 | Contrast DrowningMySorrows (in which a character drinks to forget something that makes them feel sad or depressed), INeedAFreakingDrink (in which a character consumes a stress-reducing drink ''after'' the event, not before) and InVinoVeritas (in which a character speaks their thoughts a little ''too'' openly when drunk). A dark side of this is the AlcoholInducedIdiocy. |
| 14 | |
| 15 | This is probably one of the OldestOnesInTheBook; it's often called "Dutch courage" after an old synonym for gin (which originally came from the Netherlands) or, in humorous pseudo-intellectual fashion, "pot-valiancy". |
| 16 | |
| 17 | TruthInTelevision that alcohol takes away your inhibitions and anxieties; except that it also weakens your performance of whatever you're getting up the courage to do. Just remember your drinking limits, and avoid driving or operating machinery. |
| 18 | |
| 19 | Not to be confused with the [[LetsPlay/LiquidCourage Let's Play series of the same title]]. |
| 20 | |
| 21 | ---- |
| 22 | |
| 23 | !!Examples: |
| 24 | |
| 25 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 26 | |
| 27 | [[folder:Anime and Manga]] |
| 28 | * ''Manga/The100GirlfriendsWhoReallyReallyReallyReallyReallyLoveYou'': Parodied in Momoha’s introductory arc, which has Rentarou and the girls PlayingDrunk: |
| 29 | ** Karane is notably less flustered than normal, Meme isn't compelled to use her NinjaLog for quite a while, and Chiyo is much more relaxed about things that would trigger her OCD, being more prone to laughter than snarling. |
| 30 | ** Inverted with Iku, who is more reluctant to engage in painful activities than she normally is. |
| 31 | * Pictured above is Yor Forger from ''Manga/SPYxFAMILY'', who finds herself needing to down something when she's about to do or say something emotionally difficult (like get kissed by her husband or tell him she'll withdraw from their fake marriage because she thinks he's involved with another woman), but it never quite works out the way she intends, because what she ends up doing under the influence isn't what she planned to do. Largely because she's a [[CantHoldTheirLiquor featherweight]]. |
| 32 | -->'''Yor''': Booze! Give me strength! |
| 33 | [[/folder]] |
| 34 | |
| 35 | [[folder:Comic Books]] |
| 36 | * ''Franchise/{{Tintin}}'': |
| 37 | ** Captain Haddock doesn't need booze to fight capably, but can go LeeroyJenkins when drunk. |
| 38 | ** In ''[[Recap/TintinTheBrokenEar The Broken Ear]]'', Tintin is framed as a revolutionary, sentenced to be ShotAtDawn and [[NothingPersonal shares a bottle with the officer in charge]] to steady his nerves. Tintin gets so drunk he ends up shouting the praises of the revolution before the firing squad (who by this time have also gotten themselves too drunk to shoot straight). He's rescued JustInTime by the revolutionaries who've just taken over; they are so impressed with Tintin's bravery he's promoted to aide-de-camp of the new generalissimo. Waking up the next day with [[WhatDidIDoLastNight no memory of what happened]], Tintin is understandably confused. |
| 39 | * When ComicBook/IronMan was going through the most severe stages of his alcoholism, he would sometimes drink before battle, stating that it helped his resolve. Obviously, this was seen as denial. In one comic in the ''Ultimate'' line, a teammate incredulously questions why he's drinking right before a battle, and Tony quips that there's no way he'd get into that armor sober. |
| 40 | * In ''ComicBook/BeforeWatchmen: Minutemen'', Byron Lewis requires increasingly large quantities of booze in order to keep adventuring, as his harness does painful things to his body, and the actual fighting wrecks his nerves. After getting investigated by the House Un-American Activities Commission and nearly getting killed by former teammate Hooded Justice, he finally reaches a breaking point, hangs up his tights, and goes off to rehab. Sadly, he never fully recovers. |
| 41 | [[/folder]] |
| 42 | |
| 43 | [[folder:Fan Works]] |
| 44 | * In the ''VisualNovel/KatawaShoujo'' fic ''Fanfic/LillyEpilogueFamilyMatters'', a subtler version of this is applied. Lilly has between two and three glasses of wine when her parents visit for dinner, and Hisao notices that she's more confident than usual in dealing with her father when he suggests that she return to Scotland. [[spoiler:When her BerserkButton has been pressed by her father insulting her boyfriend Hisao and her best friend Hanako, she calls him out on it, and after he says he raised her better than to put words in his mouth, she angrily yells “[[CallingTheOldManOut YOU HARDLY RAISED ME AT ALL]], [[PrecisionFStrike YOU BASTARD]]!!”]] |
| 45 | * In ''FanFic/ASparkOfIceAndFire'', Tyrion is drunk out of his ass when he [[spoiler:meets a large clank made out of Gregor Clegane's armor]], and he acts very non-chalant as he tells it how to find [[spoiler:Gregor Clegane]]. |
| 46 | * ''Fanfic/ACrownOfStars'': During a ball, Shinji and Asuka had to dance. Since Shinji was terrified, Daniel offered him a drink, stating that he put a "Charm of Courage" on it. Shinji downed it, and he felt braver. Several minutes later he found out that Daniel had given him a glass of rum. |
| 47 | -->'''Misato:''' Ah, ...sir? Just what the Hell did you give him?\ |
| 48 | '''Daniel:''' Exactly what I said, Lieutenant Katsuragi; there was indeed a Charm of Courage on that glass.\ |
| 49 | '''Misato:''' Wow. That's what a little courage can do?\ |
| 50 | '''Daniel:''' Of course. In about five minutes the Charm will wear off. Right about then the rest of that 'liquid courage' will kick in.\ |
| 51 | '''Misato:''' You didn't...\ |
| 52 | '''Daniel:''' Well, I had to put the Charm on something. The 100 proof Nenya Argentum Grande rum in the glass was the perfect carrier. |
| 53 | * In the ParodyFic ''[[Film/TheAdventuresOfCaptainProton Captain Proton]] and the Planet of Lesbians'', while being held captive by the Twin Mistresses of Evil Buster Kincaid recites a MemeticMutation of the Litany Against Fear from ''Literature/{{Dune}}''. |
| 54 | -->"I must drink beer. Beer is the mind killer. Beer brings the hangover that causes total obliteration. I will scull my beer. I will let it pass through me, [[BringMeMyBrownPants till only urine remains!]]" |
| 55 | * ''Fanfic/MuchAdoAboutShakespeareLovesLaboursWon'', Horatio drinks ale before he goes to talk to Archie about them and their forbidden love. He intends for them to have a RelationshipUpgrade from friends to lovers. |
| 56 | -->''"Well, it was time to show Archie that he, too, could woo with words. Hardly believing what he had talked himself into, Horatio ordered another pint of ale (well, technically his first), and then opened the little book again. He would need some liquid courage to come up with a strategy."'' |
| 57 | * ''Fanfic/TheBoltChronicles'': Mittens accidentally falls face first into a spiked punch bowl in "The Wedding Reception," and drinks some of its contents. It lowers her inhibitions enough that she dances with Bolt. |
| 58 | * ''Fanfic/NoStarsInSight'': By the time Ikharos and the Exo Stranger catch up to Formora in Chapter 8, she has already helped herself to some wine and is full of what Ikharos identifies as "liquid courage". Formora demonstrates this by [[ShamelessFanserviceGirl not caring that they can see her partially nude]], and acting noticeably haughtier (and [[DeadpanSnarker snarkier]]) than before. Also, when Ikharos explains that he's immortal, she reacts by holding a knife to his throat and [[ImpliedDeathThreat offering to test his claim]], something that she would never even think of doing while sober. |
| 59 | [[/folder]] |
| 60 | |
| 61 | [[folder:Films -- Live-Action]] |
| 62 | * ''Film/AnotherRound'': The film is about four teachers who decide to maintain a constant state of 0.05% BAC to gain more self confidence and social inhibition in their daily lives. One of them also encourages a student suffering from anxiety to take a few drinks of liquor before a critical test to calm himself. |
| 63 | * The Australian film ''Film/BlackAndWhite2002'' is about the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Stuart Max Stuart case]] in the late 1950's. Lawyer David O'Sullivan asks his female colleague Helen Devaney why she drinks so much. She points out that as one of the few female lawyers in the country, she's had to get up on the stand with an entire roomful of male colleagues all hoping she'll fail. "A few drinks and I had as much balls as any of them." |
| 64 | * In ''Film/TheDarkKnight'', Alfred Pennyworth offers "liquid courage" to help Harvey Dent face the crowd in his own fundraising party. |
| 65 | * In ''Film/DarlingLili'', Bill and Lili discuss the perpetually drunk pilot T.C.: |
| 66 | -->'''Lili:''' Why does he drink?\ |
| 67 | '''Bill:''' Because he's afraid to fly.\ |
| 68 | '''Lili:''' Then why does he fly?\ |
| 69 | '''Bill:''' Because he likes to drink. |
| 70 | * In the film ''Film/DetroitRockCity'', the character Hawk enters an amateur competition at a male strip club in an attempt to win money to buy concert tickets. Because he has such horrible stage fright, he drinks several cocktails before going on stage... and subsequently [[VomitIndiscretionShot pukes all over the place.]] |
| 71 | * ''Film/DoubleWedding'': Throughout the whole film, Waldo has been a rather meek tempered man who’s willing to do whatever makes everyone happy but himself. But once he finds out that Irene is marrying Charles, and he has a bit too much to drink, he finally stands up for himself. |
| 72 | * In ''Film/FiveStarFinal'', Taylor comes back to the office drunk, and when Arthur asks her why, she says she had to get drunk to tell Randall what she wanted to say. And she does, telling Randall that they are doing a terrible thing to Nancy Townsend. (They all work for a newspaper which is digging up a 20-year old murder scandal and raking Nancy Townsend over the coals in order to sell papers.) |
| 73 | * ''Film/TheFrozenNorth'': Parodied. Instead of sipping whisky to steel his courage, Keaton produces a cola bottle from his pocket and takes a swig. |
| 74 | * After Sonny gets killed in ''Film/TheGodfather'', Tom Hagen has to deliver the news to Sonny's father Don Vito Corleone. Before even hearing this, Vito notes that Tom has been drinking liquor leading up to and at the start of their conversation, so he can already tell that whatever news Tom has to bring is not happy news. |
| 75 | * ''Film/JackbootsOnWhitehall''. When TheVicar gets drunk and starts insulting the advancing German army, UsefulNotes/WinstonChurchill orders the barrel to be rolled out. |
| 76 | -->'''Vicar:''' Come and fight me, my God against yours! |
| 77 | -->'''Soldier:''' Sorry sir, he must have found his way back to the bottle. |
| 78 | -->'''Churchill:''' [[TheAlcoholic Good man]]. |
| 79 | -->'''Vicar:''' Sausage eating wankers! ''(echo) WANKERS! WANKERS! WANKERS!'' |
| 80 | -->'''Churchill:''' Let us take example from the Church. Double the ale ration, two pints per man! |
| 81 | * At the end of ''Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheReturnOfTheKing'', Samwise Gamgee chugs an entire mug of ale before proposing to Rosie Cotton. |
| 82 | * Invoked by dustman Alfred Doolittle in ''Film/MyFairLady'' while haggling his daughter Eliza for a handout in order to -guess what: |
| 83 | -->'''Alfred:''' Eliza, you wouldn't have the heart to send me home to your stepmother without a drop of liquid protection, now, would you? |
| 84 | * ''Film/RaisingTheWind'': When telling his flatmates about his plan to get them to replace a string quintet at the Tudor Rose Room for his aunt, Mrs. Featherstone, Alex lets them know they'll all need some Dutch courage. Right before the show, he slugs down a large amount of alcohol and is soon joined by Malcolm. |
| 85 | * After the bar brawl in ''Film/{{Serenity}}'', Jayne was freaked out by River even in her confinement. He wouldn't have confronted her if he was sober, especially considering that was close to the mistake that almost got him ThrownOutTheAirlock during the TV series. |
| 86 | * ''Film/WildRiver'': Chuck goes over and gives a blunt, heartfelt speech to Ella after drinking a jar of moonshine and being on the verge of passing out. |
| 87 | [[/folder]] |
| 88 | |
| 89 | [[folder:Literature]] |
| 90 | * In ''Literature/TheWonderfulWizardOfOz'', the "[[MagicFeather courage]]" that the Cowardly Lion is given is in a liquid form, which fans of the book take as a StealthPun on the phrase "liquid courage". |
| 91 | * Creator/PGWodehouse ''loves'' this trope. Several of his books feature timid young men having a slug of brandy or the like when nerving themselves up to propose to their dream girls. A particularly notable example is in ''Literature/RightHoJeeves'' when both Jeeves and Bertie separately spike Gussie Fink-Nottle's orange juice before he has to make a prize-giving speech at a local school, in part to help him get over stage fright, and in the hopes he'll have the courage to propose to Madeleine. They each intend to give him a little extra "courage" without his knowledge, but Gussie has also found a bottle of liquor on his own, and their combined efforts lead to Gussie showing up for his speech completely plastered. The result is one of the funniest speeches in the history of literature. The getting-married part doesn't work out as well. |
| 92 | * Creator/OHenry's story "The Lost Blend" ends with a meek young man downing the last few ounces of the title drink, and finally finding the courage to sweep his beloved barmaid off her feet. |
| 93 | * ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'': |
| 94 | ** Obliquely referenced in ''Literature/WitchesAbroad'', where in a ''Literature/TheWizardOfOz'' spoof, Granny Weatherwax says of Magrat that some witches need a little more brain[[note]]As the Scarecrow wanted[[/note]]; Magrat counters that other witches need a little more heart[[note]]As the Tinman wanted[[/note]]; Nanny Ogg, however, considers that what ''she'' needs [[INeedAFreakingDrink is a drink]][[note]]The Cowardly Lion wanted "courage," but Nanny apparently prefers it in liquid form[[/note]]. |
| 95 | ** In ''Literature/TheLastContinent'', LovableCoward Rincewind becomes a lot more cheerful and optimistic after a few pints of Ecksian beer. At one point, he even has to get slightly drunk so he can figure out how to get his fellow wizards out of a "knot" in time and space. |
| 96 | ** In ''Literature/CarpeJugulum'', Nanny Ogg tells Agnes that vampire hunters get roaring drunk before setting out, both to encourage themselves and to prevent MindControl (if their own minds are muddled, the vampire can't control the person entirely). |
| 97 | * TheSmartGuy Matthew Berdishevsky in ''Pelagia and the Red Rooster'' is usually prim and proper to a fault, but when ThePowerOfLove hits him, he starts drinking and suddenly goes all Film/JamesBond on the baddies. |
| 98 | * ''Literature/{{Flashman}}'''s eponymous "hero" is a self-admitted poltroon who would do everything he can to get out of fighting...so it's quite a shock, even to himself well after the fact, when he voluntarily leads the mission by Yakub Beg and his tribesmen to destroy the Russian supply fleet in ''Flashman at the Charge''. Turns out to be the effect of the ''hashish'' with which [[MagnificentBastard the Silk One]] dosed him with beforehand, which at least temporarily turned him into a roaring berserker. |
| 99 | * In the ''Literature/KharkanasTrilogy'', Toras Redone has in the past admitted to Galar Baras that she first had to get seriously drunk to have the courage to invite him to her bed. She does it again during the first volume, ''Forge of Darkness''. |
| 100 | * ''Citadel'' by Dale Dye (aka ''Run Between The Raindrops''). In the final attack on the eponymous fortress in Hue, the protagonist notices the NVA defenders are strangely slow to react to his presence. Turns out they figured they were going to die and so doped themselves up beforehand. Unfortunately in this case artificial courage also means slow reaction time, making them [[TooDumbToLive Too Drugged To Live]]. |
| 101 | * In ''Literature/{{Emma}}'', Mr Elton has been drinking wine (probably more than he should have) at the Westons' Christmas party before he proposes to Emma. Emma is not pleased. |
| 102 | -->She believed he had been drinking too much of Mr Weston's good wine, and felt sure that he would want to be talking nonsense. |
| 103 | * Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar: |
| 104 | ** In ''Closer to Home'', King's Own Herald Nikolas dies and the role is passed to his daughter Amily--but then Nikolas is brought back via CPRCleanPrettyReliable. The King and his whole council are in such a tizzy over the unprecedented situation of having both a current and former King's Own at once that Mags has to go bursting into their meeting to loudly point out how excellent the situation turned out. Before he does, he downs a "tiny glass of distilled spirits" to bolster his courage enough to ''shout'' at the ''King''. |
| 105 | ** Later in the same book, the servants of one of the FeudingFamilies at the center of the plot make plans to go attack the other family's servants. Mags knows he's got a bit of time to break up the fight before it starts, because of the attackers' need for "beer-balls" before they start the brawl. |
| 106 | * ''Industrial Revolution'' by Creator/PoulAnderson. Leads to a EurekaMoment when the AsteroidMiners fetch a bottle when a MisguidedMissile is 'accidently' launched by a battleship to force them off their mine so it can be appropriated by the Earth government. |
| 107 | -->Why, he thought vaguely, do people always speak with scorn about Dutch courage? The Dutch have real guts. They fought themselves free of Spain and free of the ocean itself; when the French or Germans came, they made the enemy sea their ally-- |
| 108 | * ''Literature/DancingAztecs'': Pedro has to get drunk before going through with the hijacking and keeps throwing up on the pilot when the plane is taking off and landing. |
| 109 | * {{Deconstructed}} by [[Literature/MagnusChaseAndTheGodsOfAsgard Magnus Chase]] when he's informed that he needs Kvasir's Mead to defeat Loki in a flyting: |
| 110 | -->''"The answer didn’t sit right with me. I’d been on the streets long enough to see how well mead "improved" people’s skills. Pick your poison: beer, wine, vodka, whiskey. Folks claimed they needed it to get through the day. They called it 'liquid courage'. It made them funnier, smarter, more creative. ...Except it didn’t. It just made them less able to tell how unfunny and stupid they were acting."'' |
| 111 | * Dr. Skinner in ''Literature/DrFranklinsIsland'' has a [[ReluctantMadScientist conscience]], however much he claims he's smothered it, which flares up in a big way when his boss gets his hands on the teen survivors of a plane crash and wants to do some LEGOGenetics on them to [[SlowTransformation slowly turn them into animals]]. One night, before their operation, he tries to set the girls free and give them a chance to reach the mainland. They smell alcohol on his breath. He was either trying to [[DrowningMySorrows drown his conscience]] or taking LiquidCourage. Either way, when Dr. Franklin catches them leaving the compound Skinner gets right back in line. |
| 112 | * ''Literature/TheSignOfTheFour'': Watson partly credits the wine he'd had for lunch with calling out Holmes on his use of drugs, something of a feat given how often he mentions Holmes' rather domineering personality. |
| 113 | * Even Literature/JamesBond does this; in ''Literature/OctopussyAndTheLivingDaylights'' Bond calms his nerves with a glass of whiskey while he's waiting to shoot a KGB sniper. When his spotter protests, Bond points out that [[ItNeverGetsAnyEasier he's not the one who is supposed to kill someone.]] |
| 114 | [[/folder]] |
| 115 | |
| 116 | [[folder:Live-Action TV]] |
| 117 | * Invoked in the old [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jose_Jimenez_(character) Jose Jimenez]] routine on ''Series/TheSteveAllenShow'' as performed by Bill Dana. The joke centered on the common use of 'blastoff' in spaceflight references. |
| 118 | -->'''Jose:''' I take a blast before I take off. Otherwise, I don't wanna go near that thing. |
| 119 | * In the ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' episode "The Gift," the gang pauses before the walk towards [[BigBad Glory's]] crazy tower of doom. Willow off-handedly comments that she could use a shot of courage right about now. Spike's hand appears from offscreen, offering her a flask. Willow thanks him, but says that she meant the real kind of courage. Spike does the equivalent of a shrug and takes a QuickNip himself. |
| 120 | * On the GrandFinale of ''Series/{{Angel}}'' "Not Fade Away", Angel orders his friends to take the day off since it will likely be their last day alive. Spike decides to go to a bar and finds out they are having a poetry slam. He helps himself to a few drinks to work up the courage to share his poetry with the crowd. He's overjoyed when his poetry gets a standing ovation in contrast to the jeers he received when he was still a struggling mortal wannabe poet. |
| 121 | * Creator/AgathaChristie: |
| 122 | ** In the 2004 adaptation of ''The Murder at the Vicarage'', the character Sylvia Lester speaks of needing "Dutch courage" before [[spoiler: telling Lettice Protheroe that she's the girl's mother]]. Mrs. Lester is depicted as a frequent drinker; she offers "a stiffener" from her own flask at a tea party, and she's often seen at a local hotel bar. |
| 123 | ** In the 2006 adaptation of ''The Moving Finger'', hard-drinking war veteran Jerry Burton (who also narrates the episode) speaks of needing "Dutch courage" at one point. His use of alcohol to cope with life after his wartime experiences jumpstarts the plot, since he crashes his motorcycle and goes to a small village to recuperate. |
| 124 | * ''Series/{{Kaamelott}}''. Bohort, a complete DirtyCoward, once got drunk and turned into an aggressive warmonger. |
| 125 | * ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'': Raj, who is unable to speak in the presence of a girl, becomes a regular Casanova after a few drinks. In this case it is more of a psychological thing, as it works when he has a non-alcoholic drink and doesn't realize it -- when told, he clams up automatically. |
| 126 | ** In "The Pants Alternative", Sheldon is preparing to give a speech in acceptance of an award he is receiving, but is too scared to do so. Penny suggests that he drinks some wine to calm his nerves. Unfortunately, Sheldon drinks ''too much'' wine, and [[InVinoVeritas the speech goes downhill from there]]... |
| 127 | * Jim Lahey in the later seasons of ''Series/TrailerParkBoys'' is addicted to alcohol and frequently invokes this. |
| 128 | * In the ''Series/{{MASH}}'' episode, "Alcoholics Unanimous", after Frank banned alcohol from the camp, he asked Father Mulcahy to give a temperance lecture and made attendance mandatory. Mulcahy was so nervous beforehand, Klinger poured him a drink (the good father had a bottle in his tent, a gift from a soldier for "a successful confession"). He probably wound up having several, as he was clearly drunk during the lecture. |
| 129 | * The ''Series/{{Highlander}}'' episode, "Courage", dealt with wan Immortal named Brian Cullen. He was regarded by many (including Duncan) to be the best swordsman around, to the point where he was constantly being challenged by Immortals AND mortals. By the mid-late 1800's, he cracked and turned to drugs and alcohol to get through life. |
| 130 | * On ''Series/{{The 100}}'', a Grounder takes a swig of moonshine before trying to cross a field being hit by sniper fire. That gives Octavia the idea to throw the moonshine into a fire, creating a smokescreen to hide them from the sniper while they dash across . . . but not before Octavia takes a swig herself. |
| 131 | * ''Series/MurdochMysteries'': Near the end of "The Murdoch Sting", Inspector Brackenreid advises Crabtree to make an effort to win back Dr. Grace's affections. Murdoch is in the room, and after Crabtree leaves, he declares he too will take the inspector's advice and (in his own case) propose to Dr. Ogden. Murdoch then goes to Brackenreid's decanter, pours two glasses (one for himself and one for his boss), and quickly downs his own drink. It turns out he probably needed that drink, since Julia refuses him before can finish due to threats against their lives. |
| 132 | * ''Series/DeepSpaceNine''. In "Behind the Lines", the amoral Ferengi bartender Quark makes a surprise appearance at a meeting that Odo, Kira and Jake Sisko are holding to plot LaResistance to their Cardassian/Dominion occupiers. Quark has found out some crucial information while drinking with a Cardassian officer, and is still feeling the effects. |
| 133 | -->'''Quark:''' I just had a bottle of kanar, with Damar. ''Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!'' That rhymes! |
| 134 | -->'''Jake Sisko:''' You're drunk. |
| 135 | -->'''Quark:''' Of ''course'' I'm drunk. I certainly wouldn't risk coming in here and associating myself with your little Resistance cell if I wasn't drunk. |
| 136 | * ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' |
| 137 | ** In "The Girl with the Dungeons & Dragons Tattoo", the eponymous girl has been recruited to break into the BigBad's office, but starts to FreakOut and says she can't go through with it. Suddenly Sam and Dean realise that Ghost!Bobby has snuck his hip flask into Charlie's bag (his spirit is bound to the flask, so he can accompany her in). When they point this out, Charlie assumes they're referring to this trope and [[INeedAFreakingDrink takes a big swig.]] |
| 138 | ** In "Free To Be You And Me", Dean hauls FallenAngel Castiel off to a brothel to [[MustNotDieAVirgin lose his virginity]]. When a blonde prostitute saunters up and [[ObliviousGuiltSlinging introduces herself as Chastity]], the terrified Castiel immediately downs a glass of beer. |
| 139 | * ''Series/{{Monk}}'': The murderer in "Mr Monk and the Foreign Man" is shown using booze to steady his nerves before he attempts to kill Monk and Samuel. |
| 140 | * In "The Even Chance" of ''Series/HoratioHornblower'', midshipman Clayton drinks from his flask, then goes belowdecks and [[TapOnTheHead knocks Horatio out]]. He takes his place in the [[DuelToTheDeath duel]] with Simpson. He felt that as an older and senior midshipman, he should deal with Simpson himself. |
| 141 | * ''Series/AllMyChildren'''s Hayley Vaughn insists on having a cup of coffee before dealing with her belligerent father, telling her boyfriend, "I can't face Adam without caffeine." |
| 142 | [[/folder]] |
| 143 | |
| 144 | [[folder:Music]] |
| 145 | * In Music/{{Korpiklaani}}'s OdeToIntoxication "Vodka", confidence is the main reason cited for why the drink is so awesome. |
| 146 | -->Vodka! You're feeling stronger!\ |
| 147 | Vodka! No more feeling bad!\ |
| 148 | Vodka! Your eyes are shining!\ |
| 149 | Vodka! You are the real man! |
| 150 | * There's a famous Irish drinking song that, in all its variations, plays with this trope: |
| 151 | --> The liquor was spilled on the bar-room floor and the bar was closed for the night,\ |
| 152 | When a little mouse crept from his hole in the wall, and sat in the pale moonlight\ |
| 153 | He lapped up the liquor on the bar-room floor, then on his haunches he sat;\ |
| 154 | And all night long you could hear him roar: ''"Bring on the goddamn cat!"'' |
| 155 | * While the protagonist of the Music/{{Eagles}} song "Tequila Sunrise" is mostly DrowningHisSorrows, there's a suggestion that he's also trying, and failing, to work up the gumption to talk to his love interest. |
| 156 | -->Take another shot of courage\ |
| 157 | Wonder why the right words never come\ |
| 158 | You just get numb. |
| 159 | * In "Den fineste Chevy'n" ("The Prettiest Chevy") by Halva Priset ft. Maria Mena, a mechanic is planning to meet his girlfriend's well-off family, and is nervous because he has to [[MockMillionaire pass himself off as a finance guy]] because they would otherwise reject him for being a hillbilly. Before the meeting, he gets drunk to feel more confident, only to [[DrunkDriver drunkenly drive the titular Chevy into a lake]] on his way there. |
| 160 | * In "Somebody Else Will" by Music/JustinMoore, the narrator is drinking Crown straight, trying to get up the nerve to approach an attractive girl at a bar before someone else does. |
| 161 | * In "Marry Me" by Music/ThomasRhett, the narrator does a strong shot of whiskey to help him get through the wedding of the longtime friend he never confessed his feelings to. |
| 162 | [[/folder]] |
| 163 | |
| 164 | [[folder:Tabletop Games]] |
| 165 | * ''TabletopGame/ArkhamHorror'': Whiskey cards can be spent to reduce {{Sanity|Meter}} loss from encountering otherworldly horrors. It is described ambiguously enough that it could be either liquid courage or NoMoreForMe. |
| 166 | * ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'': Targets affected by Elysian dragon's secondary breath weapon, a cone of inebriating gas, are considered sickened, but also become upbeat and happy and gain a bonus on saves against fear effects. |
| 167 | * ''TabletopGame/{{Ponyfinder}}'': Sun ponies can take a feat that allows them to down a bottle of booze to shrug off fear-based status conditions. |
| 168 | * ''TabletopGame/RedDragonInn'': One of Fiona the Volatile's cards is called ''"Nothing like a belt of liquid courage!"'' which, fittingly, converts Alcohol Content into a boost of Fortitude. |
| 169 | * ''TabletopGame/RedNovember'': Gnome sailors on a prototype submarine have to survive sixty minutes until they get rescued while the ship is struck by all kinds of disasters and a colossal kraken is lurking outside. When a gnome wishes to enter a burning room, he has to either use a fire extinguisher or drink a bottle of vodka to brave the flames. |
| 170 | * ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'': |
| 171 | ** ''TabletopGame/WarhammerFantasyBattle'': |
| 172 | *** Once per game, the Bretonnian Character Gui le Gros can share his huge flagon of extremely potent liquor with the rest of his unit. This makes them immune to Panic for the rest of the fight, but also afflicts them with a penalty to their attack rolls because they're so drunk they're unable to shoot straight. |
| 173 | *** Centigors roll a die before each match to determine whether they go into battle drunk; if they do, they gain the "Stubborn" rule, making them less likely to break and run when stuck in difficult combat. |
| 174 | ** ''TabletopGame/WarhammerFantasyRoleplay'': A mug of Bugman's Ale makes the drinker immune to Fear for up to ten hours, but is [[GargleBlaster so potent]] that it skips over the usual process of inebriation and goes straight to AlcoholInducedIdiocy. |
| 175 | [[/folder]] |
| 176 | |
| 177 | [[folder:Theater]] |
| 178 | * In ''Theatre/TheCompleteWorksOfWilliamShakespeareAbridged'' the actor playing Romeo is about to drink the poison, kiss the actor (note: ''actor'') playing Juliet, and die. He swigs, looks at the man lying down in front of him, pauses with disgust and indecision, then takes ''another'' swig of "poison" as if he needs it to deaden his senses for the kiss ahead. |
| 179 | [[/folder]] |
| 180 | |
| 181 | [[folder:Video Games]] |
| 182 | * In the game ''VideoGame/EternalDarkness'', Edward Roivas keeps ''casks'' of the stuff in his basement, because it helps keep him calm when dealing with [[spoiler:the cyclopean nightmare-city under his house.]] During gameplay he keeps a flask on him, and drinks from it when he needs to deal with the weird happenings, but doesn't have time to rationalize or analyze it like he normally would -- which he knows would just drive him insane anyway. The player can acquire some of it, which is called "Liquid Courage" and restores [[SanityMeter Sanity]]. |
| 183 | * Used as a sort of InterfaceScrew in ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'': when drunk, mobs look lower level than they actually are. |
| 184 | * This trope gets a nod in the second installment of ''VideoGame/{{Elvira}}'', where the only component needed for the "Courage" spell, which prevents you from fainting at the sight of certain monsters, is a flask of an alcoholic beverage. |
| 185 | * In ''VideoGame/MagicAndMayhem'', the player has to recruit Arthur's knights to fight against the BigBad. In the case of Kay, this involves finding a flask of wine to give him courage. |
| 186 | * ''VideoGame/{{Mercenaries}}: World In Flames'': Misha, the Russian jet pilot you hire, [[VodkaDrunkenski always flies drunk]]. Partly it's because he's a DrunkenMaster, but the other part is that his jet [[TheAllegedCar is in such bad shape]] he's too afraid to get into it while he's sober. |
| 187 | * [[BadassPreacher Rev. Jim Maynard]] in Chapter 2 of ''VideoGame/Nocturne1999'' keeps some scotch hidden behind his pulpit, which he sheepishly admits to The Stranger. The manual explicitly chalks up his bravery in protecting his church from a small-scale ZombieApocalypse to both his faith in God and the liquid courage of scotch whiskey. |
| 188 | * The Old World Blues DLC of ''Videogame/FalloutNewVegas'' has [[spoiler:Dr. Mobius]], who reveals that he abuses Psycho (which is effectively military-grade meth) in order to have the proper state of mind to [[spoiler:properly intimidate the rest of the Think Tank into staying in Big MT]]. Otherwise he's extremely soft-spoken and partially senile. |
| 189 | * ''VideoGame/Fallout76'': The Wendigo Colossus can utter piercing shrieks that can scare the player characters, causing them to run uncontrollably in a random direction. However, there is an item (which actually ''is'' called "Liquid Courage", funnily enough) that makes you immune to it for a short time. If you can stockpile it, you can make the {{superboss}} fight against [[WasOnceAMan Earle Williams]] ''much'' easier. |
| 190 | [[/folder]] |
| 191 | |
| 192 | [[folder:Visual Novels]] |
| 193 | * Before the final confrontation with the Screaming Author in ''VisualNovel/SpiritHunterNG'', Ban and Rosé knock back a drink in preparation. The protagonist Akira isn't so lucky, being underage. |
| 194 | [[/folder]] |
| 195 | |
| 196 | [[folder:Web Comics]] |
| 197 | * ''Webcomic/PennyAndAggie'': Stan discovers his father, visibly intoxicated, is out of work. The father claims he's been looking, but "needed a little liquid courage" so he could meet interviewers' eyes. |
| 198 | * ''Webcomic/SandraOnTheRocks'': The title character (who originated in ''Webcomic/MenageA3'') mostly drinks because she enjoys it, gets drunk, and then does outrageous and [[AlcoholInducedIdiocy arguably stupidly brave things]]. Occasionally, though, she deliberately gets drunk for the sake of courage, before attempting things like dating highly attractive people or sexy dancing. |
| 199 | * ''Webcomic/ScaryGoRound'': Milford gets Carrot, a normally shy and timid teenage boy who's afraid of fights, liquored up and encourages him to ask Sarah out on Christmas Eve. Unfortunately, Sarah prefers Ryan, who prefers her right back. Carrot interrupts a cuddly moment between them by punching Ryan in the face. |
| 200 | * In ''Webcomic/TrippingOverYou'', this overlaps with DrowningMySorrows: Milo knocks back a drink when he thinks his love interest Liam has started dating someone else; when he realizes he's misunderstood, he decides to seize the moment and confess his feelings. [[spoiler:Not without consequence, since he infuriates Liam by kissing him in a public lavatory, but it does catalyze their RelationshipUpgrade.]] |
| 201 | * In ''Webcomic/PoisonIvyGulch'', a saloon bartender offers a glass of this to a cowboy, specifically [[https://www.poisonivygulch.com/comic/poison-ivy-gulch-3-22-2021/ calling the drink this trope]]. Hilariously subverted when the cowboy responds that if he could drink the stuff, he wouldn't need courage in the first place. |
| 202 | [[/folder]] |
| 203 | |
| 204 | [[folder:Western Animation]] |
| 205 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': |
| 206 | ** In "The Lastest Gun In The West," elderly cowboy actor Buck [=McCoy=] drinks from a flask of whiskey when he realizes that he's going to be performing in front of a live audience for the first time in decades. [[OffTheWagon He ends up relapsing entirely.]] |
| 207 | ** A ''WesternAnimation/TreehouseOfHorror'' CouchGag which [[AttackOfTheKillerWhatever has all the couches and chairs of Springfield killing people]], Moe chugs down a whole bottle of liquor before [[LastStand taking on]] [[DyingMomentOfAwesome his]] [[OneManArmy entire bar]]. |
| 208 | ** [[AvertedTrope Averted]] in another episode, "Days of Wine and D'oh'ses", where Barney thinks he needs beer in order to fly a helicopter to save the children, but Homer convinces him "You have to be sober for this". |
| 209 | ** In "Jaws Wired Shut" Marge, out of boredom, enters a demolition derby, she quickly realizes she is in over her head and the family tries to figure out how to rescue her. Bart grabs a beer and feeds it to Homer who then rescues Marge [[{{ComicStrip/Popeye}} while someone else's theme music is playing]]. |
| 210 | * Subverted in ''WesternAnimation/HellboyAnimated: Blood and Iron''. As Dr. Bruttenholm is cornered by the vampire Erzsebet Ondrushko, he pulls out a hip flask and motions like he's going to take a drink. Ondrushko mocks him for needing alcohol to steady his nerves in his last moments. Bruttenholm responds by flinging the contents of the flask at her: it's full of [[HolyBurnsEvil holy water]]. |
| 211 | * Groundbreaking 1894 French cartoon ''[[WesternAnimation/ReynaudFilms Pauvre Pierrot]]'' involves Pierre the lover shyly giving Colombine a bouquet. He then returns, swigging from a bottle, and serenades her from outside. She ignores him. |
| 212 | * In ''WesternAnimation/TheCountryCousin'', Abner the mouse downs a whole glass of champagne, which is a lot for a mouse. He then kicks the housecat in the butt. This turns out to be a very bad decision. |
| 213 | [[/folder]] |
| 214 | |
| 215 | [[folder:Real Life]] |
| 216 | * UsefulNotes/WorldWarII: |
| 217 | ** The Soviet Army's "The Peoples' Commissar's 100 grams" were a shot of vodka given to every soldier before attack. |
| 218 | ** The Japanese ''kamikaze'' pilots used to drink sake before being sent off to their deaths. |
| 219 | * [[http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/russian-tv-personality-anton-krasovsky-comes-out-gay-air-and-fired150813 Russian television presenter Anton Krasovsky spoke of doing this before outing himself as gay on television:]] |
| 220 | --> '"I can't say I'd been preparing for this. But just before the show, i.e. two hours before the fact, I had already known I would do this," he told Snob.ru. "I also had had some 300 grams of whiskey, a bit of Dutch courage," he added. |
| 221 | ** Krasovsky was fired from the government-backed cable network that he had helped launch within hours of the broadcast. |
| 222 | * ''Titanic'' shipwreck: |
| 223 | ** According to Walter Lord's ''A Night to Remember'' a senior baker aboard the Titanic helped launch a few lifeboats then decided [[INeedAFreakingDrink he could use a glass or three]] and slipped down to his cabin where he downed most of a bottle finally going back up very well insulated. When the deck tilted too much to walk on he slipped outside the rail and walked on the side of the ship until he reached the stern where he stood while it went down like an elevator under him then paddled calmly off into the icy night to be picked up eventually by a boat. |
| 224 | ** Charles Joughin, the same person mentioned above, managed to keep himself alive long enough to be rescued by chugging a flask of brandy as the ship went under. He's is seen doing this on the sinking stern in ''Film/{{Titanic 1997}}'' and is one of the people who manages to ride it down, although his survival is not depicted in the film. One amateur historian joked that Joughin had made it his task to make sure that the ''Titanic'' went down with as few bottles of booze as possible. |
| 225 | * It is not uncommon for actors of all genders to have a fairly strong drink before performing a scene that involves getting naked on camera. |
| 226 | ** When Creator/AllisonJanney won an MediaNotes/EmmyAward for a guest role in ''Series/MastersOfSex'', she thanked a crew member who had given her a shot of bourbon before a sex scene. |
| 227 | ** Creator/GinaGershon and Creator/JenniferTilly prepare for their sex scene in ''Film/Bound1996'' by drinking tequila. |
| 228 | ** Creator/RachaelStirling and Creator/KeeleyHawes got drunk before shooting their love scenes for ''Series/TippingTheVelvet2002''. |
| 229 | ** Creator/SylvesterStallone recalled filming his ShowerScene with Creator/SharonStone in ''Film/TheSpecialist'': |
| 230 | -->OK. Let it be known, I didn't want to do this scene because Sharon was not cooperating. We get to the set and she decides not to take her robe off. The director asks only a few of the crew to remain, and she still won't take it off. I promised her I wouldn't take any liberties, so what's the problem? She said, 'I'm just sick of nudity.' I asked her if she could get sick of it on someone else's film. She was having none of it, so I went down to my trailer, brought back a bottle of Black Death vodka that was given to me by Creator/MichaelDouglas and after half-a-dozen shots we were wet and wild. |
| 231 | ** Creator/OliverReed and Creator/AlanBates were initially apprehensive about filming the legendary wrestling scene in ''Film/WomenInLove'', due to insecurity over who had the largest "member". Eventually, after both got drunk, compared sizes, and realized there was little difference between the two, filming continued with relative ease. |
| 232 | ** Creator/NeveCampbell, Creator/DeniseRichards, and Creator/MattDillon all got slightly drunk on tequila in order to get past the nervousness of doing the three-way love scene in ''Film/WildThings''. |
| 233 | ** Creator/JaneFonda [[https://metro.co.uk/2018/09/26/jane-fonda-was-drunk-on-vodka-filming-nude-barbarella-scene-because-she-was-terrified-7979597/ claimed]] that she was drunk on vodka when she did the zero-gravity striptease in ''Film/{{Barbarella}}''. |
| 234 | ** Creator/DakotaJohnson admitted in an interview that part of the way through filming ''Film/FiftyShadesDarker'', she started doing shots of whiskey to psych herself up for filming the sex scenes. |
| 235 | ** Creator/KateWinslet and Creator/SaoirseRonan drank prosecco to prepare for their sex scene in ''Film/{{Ammonite}}''. |
| 236 | ** While filming the lesbian sex scene in ''Film/TheVampireLovers'', a case of champagne was left onset. Creator/IngridPitt and Madeline Smith made their way through it to put themselves at ease. |
| 237 | * Creator/MichaelCaine and Creator/ChristopherReeve had hesitations regarding the filming of their kissing scene in ''Film/{{Deathtrap}}''. Once they decided to go through with it, they both consumed large amounts of alcohol in order to keep themselves calm and drunk enough that they'd do anything anyone asked them to do. |
| 238 | * The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chupilca_del_diablo Chupilca del diablo]] was a mix of gunpowder and Chilean ''aguardiente'' that Chilean soldiers used to drink before battle in the Chile vs. Peru's War of the Pacific, since it was said that any soldier who drank this mix would go into an UnstoppableRage against the enemy. This drink was so infamous that it even made its way [[http://www.cambiacartas.com/im/selectCard/card_id/118540/cards_lang/1 in a Chilean card game]] featuring the War of the Pacific. |
| 239 | * Creator/RogerMoore prepared for the climbing scenes in ''Film/ForYourEyesOnly'' by taking a small amount of Valium and a tall glass of beer. |
| 240 | * Creator/PeterOToole and Creator/OmarSharif prepared for their big charge in ''Film/LawrenceOfArabia'' by getting drunk. |
| 241 | * Creator/AngelaDouglas was terrified about her singing sequence in ''Film/CarryOnCowboy''. Creator/JoanSims literally pushed her onto the sound stage, having given her two brandies before she went on. |
| 242 | * Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria's body was found with a glass of cognac. He had murdered his mistress Mary Vetsera, sat with her corpse for hours, then shot himself in the head. |
| 243 | * Historically in England, those who were condemned to hang at [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyburn Tyburn gallows]] were allowed to visit a tavern while being transported en route. |
| 244 | * Creator/BillPaxton claimed that he fortified himself with wine prior to shooting his death scene in ''Series/HatfieldsAndMcCoys'' because he was nervous about being set on fire. |
| 245 | * Unless you don't drink, you've done this at least once in your life. |
| 246 | [[/folder]] |
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