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under the influence
Idioms and Phrases
Impaired functioning owing to alcohol consumption, as in He was accused of driving under the influence . This expression, from legal jargon, is short for under the influence of intoxicating liquor and implies that one is not completely drunk. Since it is nearly always applied to drivers suspected or so accused, it has given rise to the police acronym DUI , for “driving under the influence.” [Second half of 1800s]Example Sentences
He was under the influence of drugs, carrying a knife and behaving erratically when members of the public first contacted the police.
“If Winona Rider makes you want to go see ‘A Woman Under the Influence,’ which is a Criterion disc release that’s also on the Criterion Channel — but it’s also on iTunes and on Amazon — however you go seek out that film, great,” he says.
He has previously been convicted of and served time for assault with a deadly weapon, driving under the influence, felony vandalism and a hit-and-run, according to court records.
In a 2023 study also conducted by Bryan, runners reported feeling like they exerted more energy when they ran while under the influence compared to when they were sober.
“I think that when you are under the influence, you feel like you want to dial down the intensity and that might be part of why you’re enjoying it more,” Bryan told Salon in a phone interview.
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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