A green glass bottle with a cork and a knotted rope around its neck on a dark slate background.

Original artwork, not a still

Ernest Hemingway

Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut.

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

This attributed, unsourced saying is a grim joke about loose talk. It proposes carrying out sober whatever you boasted or promised while drunk, and claims the trouble will teach you to keep your mouth shut. It treats big promises as something you'll be held to.

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