In the new show from Europe 1, "Historically yours", Stéphane Bern examines the roots of an expression of everyday life.
Wednesday, he is originally interested in being "drunk like a Pole".
Stéphane Bern suggests every day, in
Historically yours
with Matthieu Noël, to discover these expressions that we use on a daily basis without necessarily knowing their origin.
On Wednesday, the host tells us about the origin of the expression "drunk like a Pole".
A feat of a Polish regiment in 1808
"If the Poles have a solid reputation in terms of alcohol, it is because of Napoleon! In 1808 during the campaign in Spain, a final assault must be given at 1,500 meters above sea level and it is a regiment of Polish elite who made the difference thanks to their determination and their power. courage.
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But Napoleon replied: "so next time, know how to be drunk like Poles".
According to another side of the story, the emperor said "you had to be drunk like a Pole to accomplish this".
Anyway, this is how a compliment has built a legend that inevitably shines for a whole people.
And as alcohol is at the center of this column, let me end with a sentence attributed to novelist Georges Courteline: "alcohol kills slowly, we don't care, we are in no hurry".