etymology - Origin of the phrase "mother's ruin"?
I was under the impression that the phrase "mother's ruin" came from the England in the 1800's, where many people living in London did so in absolute poverty, and gin (the so-called "mother's ruin") was the cheapest way of forgetting your worries.
But I've just heard a new possible origin: Canadians used actual jugs of gin as contraceptives.
Hmm.
Anyone got anything solid about its origin?
Answer
Historians compare the rise of gin as England's first drug craze. It was considered a bane on society and started becoming an endemic situation.
In an attempt to control this rising problem, the government attempted to remedy the situation.
The Gin Act of 1736 whereby the government imposed a high licence fee for gin retailers and a 20 shillings retail tax per gallon. These actions were unpopular with the working-classes and resulted in riots in London in 1743. The license fee and tax were lowered significantly within a few years.
The Gin Act of 1751 prohibited gin distillers from selling to unlicensed merchants, restricted retail licenses to substantial property holders, and charged high fees to those merchants eligible for retail licenses. To offer the masses another invigorating (and non-alcoholic) beverage the import of tea was also encouraged.
In the book Gin: The Much Lamented Death of Madam Geneva, by Patrick Dillon, the setting of the age is put into perspective:
And:
And:
There are numerous sources supporting this.
Much of the gin was drunk by women, consequently the children were neglected, daughters were sold into prostitution, and wet nurses gave gin to babies to quieten them. This worked provided they were given a large enough dose!
Source: Culture UK
All this evidence supports that the term originated in the UK in the 1700s and not in Canada. Gin was not only the favorite drink of the nation during the Gin Craze, but had become ingrained into the very foundations of society at the time and saw an increase in women consumers which led to its various feminine nicknames.
It wasn't until the Beer Act came along that this changed.
Update
While scouring for more resources, I came across this gem from the The London magazine, or, Gentleman's monthly intelligencer ... 1736. Volume 5:
The usage of 'Mother' has already been established, so the addition of 'ruin' most probably came later on. But the small highlighted portion shows the anger some people felt towards the beverage. The essay that was written expresses a deep irritation towards the government for doing nothing to aid other alcoholic substances that did not get the kind of leniency other beverages do. Since this was released in 1736 and was a culmination of several months worth of work, perhaps this helped garner support for the Gin Act of 1736 that was so unpopular for the miserable masses.
Update 2
On Page 31 (second image), it states that the "... Ruin of Mother Gin resolved on..."
I dare not make any specific comment, but this is so far the earliest source where Mother and Ruin are this close together dated at 1736.
Comments
Post a Comment