To 'tie one on?'

[papertiger]

Where does the expression 'to tie one on' originate. It is used to describe a night of heavy drinking, but I fail to see if it's part of a larger expression or what.

[Quizmonster]

100 years ago, to "tie a bun on" meant to get drunk. The phrase 'to tie one on' may just be a simplification of that, as 'one' and 'bun' are almost rhymes. It first appeared in print in the 1950s in America, in a publication called 'Western Folklore'. There, it was described as an alternative to 'swill one down'. I'm only guessing here, but - given the title of the publication - perhaps it referred to the cowboys' habit of tying their horses up at the saloon door, before going in to get drunk. Personally, I'd go with the simplified 'bun' suggestion. Nobody knows why buns should have anything to do with drinking, by the way.

[kirstykitten]

A friend of mine often says 'let's put one on tonight' but she's Miss Malaprop. Even more so after 'putting one on'!