My new favorite saying...

Although not as insightful as my previous post (sarcasm), I need to address something that has come up many times in the past months through conversation, email, facebook, etc... that just makes me laugh and has become one of my new favorite expressions. I'm talking about the use of the word "casual"- mainly, "casual drinks". I must admit that I too have used this expression but never really stopped to think about exactly what was meant by "casual drinks". I can barely say it without chuckling to myself. Here's the low-down on "casual drinks"... if you ever ask your friend what's going on this weekend and she/he responds "oh not too much, just gonna hit up a patio for some casual drinks" think twice before you enter into this harmless agreement. Just what are "casual drinks?" What does that mean???!!! Do we wear casual clothes while we drink them?Does sitting on a patio make the drinks casual? Do we engage in light conversation and display laid back body language while we are drinking them? And what might be the opposite? "Formal drinks?" You never hear someone reply "oh we're just gonna go out for some formal drinks". That's just silly.

Just what are "casual drinks??"

I'll tell you what they are.

"Casual drinks" is simply a way of downplaying the nights events because either:

a. you don't want the person you are speaking with to come out that night thus, downplaying the evening by saying "casual drinks" which sounds less exciting.
b. you really don't want things to get out of hand and are setting precedent.
c. you are trying to satisfy both the devil and the angel sitting on your shoulders by saying that things will be casual (angel) when really you have every intent of a wild night (devil).
d. you want to sound respectable and free from blame the next morning when you (and most others) are extremely hungover when your intention really was to have "casual drinks...i swear"
e. "casual drinks" starts to sound a lot more socially acceptable then perhaps the truth of "i'm getting hammered tonight"
f. you are trying to trick someone into joining you under the false pretenses that things will be kept "casual"

Do you have a better grasp on it now? I'm not at all discounting or discrediting the use of such a term... I think it's fantastic!
I just thought it was important to address the situation before more people fell victim to "casual drinks".

Indeed, the term is vague and it's meaning varies, but the way in which you use it can be magical. And if you are really perturbed by the use of this term then you can always throw a pair of khakis and a t-shirt on your drink to make it legitimate and sensible.

Cheers to Casual Drinks!