subs. (American thieves’).—A drunken man. [An intensification of ‘drunk as a lord’; whence ‘drunk as an emperor.’]
1881. New York Slang Dictionary. ‘On the Trail.’ A pinch for an EMPEROR’S slang.
DRUNK AS AN EMPEROR, phr. (common).—An intensitive of ‘drunk as a lord.’ Fr., saoul comme trente mille hommes, or un âne.
1785. GROSE, A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, s.v.
