I just described something as “rather the worse for wear,” and followed it up with, “Who was the person that described?” After receiving blank stares, I explained that I distinctly recalled those words being the last description of some literary figure (an author, not a character), but I couldn’t remember who and no one had any clue what I was talking about.

A quick bit of Googling backed me up. A well-known author was, indeed, described this way just prior to his death:

“[A] gentleman, rather the worse for wear… and who appears in great distress… I assure you, he is in need of immediate assistance.”

So pop quiz: who was the author described this way? No fair looking it up.

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