morning after
Noun (plural: morning afters) - The unpleasant physical effects experienced the day after excessive alcohol consumption: "morning after" refers specifically to the state of feeling ill, with symptoms such as headache, nausea, and fatigue, following a night of heavy drinking. It is often used synonymously with "hangover." - Example: He woke up with a terrible morning after, regretting the third bottle of wine. (He experienced a severe hangover.)
- (She was too ill from drinking to go to work.)
- (The hangover was extremely unpleasant.)
"the morning after the night before": A common idiomatic phrase emphasizing the contrast between a night of revelry and the subsequent day's discomfort.
- It was a classic case of the morning after the night before — everyone was pale and silent at breakfast. (The hangover was predictable after a wild party.)
"morning-after pill": A specific compound term (see Variants) referring to emergency contraception, not the same as the hangover meaning.
- She took the morning-after pill as a precaution. (This is a separate meaning, not the hangover sense.)
- Morning-after pill (n): a form of emergency contraception taken after unprotected sex.
- The pharmacist explained how the morning-after pill works. (This is a compound word, not the same as the hangover meaning.)
Hangover: the physical aftereffects of drinking too much alcohol.
- He had a terrible hangover from the party. (Synonymous with "morning after" in this context.)
Crapulence: a formal or literary term for sickness caused by excessive drinking.
- His crapulence was evident from his pale face. (Less common, but related.)
"The morning after": Used metaphorically to describe regret or consequences after any reckless action.
- After the impulsive investment, he faced the morning after of financial loss. (The unpleasant aftermath of a poor decision.)
"Sober up": To become clear-headed after drinking, often as part of the morning after.
- He needed coffee to sober up from the morning after. (To recover from the hangover.)