tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Thu Aug 28 12:18:30 2003

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Re: Klingon WOTD: HIq (n)

Steven Boozer ([email protected]) [KLI Member] 


>This is the Klingon Word Of The Day for Wednesday, August 20, 2003.
>
>Klingon word:   HIq
>Part of Speech: noun
>Definition:     ale, beer, wine, liquor

As used in canon:

tlhutlhmeH HIq ngeb qaq law' bIQ qaq puS
Drinking fake ale is better than drinking water. TKW

HIq DaSammeH tach yI'el
To find ale, go into a bar. TKW

cha'vatlh ben HIq vItlhutlh
I will drink Two Century Old Ale. PK

pubtaHbogh ghargh HIq
boiling worm wine PK

reghuluS 'Iw HIq
Regulan bloodwine PK

romuluS HIq vImuS
I detest Romulan ale. KGT

latlh HIvje'Daq 'Iw HIq bIr yIqang!
Pour the cold bloodwine into another glass!
(idiom: "I don't believe you; maybe someone else will" or "That is 
irrelevant to me; maybe someone else will care") KGT

latlh HIvje'Daq 'Iw HIq bIr vIqang!
I pour the cold bloodwine into another glass! KGT

As discussed by Okrand:

"Klingon drinks may be divided into two types: those with and those without 
an intoxicating effect--basically, those with and those without alcohol. 
There is no known noun referring to drinks in general (though, as noted 
above, beverages are considered a type of Soj [food]). Any alcoholic 
beverage is called HIq. Federation Standard makes a distinction between the 
various forms of liquor; Klingon does not. Thus, the word HIq is translated 
in various ways in names of different drinks, particularly, though not 
exclusively, those of non-Klingon origin: romuluS HIq (Romulan ale) 'Iw HIq 
(blood wine), Sorya' HIq (Saurian brandy). On the other hand, many native 
Klingon alcoholic drinks have names that do not contain the word HIq. Among 
these are wornagh (warnog), a kind of ale; baqghol (bahgol), consumed 
heated and out of rather small glasses; and the very strong chechtlhutlh 
(chech'tluth). (The fact that chechtlhutlh seems to be made up of two verbs 
related to drinking--chech [be drunk] and tlhutlh [drink]--is no doubt 
coincidental.) Imported alcoholic beverages are made of various 
ingredients, some of them not available in the Klingon Empire. Domestic HIq 
is distilled from a number of different kinds of grain (tIr), with some 
additional constituents (of both plant and animal origin, including 'Iw, 
blood) adding flavor and strength. 'Iw HIq (bloodwine) is served warm to 
hot (best is porgh Hat--'body temperature', though it is not clear whose 
body) and should be very dark red in color. Drinking HIq is usually 
accompanied by toasting. [...] Animal blood ('Iw) is found primarily in 
alcoholic beverages, but the milk (nIm) of some creatures (such as the 
targh [targ]) is combined with other ingredients to form drinks of rather 
complex flavor, though it is seldom consumed by itself." (KGT 95)

"In fact, vut can also be used in reference to making a beverage, whether 
simply mixing ingredients together (such a putting cream in coffee) or 
starting from scratch (such as brewing ale)." (KGT 83)

"If some kind of HIq (liquor) is added to the coffee, the drink is called 
ra'taj. It is said that the drink was originally nicknamed ra'wI' taj 
('commander's knife', suggestive of its potency), and that the name was 
shortened over time." (KGT 95-96)

Cf. also {taS} "liquid".


-- 
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons

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