coffin nail

coffin nail

1. slang A cigarette. Hey, can I bum a coffin nail off of you? You'll probably find Ed outside smoking a coffin nail.
2. slang An alcoholic beverage. Here's another coffee nail for you—you'll be drunk before you know it.
See also: coffin, nail
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

coffin nail

1. and coffin tack n. a cigarette. (Coffin nail is very old.) You still smoking them coffin nails? Every coffin tack you smoke takes a little off the end of your life.
2. n. a drink of liquor. How about another coffin nail?
See also: coffin, nail
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions
See also:
  • coffin tack
  • coffin varnish
  • varnish
  • right on the nail
  • nail a lie
  • nail a/the lie
  • nail on
  • nail in
  • hit the nail on the head, to
  • by itself
References in periodicals archive
Some states have prohibited the trade in "coffin nails" altogether; others have forbidden their sale to minors.
Letters
"He's as hard as coffin nails. A superb little horse"
THE THINGS THEY SAID at Cheltenham
Thornton, completing an opening-day double after the victory of Captain Cee Bee in the Supreme Novices' Hurdle, added: "He's as hard as coffin nails."
WHO LOVES YA BABY! ALL THE ACTION FROM DAY 1 CHECK OUT THE FESTIVAL ONLINE: www.mirror.co.uk/cheltenhamfestival Youngster Katchit is Champion superstar
Alan is as hard as coffin nails and Mark seems to be finding a bit of form so it won't be easy."
Parrott is back on his perch
From their first appearance in the last century, cigarettes were called coffin nails, even though they seemed gentler than pipes and cigars.
The Cigarette Papers
"He is as hard as coffin nails, a superb little horse.
Katchit defies stats to lift hurdling crown in courageous fashion; CHELTENHAM 2008
You stroll outside with your coffin nails, loiter under a shelter and, within seconds, you're sharing jokes, tales and secrets with a complete stranger.
Friends ignited
And for children, the Baby Ghost menu offers Mummified Sausage or Witches Fingers served with Coffin Nails and Shrunken Heads at pounds 2.95.
Fright night's hellish eats; the heat is on
Dropped three stone in advance of the inevitable weight gain that will follow dropping the coffin nails. Need to be light enough to break out the skipping rope again."
Johnny Vegas fined for throwing cigarette down a drain then gets into a snazzy war of words over the [pounds sterling]150 ticket; The comedian hit back at his local council for the fine - and they responded in kind
Smokers are well aware cigarettes can kill - that's why they've been called "coffin nails" since the First World War.
Butt out, Cam; Hiding cigs and booze won't stop the addicts
That is why they were known, even back in the Fifties before they put the messages on the packets, as coffin nails.
Joan Burnie: Blame culture is so unhealthy
The gang - known as The Coffin Nails - has been stealing an average of EUR20,000 worth of cigarettes every week since 1998.
ARMED GARDAI AIM TO SMOKE OUT CIG GANG; Bid to catch K4m raiders
At best, it seems extremely insensitive - like recycling coffin nails.
Dear Michelle: Readers' letters