the staggers

the staggers

1. informal A term for any disease in animals, especially horses or cattle, typified by a lack of coordination and stability while standing or walking. It looked like the poor horse might've been coming down with the staggers. It's probably a magnesium deficiency that's causing the staggers in your livestock.
2. slang Any state or instance of staggering or unsteadiness on one's feet. I got a blow to the head during the accident, and it gave me the staggers for the rest of the day. He always gets the staggers when he's had one too many drinks. At the top of the mountain I could see that Janet was getting the staggers from the altitude, so I told her to sit down and have a rest.
3. slang Any of the various neurological problems caused by decompression sickness (a condition known colloquially as "the bends"). When the diver first showed signs of the staggers, we thought it was just an inner ear infection, but it turns out he had the bends and died a few days later.
See also: stagger
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

staggers

1. n. liquor. She poured herself a huge glass of staggers and mumbled something about cough medicine.
2. and the staggers n. drunkenness; the delirium tremens. (Always with the in this sense.) He seems to have a little touch of the staggers.
See also: stagger

the staggers

verb
See staggers
See also: stagger
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions
See also:
  • staggers
  • two left feet
  • how-d'ye-do
  • flow
  • nummers
  • party and play
  • sweat
  • sweats
  • yes, sirree
  • nummy
References in periodicals archive
"The staggers threat is very real and arguably greater than ever this spring."
Staggers will be greater threat this spring: claim; DISEASE
At the time, the Staggers Act had just been signed into law.
Since that time, the railroad industry has had a generation to respond to regulatory incentives under the Staggers Act.
32) that documents key aspects of the dramatic turnaround and stabilization that has occurred since the enactment of the Staggers Act.
Our guardedly optimistic forecast for the railroads under the provisions of the Staggers Act turned out to be quite an understatement.
This is not to say that there have not been contentious rate cases, controversial merger approvals, and attempts at legislating rail "reform." In fact, political pressure for new regulation currently seems at the greatest level since the Staggers Act was passed.
With the passage of the Staggers Act of 1980, there was widespread hope that removing the shackles of regulation would pull the industry back from the precipice.
The Staggers Act did allow regulatory relief to protect captive shippers, and thus was not total deregulation.
Productivity growth in railroads since the Staggers Act has greatly outpaced the performance of the U.S.
Regulatory backstop | The unique feature of the Staggers Act is its liberalization of the market while retaining a "regulatory backstop" to protect captive customers.
We are optimistic that the market flexibility established by the Staggers Act will allow the railroad industry to adapt to surprises, whether they are pleasant or unpleasant.
railroad industry during the 30 years since the Staggers Act was signed is a story of enormous success.
The Staggers deregulation has paid off with big benefits over a long period of time and, thus far, serious mischief has been avoided.
The Staggers Act, 30 years later: the authors of a 1981 article on railroad deregulation review their observations
In response, Congress passed the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976 and the Staggers Rail Act of 1980.
Freight Railroads: Highlights of GAO Report on Freight Rail Industry Performance, Competition, and Capacity