Bessie Braddock: Winston, you are drunk, and what's more you are disgustingly drunk.
Churchill: Bessie, my dear, you are ugly, and, what's more, you are disgustingly ugly. But tomorrow I shall be sober and you will still be disgustingly ugly." - Meaning and context.">
Churchill's bodyguard Ronald Golding claims that he witnessed Churchill say this in 1946 to Labour MP Bessie Braddock. Golding's claim, made to Churchill expert Richard Langworth, was reported in Langworth's collection Churchill by himself. Langworth adds that Churchill's daughter Lady Soames doubted the story.
• The basic idea of this joke was published as early as 1882, although it was used to ridicule the critic's foolishness rather than ugliness: " ... are you Mr. —-, the greatest fool in the House of Commons?" "You are drunk," exclaimed the M.P. "Even if I am," replied the man, "I have the advantage over you – I shall be sober to-morrow, whereas you will remain the fool you are to-day." (1882 August 05, The Daily Republican-Sentinel, His Advantage, p. 5, col. 2, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, cited by Quote Investigator).
• Reported as false by George Thayer, The Washington Post (April 27, 1971), p. B6.
• Often given in a shorter form, e.g., " Winston, you are drunk." "Indeed, Madam, and you are ugly—but tomorrow I'll be sober."
• Churchill's interlocutor may be given as Lady Astor rather than Braddock.
“

Bessie Braddock: Winston, you are drunk, and what's more you are disgustingly drunk.
Churchill: Bessie, my dear, you are ugly, and, what's more, you are disgustingly ugly. But tomorrow I shall be sober and you will still be disgustingly ugly.

— Winston Churchill

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "Bessie Braddock: Winston, you are drunk, and what's more you are disgustingly drunk.
Churchill: Bessie, my dear, you are ugly, and, what's more, you are disgustingly ugly. But tomorrow I shall be sober and you will still be disgustingly ugly." in the context of "Churchill's bodyguard Ronald Golding claims that he witnessed Churchill say this in 1946 to Labour MP Bessie Braddock. Golding's claim, made to Churchill expert Richard Langworth, was reported in Langworth's collection Churchill by himself. Langworth adds that Churchill's daughter Lady Soames doubted the story.
• The basic idea of this joke was published as early as 1882, although it was used to ridicule the critic's foolishness rather than ugliness: " ... are you Mr. —-, the greatest fool in the House of Commons?" "You are drunk," exclaimed the M.P. "Even if I am," replied the man, "I have the advantage over you – I shall be sober to-morrow, whereas you will remain the fool you are to-day." (1882 August 05, The Daily Republican-Sentinel, His Advantage, p. 5, col. 2, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, cited by Quote Investigator).
• Reported as false by George Thayer, The Washington Post (April 27, 1971), p. B6.
• Often given in a shorter form, e.g., " Winston, you are drunk." "Indeed, Madam, and you are ugly—but tomorrow I'll be sober."
• Churchill's interlocutor may be given as Lady Astor rather than Braddock." to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "Winston Churchill" (Disputed) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed February 05, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app

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#Winston Churchill#disgustingly#ugly#bessie#whats#drunkchurchill#braddock#tomorrow#winston#drunk#shall#sober
Winston Churchill

About Winston Churchill

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill KG OM CH TD FRS PC (November 30, 1874 – January 24, 1965) was a British statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945, during the Second World War, and again from 1951 to 1955. Churchill was a Sandhurst-educated soldier, a Nobel Prize-winning writer and historian, a prolific painter, and one of the longest-serving politicians in British history. Apart from two years between 1922 and 1924, he was a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1900 to 1964 and represented a total of five constituencies. Ideologically an economic liberal and imperialist, he was for most of his career a member of the Conservative Party, which he led from 1940 to 1955, though he was a member of the Liberal Party from 1904 to 1924.