Even if you haven’t seen The Curse of The Were-Rabbit. There’s a villain character who snarks that the paranoid vicar going on about a were-rabbit is because “he’s been to the communion wine again”. I’ve seen a few descriptions saying this implies he’s an alcoholic, and I can see that because “again” means there has been a wine situation at least once.
I’d say it’s more snark than implied alcoholism.
It certainly could be said in cases where the vicar is known/suspected to have a drinking problem, but it could just as easily be said, with no prior basis in fact, as a dig at someone, meant either nastily or humourously.
The fact that it’s a well-known phrase (including the “again” part) makes it all the more likely that it might be used even in cases where there’s no intended implication of a genuine drinking issue.
I don’t know the particulars of your reference. But the village priest being alcohol dependent was a common element in storytelling, yes.
Every Robin Hood variant that I know of does this, for example, with the Friar Tuck character.
oooo okay!
For a little more context, any excess wine in the chalice after communion can’t just be tipped away (symbolising, as it does, the blood of Christ). The standard thing is that the vicar will drink the remainder themselves before moving on.
It’s a common joke that vicars intentionally put far more wine than necessary into the chalice, because that means that there’s more for them to drink at the end.
BTW, I’m talking within the context of the Church of England here, which Rev Hedges is almost certainly from.
thank you! that makes a lot of sense
Yes, it implies the vicar has a drinking problem.
