at a drunken angle

[jacdac]

Two grounded boats lying at drunken angle
Source: AP Archive

His head was still under the mower, which was, in turn, canted at a drunken angle against the cruiser.
Source: Misery by Stephen King

What is your interpretation of drunken angle? If you park your car at a drunken angle, do you park it at an odd angle that a only drunken person without cognitive faculty control would have done?

Thank you.

 

[Uncle Jack]

What is your interpretation of drunken angle? If you park your car at a drunken angle, do you park it at an odd angle that a only drunken person without cognitive faculty control would have done?

I think the meaning is more being at an odd angle in which a drunk person might lie down or lean against something (slumped), but you have the right idea.

 

[jacdac]

Thank you uncle jack. I might be groggy now. I do not understand why a drunken person would choose to lie down (say) in the space made by the odd angle parking.

 

[Uncle Jack]

"Drunken" refers to the angle. The thing lying or standing drunkenly isn't parallel or perpendicular to whatever you might expect it to be parallel or perpendicular to, just like drunken people don't stand up straight and, if they do like down (as they often end up doing), they don't take care to lie down in any particular orientation.

 

[kentix]

The angle isn't really drunken, it's just an angle, but the fact that there is an unusual angle is reminiscent of how a drunk person might carry themselves - unable to stand up straight, walk straight, lie down straight, etc. It's just a literary way of saying "not neatly lined up", i.e. haphazard.

Agreeing with Jack, of course.