Why do we clink glasses and say cheers?

Cheers descends from the Old French chiere, meaning face, which entered Middle English as a word for one's expression or mood and then narrowed toward good mood specifically, giving cheerful and cheery. As a drinking toast it is documented from the early twentieth century in Britain, from where it spread, and British usage has since extended it to mean thank you and goodbye, which is how it appears in most British conversation today. Other languages toast with words for health, as in salud, santé, and the German prost from a Latin word meaning may it be good.

The clinking story that circulates most widely, that glasses were knocked together so wine would slosh between them and prove neither was poisoned, has no documentary evidence and does not survive scrutiny, since the amount of liquid transferred would be trivial and a poisoner could simply decline to drink. Historians more plausibly trace clinking to the communal drinking of earlier eras, when a single vessel passed among the group, and the custom of touching individual cups preserved a gesture of sharing after everyone had their own. Sound may also matter: the ring of glass engages the one sense that drinking otherwise leaves out.

Toasting customs vary enough to trip travelers. In much of Europe, eye contact during the clink is expected and skipping it is considered rude or, in folk belief, unlucky. In Hungary, clinking beer glasses was avoided for generations because of an association with Austrian celebrations after the 1848 revolution. In several East Asian contexts, the height at which you hold your glass relative to a senior person's signals respect. And in many countries the toast is offered before the first sip, so drinking before it is the faux pas rather than the toast itself.