The human race has not devised any way of dissolving barriers, getting to know the other chap fast, breaking the ice, that is one-tenth as handy and efficient as letting you and the other chap, or chaps, cease to be totally sober at about the same rate in agreeable surroundings.
Everyday Drinking: The Distilled Kingsley Amis (ed. Bloomsbury Publishing USA, 2010) - ISBN: 9781608193165