sober as a judge

Idioms  

1. Not at all intoxicated, quite clear-headed, as in Even after three drinks he was sober as a judge. Why judges should be equated with sobriety is not known, but the simile was first recorded in 1694.

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Example Sentences

The same can be said about the ending of "Brockmire," which bunted America's favorite baseball announcer into a future where the world is burning to a crisp, baseball is dying – and he's sober as a judge and raising a college-aged daughter.

From Salon

Easy to chalk it up as the death of a loon, of an extreme personality, but with Salazar, that argument is impossible to make because he was as sober as a judge.

From Los Angeles Times

So much for thinking we need someone as sober as a judge.

From Salon

Phrases like “stone-cold sober” and “sober as a judge” hammer home the stern, preachy reputation of sobriety.

From The Guardian

And along those lines, though sober as a judge, I remember sitting in a folding chair next to the teaching station, asking Mattingly what he usually shot on the store's simulator.

From Golf Digest