There’s something about a beverage that makes it easier to talk.
Maybe it’s just a British thing.
For almost every single situation where you might sit down and have a good natter, the Brits have a drink for it.
The pub is a mainstay of society. Walk into any home on that bickering brace of islands, and the first thing you’ll be offered is a drink — most likely, a cup of tea.
Beverages lubricate even the most stubborn conversations. But I’ve noticed that drinking something while talking has become a nervous tick. There’s rarely an occasion these days where you’ll catch me beverageless in conversation.
Maybe that’s why my North American friends keep asking me to say, “bottle of water.”