Yet one more idea, cited by etymologist Anatoly Liberman, implies which the term "cocktail" was applied to a vulgar, ill-bred individual lifted above his station, assuming the place of a gentleman but deficient in gentlemanly breeding. This phrase was then extended to mixed drinks, which had been witnessed as "diluted" https://simondd.theideasblog.com/28530774/part-time-waitress-secrets