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Or like the woman who was watching a lush imbibing dry martinis at a Third Avenue bar in New York City. The drunk downed the contents of each cocktail glass at one gulp, daintily nibbled and swallowed the bowl, then finally turned the glass over and ate the base.

I can't get the meaning of the expression highlighted in bold.

I understand the words separately.

  • to swallow - to move food into your stomach by the muscles of your throat
  • a bowl - a round container for food.

I thought whether it could mean that he consumed the drink wholly. But I am doubting that martini is served in bowls.

Could you help me out?

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    Swallow = to move ANYTHING that will fit into your stomach using the muscles of your throat.
    – TimR
    Commented Nov 12, 2018 at 2:39

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He swallowed the upper part of the martini glass (the bowl), and then ate the lower part (the base).

He ate the upper part piece by piece: he nibbled it.

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The upper part, the bowl, contains the drink. The base is the foot that ensures that the glass stays upright on the table.

Some people like to impress others by eating the glass after drinking from it. This is a video from a Russian wedding: a man eats a glass at a wedding. As you can see, he nibbles it and eats it piece by piece.

In another video, a student eats a glass.

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  • Thank you for the answer. What's the upper part? is it somehow detached from the rest of the drink?
    – Andrew
    Commented Nov 11, 2018 at 19:55

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