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I'm reading an article about the history of coffee. It mentions about a song which sings:

“O drink that I adore,

You rule the universe!

You wean the faithful from the vine.

You’re more delectable than wine.”

What does "the faithful" refer to in this context? Does "the vine" refer to the grapevine? If so, what does "wean the faithful from the vine" mean?

1 Answer 1

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This is literary interpretation, so this is strictly my opinion: "weaning from the vine" does, as you guessed, refer metaphorically to wine. It means that coffee is so delectable that it could lead even an avid devotee of wine to give it up on favor of coffee.

This uses "wean" in the commonly understood sense of gradually getting someone used to doing without something (especially mother's milk) that they were previously accustomed to having.

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