An acute delirium, with all of its characteristic
symptoms,that is associated with excessive alcohol abuse. Some writers have used
the term (and its slang abbreviation, the d.t.'s) as though the syndrome were
caused by alcohol consumption, which is true but only in a misleading manner.
The proper usage is for a delirium whose onset follows, usually by a day or two,
the cessation of alcohol intake after many years of alcohol abuse.