Originally Posted by
Shellcrusher 
With that said, I believe defining the word functional is very subjective to each person and situation.
My opinion?
A "functional alcoholic" is a person where you keep wondering whether or not they could be an alcoholic, but you know for certain they can't have just one drink.
I believe that "functional alcoholics" are those who haven't progressed enough for the world to notice yet. Note I said the
world - I would call my A a "functional alcoholic" (go-to guy at work, always planning something giant for the weekends) but he certainly wasn't functional around me!