To slip someone a mickey means to doctor a drink and give it to an unwitting recipient. The phrase goes back to Mickey Finn of the Lone Star Saloon in Chicago, who in the late 19th century was notorious for drugging certain customers and relieving...
After the death of Aretha Franklin, her ex-husband described her as someone who didn’t take tea for the fever. If you don’t take tea for the fever, you refuse to put up with any nonsense. Among many other places, this expression appears in a story...
You know those dull sports clichés like “We came to play” and “He left it all on the field”? They’re called bromides. The hosts explain the connection between the tired platitude and the sedative called potassium bromide. The answer involves a book...
chemical cosh n. a drug or mix of drugs used to subdue a patient, prisoner, or other person. Editorial Note: From comparison to the stunning or dulling effects of a cosh, “a thick heavy stick or bar used as a weapon,” when used on the head. (source:...
