Comments on: Intoxication Lexicography

Question: Intoxication Lexicography

Forrest Greene — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 16:49:44 -0800

What adjective is to "wanting to get intoxicated" as "horny" is to "wanting sex?"

After many moons of (purely scholarly) field research, I've never come across a one-word adjectival slang description for the state of wanting to get high. There's (wanting to get...) ...high, ...loaded, ...drunk, ...wasted, ...buzzed, ...baked, ...stewed, ...toasted, ...ripped, ...lushed, on & on & on. There's also (wanting to get...) ...laid, & other terms, but many people in that condition would probably just simply describe themselves as "horny."

For a topic as filled with slang as drug & alcohol use, it seems odd there's no simple adjective to describe having the urge to indulge. The nearest I can think of is "jonesing," but that seems both a little specific (to opiate addiction) & a little widespread (like "I'm jonesin' for a Big Mac.")

Anyone?

By: Fiasco da Gama

Fiasco da Gama — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 16:51:58 -0800

Thirsty.

By: jamesonandwater

jamesonandwater — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 16:53:52 -0800

In Dublin, "I'm gaspin'".

By: OneOliveShort

OneOliveShort — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 16:56:38 -0800

One of my tobacco-enhanced cow-orkers uses the term "fiending" when she needs a smoke.

By: netbros

netbros — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 16:57:20 -0800

jonesing

By: Ambrosia Voyeur

Ambrosia Voyeur — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 17:00:12 -0800

Bored.

By: lee

lee — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 17:08:27 -0800

dry

5: marked by the absence of alcoholic beverages

By: bondcliff

bondcliff — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 17:26:14 -0800

I came here to say jonesing.

By: tim_in_oz

tim_in_oz — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 17:27:25 -0800

"Hanging". As in 'I'm really hanging for a beer'. In a way, it's more of a loan word from the intravenous drug culture, but it wouldn't be too amiss in respect of alcohol. Or alternatively, 'gagging'. Or 'parched'.

By: grouse

grouse — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 17:28:26 -0800

No need to go to Urban Dictionary for a definition of jonesing. It's in the OED:

U.S. slang

Also with lower-case initial.

1. intr. To experience the symptoms of withdrawal from heroin; (later also) to feel a physical craving for any addictive substance. Also with down. Usu. in pres. pple.<><><><>1971<><> <><>Kennebec (Maine) Jrnl.<><> 28 Oct. 33/5 <>How many stayed off drugs after 'Jonesing down' at an Army amnesty center?<><> <><>1986<> <>Washington Post<> 14 May (Health section) 14/3 <>When the cocaine supply ran out, he and people with him began 'Jonesing'.<><> <><>1994<> <><>J. FAVREAU<><> <>Swingers<> (film script, 3rd draft) 47 <>Gimme my reds [i.e. Marlboro cigarettes]. I've been jonesing for an hour.<><> <><>2004<> <><>L. MISCIONE<><> <>Twice<> 59 <>'Can you help an old man out?' asked Charlie, looking like he was jonesing a bit, his foot tapping, his mouth moving as if he were chewing an invisible piece of gum.<><>

2. intr. In extended use. To feel an intense craving or desire for something. Freq. with for. Usu. in pres. pple.<>

<>1989<> <><>P. MUNRO<><> <>U.C.L.A. Slang<> 53 <>She's jonesing for those diamond earrings.<><> <><>1994<> <>Hypno<> 3 <>III.<> 66/3 <>We're not just mentally prepared, we're totally jonesing to see the murders acted out!<><> <><>2002<> <>Elle<> Mar. 256/2 <>If you're still jonesing for more adrenaline, you can brave the white-water rapids or rappel every mountain in sight.

By: grouse

grouse — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 17:28:55 -0800

I shouldn't have relied on live preview.

By: Mr. Gunn

Mr. Gunn — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 17:42:36 -0800

Proper contextual application of "thirsty" is how I usually express the sentiment, which I do frequently.

By: ouchitburns

ouchitburns — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 17:50:02 -0800

I second (or third) "jonesing."

By: billtron

billtron — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 17:50:43 -0800

I think "slakish" could work.

By: TheSecretDecoderRing

TheSecretDecoderRing — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 18:10:30 -0800

I could only think of thirsty, but I'm not a drinker and thus have never used the word to describe myself in that context. Parched works better, and is more specific to booze.

I've only associated "jonesing" with food, and that's just what I see on TV, so it's not necessarily a regional limitation. I guess it could be applied to drugs and alcohol, but only in a generic sense. "Dry" seems a bit old-fashioned.

By: notsnot

notsnot — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 18:12:43 -0800

Definitely "dry".

from the song Moonshiner (trad.):
"I'll eat when I'm hungry, drink when I'm dry."

By: smackfu

smackfu — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 18:26:35 -0800

If you need to say "I'm jonesing for a drink", it's no better than "I need a drink".

You don't have to say "I'm horny for sex." The "sex" is in the adjective already, and I don't think there's a corresponding one for alcohol.

By: kaseijin

kaseijin — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 18:42:54 -0800

Another for "dry".

By: cranberrymonger

cranberrymonger — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 19:00:42 -0800

I think 'craving' carries with it certain drug connotations... but maybe it's also too widespread.

By: nihraguk

nihraguk — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 19:05:55 -0800

A forlorn look and the words, "Aw, man."

By: DecemberBoy

DecemberBoy — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 19:12:42 -0800

I've always understood "jonesing" to specifically mean a physical withdrawl craving for heroin/opiates, or occasionally other addictive substances. It would be incorrect to use it to refer to, say, wanting to smoke a joint. It's also kind of archaic. "Fiending" or "the fiends" is one we used to say around here (Texas), but I haven't heard it in a while. It also has an addictive-specific connotation (I'm pretty sure it came from "crack fiend"), but it seems less incorrect than "jonesing" if you were to say e.g. "I'm fiending for a bonghit".

By: thinkingwoman

thinkingwoman — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 19:16:32 -0800

nthing "jonesing" or "fiending".

if this happens often, you might consider "addicted."

By: DecemberBoy

DecemberBoy — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 19:21:24 -0800

Now that I think of it, my old band even had a song called "The Fiends" about the unpredictability of scoring drugs, i.e. one day you'd be scraping bong resin and the next you score 5 hits of home-delivered X. The guy that wrote it was a heroin addict, though.

By: Grlnxtdr

Grlnxtdr — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 19:48:38 -0800

Throws in yet another for 'dry'.

By: bonobothegreat

bonobothegreat — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 19:51:51 -0800

I've said I was really "pining" for a drink. I must have heard it somewhere.

By: Ookseer

Ookseer — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 19:52:01 -0800

Vote for "Thirsty". There are very few times in my world where that could be confused with "Dehydrated".

I always associated "Jonesing" with more restricted drugs and addiction. Though this was probably gleaned from old Quincy and Dragnet episodes where they attempt to be "hip" about drug culture.

By: mollweide

mollweide — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 20:14:26 -0800

Dry. Decidedly dry, as in how I prefer my Martinis.

By: bonobothegreat

bonobothegreat — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 20:28:56 -0800

Dipsomaniacal

By: schyler523

schyler523 — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 20:41:53 -0800

parched...

By: bink

bink — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 20:57:05 -0800

Powerful dry. (said with a southern accent)

By: turgid dahlia

turgid dahlia — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 21:16:18 -0800

In Australia, you may here people say they are "fangin'" ("fanging").

"I'm fangin' for a brew!"

By: turgid dahlia

turgid dahlia — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 21:16:31 -0800

*sigh* "Hear".

By: salvia

salvia — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 21:30:08 -0800

I agree with smackfu: jonesing doesn't work because you have to specify what you're jonesing for.

"I'm ready to tie one on."

By: piedmont

piedmont — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 21:40:03 -0800

I have heard (and said) Jonesing and Fiending more than anything else. Fiending usually reserved for a cigarette, but have heard addicts of harder drugs refer to their cravings as fiending, when I actually knew people addicted to harder drugs.

By: Netzapper

Netzapper — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 21:41:27 -0800

"thirsty". But, contextually modified with either an indirect reference to or historical record of hard drink.

By: abc123xyzinfinity

abc123xyzinfinity — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 22:25:18 -0800

Fired up. Ready to go.

By: mezamashii

mezamashii — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 22:50:36 -0800

thirsty. especially on Thursday. Otherwise, it's parched.

By: aristan

aristan — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 23:30:58 -0800

Going with "Dry" here.

Dry means sober or lacking alcohol. A person without alcohol is dry, a county without alcohol is dry, etc. The opposite of dry is, of course, wet.

You can't tell me you haven't every watched a Looney Tune cartoon where the characters get drunk and then proceed to sing "Nobody knows how dry I am". (The song is called "The Near Future" and it was written by Irving Berlin.)

In fact, that song in itself is a age-old cue (especially in animation) that drinking is going to happen or has happened. It's the national anthem of drunkards.

Dry County (wikipedia)
B-52s' Dry County (youtube) Because any mention of the B-52's in a contextual fashion automatically wins arguments.
The Near Future (wikipedia, includes lyrics)

By: fonetik

fonetik — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 23:44:51 -0800

In Australia you can say you're farting dust.

By: Cantdosleepy

Cantdosleepy — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 01:16:32 -0800

I'm with smackfu here - all of the words that have been suggested here require context and/or other modifiers to make them unambiguously about booze. "I'm horny" requires no other context. It doesn't seem like there is an equivalent word.

By: the latin mouse

the latin mouse — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 03:37:32 -0800

The UK/Ireland use of gasping probably comes closest.

By: einekleine

einekleine — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 03:48:52 -0800

Yet gasping is often used for cigarettes too - 'I'm gaspin' for a fag'.

By: ArkhanJG

ArkhanJG — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 05:20:53 -0800

"I'm gasping!" is the direct equivalent in my neck of the woods in the UK. It is possible to modify it "gasping for a ciggie/cup of tea/chips", but unmodified it almost always refers to an alcoholic beverage.

"Gagging" can refer to sex or alcohol or both, though "gagging for it" is universally for sex.

"I'm parched" and "I'm thirsty" can refer to alcohol in context, but usually refer to a desire for a cup of tea.

By: Chunder

Chunder — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 05:46:35 -0800

Billtron said "slakish" above, but I reckon that "unslaked" is far more accurate and appropriate.

There is a common phrase "to slake your thirst" by having a big (usually cold) drink, and therefore prior to a desperately-needed drink your thirst would be "unslaked"... and everyone will know what you mean. QED.

By: tiny crocodile

tiny crocodile — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 08:13:00 -0800

More Dublin-ese: "I have a goo"/ "I have the goo". A quick google reveals a few online examples, though not many. Although you can say "I have a goo for a cigarette", plain old "I have the goo" means "Let's find alcohol". You can also get more specific and say "I have a bit of a goo for beer on me tonight" or "I have a goo for wine this evening". Maybe it's a corruption of "goût". Paging languagehat!

Oddly, though, when you have a goo at something, it means "I had a good look": e.g. "the boys all wanted to have a goo at us in our bikinis". It carries the suggestion that you were staring or peering, perhaps somewhat rudely.

By: Forrest Greene

Forrest Greene — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 23:16:43 -0800

Thanks for all the suggestions. "Jonesin' " is clearly a popular favorite, despite being a pres. pple., not an adj., a state which plagues several of the other contributions.

"Slakish," "dry," "parched," just plain "thirsty," or maybe "powerful thirsty" are good for beverages. "Unslaked" would be more correct, but slakish sounds more slangish. "Fiending" is another pres. pple. that I've heard before, especially in connection to tobacco.

But for the condition of "wanting to indulge in illegal / recreational drugs," an area of endeavor otherwise filled with slang, there really does seem to be no simple slang adjective. Just quickly thinking about it, there doesn't seem to be an slang adjective for the condition of wanting to gamble, either.

How odd.

By: billtron

billtron — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 08:47:37 -0800

@Chunder:

slakish:slake::peckish:peck

By: Pallas Athena

Pallas Athena — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 05:11:49 -0800

Dry.

If all be true that I do think,
There are five reasons we should drink:
Good wine, a friend, or being dry,
Or lest we should be by and by,
Or any other reason why.