α. (chiefly in sense 1) 1900s– angel's dust, 1900s– angels' dust.
β. 1900s– angel dust.
angel dustn.
/ˈeɪn(d)ʒ(ə)l dʌst/, U.S. /ˈeɪndʒ(ə)l ˌdəst/ slang.
1. The hallucinogenic drug phencyclidine; esp. (in earliest use) this sprayed on or mixed with tobacco, parsley, etc., for smoking. Originally U.S.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > an intoxicating drug > [noun] > hallucinogenic drug > other hallucinogenic drugs
datura1820
teonanacatl1875
mescal1895
mescaline1896
Serax1957
MDA1959
ebene1967
muscimol1967
STP1967
angel dust1969
rocket fuel1976
love boat1982
1969 Rolling Stone 28 June 4/1 Parsley can give a more powerful high on marijuana. The garden herb..is the basic ingredient in a new psychedelic substance called ‘Angels' Dust’.
1973 Daily Tel. 20 Dec. 3 A new drug called ‘angel dust’..is to be brought to the attention of the authorities.
1978 J. Wambaugh Black Marble ix. 189 My nephew was arrested because he was holding this angel dust for somebody else.
2002 S. Burke Deadwater viii. 74 Do you know..how many different drugs he had in him? Five at least, including shiploads of angel dust.
2. The drug clenbuterol, esp. as used illegally as a growth promoter in livestock. Chiefly British and Irish English.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > healing > medicines or physic > drugs having specific effect > [noun] > sympathomimetic > specific
pseudoephedrine1889
phenylpropanolamine1947
hydroxyamphetamine1948
isoprenaline1951
isoproterenol1957
orciprenaline1963
salbutamol1969
ritodrine1971
angel dust1990
1990 Daily Tel. 15 Dec. 8/7 The Provisional IRA is profiteering from the sale of ‘angel dust’, an illegal substance used to promote growth in cattle.
1997 Washington Post (Nexis) 29 Jan. c9 In Europe, where it [sc. clenbuterol] is known as ‘angel dust’, farmers have used it to produce less fatty veal and beef.
2016 Irish Independent (Nexis) 14 June 1 Farm bodies have hit out at the alleged use of illegal growth promoter ‘angel dust’ after tests detected clenbuterol in an animal on a farm in the border region.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2019; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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n.1969