speedballn.

1909 R. E. Beach Silver Horde v. 58 You must have fed him a speed-ball, for I never saw a guy gear up so fast... He's developed a remarkable burst of speed.

1935 N. Ersine Underworld & Prison Slang 69 Speedball, a mixture of coke and morph which is much in demand among drug addicts.

1953 W. S. Burroughs Junkie xiv. 139 A shot of morphine would be nice later when I was ready to sleep, or, better, a speedball, half cocaine, half morphine.

1964 Guardian 18 Apr. 6/3 To give a nobbler eighteen months for slipping a speedball in a greyhound's breakfast is like tossing up a ball and then punishing it for having the effrontery to bounce.

1974 M. C. Gerald Pharmacol. xv. 291 The ‘speedball’, a mixture of cocaine and heroin, is frequently employed to modulate the extreme feelings of excitement.

1926 Amer. Speech 1 653 Speed-balls, wine.

1931 ‘D. Stiff’ Milk & Honey Route 215 Speed balls, sherry wine. These days it may be any wine, even dago red.

1931 G. Irwin Amer. Tramp & Underworld Slang 178 Speedball, a glass of wine, more especially when ‘doped’ or made stronger by the addition of some alcohol, ether or strong spirits.

1923 Amer. Boy Jan. 24 (heading) Speedball—a new boys' game.

1923 Amer. Boy Jan. 25/1 Rychener..called out to Coach Mitchell, ‘This is certainly a speedy game. Let's call it speedball.’

1928 Sportswoman Oct. 22/2 Speedball furnishes exercise for the whole body—legs, trunk, arms.

1933 Jrnl. Health & Physical Educ. Oct. 38/1 Speedball has gained popularity until it is now used by high schools, private schools, teachers' colleges, and universities from coast to coast.

1946 E. D. Mitchell in Fox & Davies Official Soccer-Speedball Guide It is fitting that this particular year should be a reminder to me to see what has been happening to Speedball... It was twenty-five years ago in the Fall of 1921, at the University of Michigan, that it was first played.

1961 J. S. Salak Dict. Amer. Sports 413 The conversion of a ground ball to an aerial ball is the essential difference between speedball and soccer.

1976 Webster's Sports Dict. 410/1 Speedball, a game played between 2 teams of 11 players on a football field with the object of kicking a ball between the uprights of the goal or passing the ball over the end line to score and preventing the opposing team from scoring.

1955 F. Mills Learn Boxing with Me v. 72 The platform pear ball is not an easy ball to punch... The ball to use is the small-type speedball, weighing about nine to ten ounces. The heavier kinds are too slow to be beneficial.

1975 Oliver & Riley Boxing ix. 46 Gyms vary in..the amount of equipment..available. Essentially what is needed is a ring, punch-balls, speed-balls, heavy bags and punching-pads.