benzedrine

English

Etymology

From the trade name for the first pharmaceutical (racemic) amphetamine (1932), derived from benzyl-methyl carbinamine.

Noun

benzedrine (uncountable)

1. The racemic mixture of amphetamine (dl-amphetamine).
   • 1956, Allen Ginsberg, “Howl”, in Howl and Other Poems (Pocket Poets Series), City Lights Books, →OCLC, page 10:

     […] who chained themselves to subways for the endless ride from Battery to holy Bronx on benzedrine until the noise of wheels and children brought them down […]

   • 1963, Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar, Faber and Faber, page 118:

     Then I would be way ahead when college started at the end of September, and able to enjoy my last year instead of swotting away with no make-up and stringy hair, on a diet of coffee and benzedrine, the way most of the seniors taking honours did, until they finished their thesis.

Derived terms

• benny

Further reading

• amphetamine on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Italian

Noun

benzedrine f

1. plural of benzedrina