Friday, September 25, 2009

Vocabulary Lesson: Cheddar

More than a smooth, sharp dairy product, "cheese" for a variety of other terms.

CHEESE (CHEEZ)

1. A synonym for cash, money, or wealth, with roots in Harlem, and made popular through hip hop music. Example: "I check cheddar like a food inspector" ("Public Service Announcement" Jay-Z, The Black Album, 2003.)

Note: Cheddar may also be a reference to marijuana:
"Slang term for Marijuana near the Pennsylvania and Ohio border." (Source)

2. Street slang for the mixture of heroin and cold medicine prevalent. The drug is attributed for "
among adolescents in Plano, Texas, between 2005 and 2007." Cold medicines, such as Tylenol PM and Benadryl, are used for the drugs' acetaminophen and diphenhydramine contents. The drug is snorted.

Cheese is sometimes called "starter heroin" for both its content and prevalence among young people. The phrase is attributed to Dallas police and school officials, who discovered the drug in Dallas middle and high schools in 2006.


Resources:
Urban Dictionary definition(s) for Cheese
Urban Dictionary definition(s) for Cheddar
Cheese, Wikipedia

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