Cold Turkey: A compendium of synonyms for opiate-withdrawal from around the world.

[Dickon]

I think it would be fun to constitute a list of all words and phrases to describe withdrawal, foreign expressions ideally provided with literal translation.

Let's make a start; f.y.i.: I live in England.

Withdrawal
Cluck
Cold Turkey (or simply Turkey)
Rattle

And someone undergoing one of the above is said to be :

Sick
Junk-sick
Climbing the walls
Kicking the habit

I am sure there are a lot of really good descriptive phrases out there. Please enlighten us!

Reputation Comments on this post:

Interesting. I hope the Thread will grow

[chillinwill]

Originally Posted by Dickon

And someone undergoing one of the above is said to be :

Sick
Junk-sick
Climbing the walls
Kicking the habit

I am sure there are a lot of really good descriptive phrases out there. Please enlighten us!

another one would be dope-sick

[Freak_]

german:

affe - monkey
affig sein - to be apish
einen affen haben - to have a monkey
einen affen schieben
krank sein - ill or sick
klappern - to chatter
zappeln
krachen
Tuk / Tukk / Tuc (pronounced like took in english)

The shake is also called shake here.
abkicken - kicking the habit

[mickey_bee]

Originally Posted by Dickon

And someone undergoing one of the above is said to be :

Sick
Junk-sick
Climbing the walls
Kicking the habit

I am sure there are a lot of really good descriptive phrases out there. Please enlighten us!

And just 'rattlin' and 'cluckin'

[dyingtomorrow]

Originally Posted by chillinwill

another one would be dope-sick

Dopesick is the main one 'round here.

And "Jimmy Legs" for the leg shit.

[UKBlaza]

Don't forget 'hanging out'!

'I'm hanging out man' or 'he's hanging out' are used in and around London anyway. Dunno if they originated here or whether they get used much elsewhere? Always sounded American to me?

peace and love

UKBlaza

UKBlaza added 2 Minutes and 16 Seconds later...

'He's doing the funky chicken' was getting used for a while too!

[Gangstatalkright]

Ill-ing out is one description around here

[Gappa]

Geeked out
tweaked
fried chicken

Gappa added 2 Minutes and 6 Seconds later...

hurtin 4 certain lol

Gappa added 0 Minutes and 56 Seconds later...

gonzoed

Gappa added 480 Minutes and 59 Seconds later...

Swim is from Washington DC they have some very strange almost coded words deep in the heart of the city in the "score zones"

[infekt]

A popular one I've heard is "white knuckling it", referring to detox without any meds

[Dickon]

In the uk "White knuckling it" is used differently in NA or AA meaning, even after a long period of abstinence, staying clean without adhering to any spiritual principals, i.e. essentially living like one used to but without the drugs or alcohol, being dishonest, manipulative etc. The theory being it is likely to be followed by a relapse or a return to the "programme". Hmmm......

[SmokeNmirrors]

In philly its usually just sick,dope sick least thats what swim says. swim also said people will call it the kick right when WD starts to subside.

[kaloochi]

'Roasting' is used in London. Or 'Bang in it' which translates as being right into something, in this case w/ds. 'It' being the w/ds. Or 'Bang in trouble' Or 'Bang in egg bacon and bubble' [Rhymes with trouble]. Or just plain 'in it'. 'Riding the bike' for when you're fidgeting in bed.

[Junkhead23]

Fiending for the gear

Also Jonesing for a fix (don't know why)

Rattling is probably the main one.

[Benga]

to my knowledge french isn't that imaginative

"manque" ("lack of", "shortage", "need" , but also "missing", "to miss", same word that is used when you "miss someone" ) is very common for withdrawal symptoms, as in "etat de manque" ( state of...) "etre en manque" (to be in....) , "le manque", symptomes/ syndrome de sevrage.
"sevrage" ( weaning, also the scientific / medical term) , "desintox'", "desintoxication", "decrocher" ( unhook) "arreter" ( stop, quit) "decamer" ( un-dope, old...) for kicking. "etre clean", "avoir decroché"
"cold turkey" is also used.

Reputation Comments on this post:

very interesting, the language is otherwise so descriptive and abstract

[johnnyyen]

Originally Posted by Junkhead23

Fiending for the gear

Also Jonesing for a fix (don't know why)

Rattling is probably the main one.

SWIM has come across the following terms in his wanderings...

rattling...'crawlin the floor'...'chewin' the curtains'/'carpet'...'shuck n jivin'..'coughing up fire','spinning'...'dribblin'.. roasting..'in bits'...'inside out',or 'upside down'...'nipping'....


SWIM thinks that 'jonesing' refers to the old time use of jones or mr jones as ones monkey or mythical companion in addiction ie 'my jones is hurtin right now',or 'mr jones is awake and needs to go get'...

[kailey_elise]

The most irritating one I've heard is 'on E', like, your car's fuel gauge is on E (empty).

This is usually for when one's feeling dopesick in the morning & just hasn't gotten one's first hit of the day yet.

~Kailey

[hookedonem]

how about clucking one's absolute fucking nut's off!!!

[sikk66]

One swim used to always hear was "kicking"
Sometimes when Swim was sick a friend would say "you look terrible, are you kicking?"

[missparkles]

The one Sparkles used the most was "hanging." If she was sick she'd be "hanging out for a hit." A mate of hers, when ever he was sick and someone asked what was wrong, he used to say "real timing."

Sparkles.

[sikk66]

"real timing" never heard that before. That's a good one!

[McSmokey]

funny, in my dogs country they have their own language yet they dont have a word for sick so they just call it sick, "qijed sick = he's sick" (dopesick)

[thebige]

Swim heard a strange one although this is usually used as a derogatory term for some one having a seizure........."Doing the Kiver"
Idea being that a kiver is slang for a small bait fish and if you took the fish out of water it would just flop and shake about on the ground.
So someone going through withdrawal would be lying in bed or on the floor shaking and flopping around or "doing the kiver"..................go figure?

[Benniboi]

yeah south london slang is usually 'bang in it' 'going ill' ' 'cluckin for a fix blud' same as dickon's really

[Piglet]

Originally Posted by missparkles

The one Sparkles used the most was "hanging." If she was sick she'd be "hanging out for a hit." A mate of hers, when ever he was sick and someone asked what was wrong, he used to say "real timing."

Sparkles.

'Hanging out' seems a common UK term for opiate withdrawal.

'Wide Awake' is a Manchester term I heard for downer withdrawal.

'Crashing' is stimulant withdrawal.

The funniest one I ever heard was 'without a carrier-wave' for hippies sans DMT who were missing talking to the 'Elf People'. Pretty pretentious but I know what they mean. That wierd middle-C sine-wave drone that DMT produces is commonly called a 'carrier-wave' but with the stuff costing over £150 per gram for the good stuff (and being as rare has hens teeth), just who can get SO into DMT that they miss it THAT MUCH? (Well, SWIM made 40g and caned the lot, so I guess SWIM knows).

[cra$h]

for the most part, even non opiate users call it dope sick, then there's feigning, jonesing, etc. Phrases like cold turkey normally involve someone trying to quit all the sudden. Wow, Philly ain't that creative...