Etymology

chase the dragon

Today it means: To inhale the vapor from heated morphine, heroin, oxycodone or opium that has been placed on a piece of foil. Full definition →

Cantonese 追龍 /追龙
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The story

  1. Cantonese · calque of追龍 /追龙
  2. English todaychase the dragon

Calque of Cantonese 追龍 /追龙 (zeoi¹ lung⁴), a slang phrase of Cantonese origin from Hong Kong. Chasing refers to the careful movement of the liquid in order to keep it from coalescing into a single, unmanageable mass.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.