Etymology

drink the Kool-Aid

Today it means: To come under the influence of a leader, organization, or movement to the point of believing uncritically in an espoused idea or ideology. Full definition →

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The story

Referring to the Peoples Temple cult movement, whose members committed mass murder–suicide in 1978 by drinking a powdered drink mix (popularly believed to be Kool-Aid, but in fact Flavor Aid) laced with cyanide poison.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.