Chinaman on one's back

noun

A drug addiction.

Similar
monkey on one's back
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Meanings

nounChinaman on one's back (plural Chinamen on their backs)

plural Chinamen on their backs

  1. offensiveslangA drug addiction.

    The chances are that he will stay with his first love, the needle, and that the habit will lose the glorious drive and tingle that it had at first, and become the chinaman on his back who drives him like a slave to get more money to buy more junk.

    2003, David W. Maurer, Whiz Mob: A Correlation of the Technical Argot of Pickpockets with Their Behavior Pattern, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, →ISBN, page 163
  2. offensiveslangWithdrawal symptoms.

    Synonyms: monkey on one's back

Synonyms & antonyms

nounWithdrawal symptoms.

Similar
monkey on one's back
Also see
monkey on one's back

Origin

The use of "Chinaman" could possibly refer to the use of opium becoming a historical stereotype of Chinese people.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Chinaman on one's back. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Chinaman%20on%20one's%20back

MLA

“Chinaman on one's back.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Chinaman%20on%20one's%20back. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Chinaman on one's back,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Chinaman%20on%20one's%20back.

Source: Chinaman on one's back on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.