Talk:tweaker

Singular and plural

A few problems with this entry:

(slang) A person addicted to methamphetamine.

"Methamphetamine" should be plural, referring to any member of the general group of illicit drugs. I think a good analogy would be saying that you liked only blue M&Ms...you still refer to M&Ms in the plural. You can still eat one blue M&M, but it wouldn't be that single one that you liked; rather you would prefer all blue M&Ms. Likewise, people can't be addicted to a single dose of a single type of methamphetamine...addiction (or drug abuse) implies more than one use.

--Connel MacKenzie T C 00:05, 13 April 2006 (UTC)

"Methamphetamine" should be singular, because it refers to a specific chemical substance. The term "methamphetamines" would refer to N-methylamphetamine and its analogues, such as 3-fluoromethamphetamine or 2-fluoromethamphetamine; none of which are however sold on the street. The term "amphetamines" refers to any derivative of alpha-methylphenylethylamine (short for amphetamine), of which methamphetamine is one example: so saying that someone uses "amphetamines" could refer to them using the plain amphetamine, methamphetamine, or any of their analogues.

It's about as incorrect as saying that someone who drinks coffee is using "caffeines". Coffee contains other (methyl)xanthines which act as stimulants, but it nevertheless sounds weird, because the main drug in coffee is caffeine. Likewise, an alcoholic is someone addicted to "alcohol" not "alcohols".

(HydroxyPCP (talk) 13:37, 11 October 2017 (UTC))

Etymology

I was told that this word comes from "two" + "week" (tweek): meaning that tweakers stay awake for 2 weeks non-stop. --NoToleranceForIntolerance (talk) 06:23, 25 August 2017 (UTC)

Sounds unlikely. Equinox ◑ 13:15, 25 August 2017 (UTC)

Earliest usages in print and media

Let's improve this entry by adding this term's earliest usages in print and media (in its sense referring to someone who is addicted to methamphetamine). 173.88.246.138 18:56, 7 May 2023 (UTC)