Interview on KUOW’s “The Record” about the origins of “dope” and “doping.” (Sept. 3, 2013)
We’ve seen lots of sports scandals in the news over the years that have to do with performance-enhancing drugs, commonly referred to as doping. Dope, from the Dutch word doop, is actually a gravy or a sauce, so how did we go from gravy to drugs? Lexicographer Ben Zimmer gives KUOW’s Ross Reynolds the straight dope on dope.
(Show page, related Wall St. Journal column, Word Routes column)