[Ads-l] Early cites for "edible(s)", n. (in the euphemistic/cannabinoid use)?

[Laurence Horn]

The OED entry still has just 

  An eatable substance, an article of food (chiefly in plural).

1661    R. Lovell  Panzoologicomineralogia sig. c4v   Birds, fishes, and other edibles.

1859    G. A. Sala Twice round Clock (1861) 357   The delightful hampers of edibles and drinkables.

1864    Daily Tel. 23 Dec.   What will be the effect of the introduction of this new edible?

[where one assumes the Daily Telegraph didn’t have cannabis-infused substances in mind]

And the AHD (which wouldn’t have dates anyway) still has the general meaning:

Something fit to be eaten; food: *edibles such as vegetables and meat.*


Unsurprisingly, urbandictionary has a relevant lemma in an entry from 2009, thanks to a contributor named Each Peach Pear Plum ('Short for marijuana edible: Any edible product that contains THC’), but I’m sure someone on the list can best that (with better authentication).  Merriam-Webster online has a similar gloss ('any of various food items containing THC') and an undated cite, recorded or constructed ('Like alcohol, edibles can only be sold legally at licensed "dispensaries" to those 21 or older'). I can’t remember if we considered “edible" in Euphemism of the Year votes.

LH


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