[Ads-l] "Dime Bag" Query

[Jonathan Lighter]

Though HDAS includes cites from that 1909 source, this quote isn't in HDAS
because it probably really means ten cents.

Ten cents in 1909 is said to be the equivalent in today's purchasing power
to about $3.50. Ten dollars would equal ten times that.

So presumably, the lady stole, roughly, a nickel bag of morph.

HDAS has "dime," 'ten dollars,' from no earlier than 1958.

JL




On Tue, Jan 6, 2026 at 7:59 AM Jesse Sheidlower <jester at panix.com> wrote:

> I also feel the need to mention that Green's Dictionary of Slang, while
> not having examples of _dime bag_ or _nickel bag_ as early as OED, does
> have much earlier citations for _dime_ '$10 worth of an illicit drug'.
> OED's earliest for this, at sense 4.b., is the 1965 example at _dime bag_;
> Green has 1909 and 1961:
>
> 1909 C.B. Chrysler _White Slavery_ 45: ‘Say, Bell, you know that little
> red-headed quim that boards over at Scar Face Annie’s. She took a dime’s
> worth last night.’ [...] When they speak of ‘a dime’s worth’ they mean
> morphine.
>
> 1961 Rigney & Smith _Real Bohemia_ xx: The purchases are made in cash: an
> ace ($1) [...] nickel ($5), dime.
>
> The 1961 example antedates sense 2.c. of _nickel_ as well.
>
> I have sent these in to OED.
>
> Jesse Sheidlower
>
> On Tue, Jan 06, 2026 at 06:43:38AM -0500, ADSGarson O'Toole wrote:
> > The OED has a March 7, 1965 citation for dime bag (drug)
> > The OED has a 1963 citation for nickel bag (drug)
> >
> > OED dime bag noun
> > [Begin OED excerpt]
> > Originally and chiefly North American.
> > a. A bag containing ten cents' worth of something; b. slang a packet
> > or measure of a small amount (originally ten dollars' worth) of an
> > illicit drug; cf. nickel bag n.
> > 1915 There will be included absolutely free a dime bag of
> > fresh-roasted peanuts! Butte (Montana) Miner 6 April 5/1
> > (advertisement)
> > 1946 The green and yellow paper grass again is being sold by the dime
> bag.
> > Syracuse (New York) Herald Amer. 24 March 36/4
> > 1965 Inside a leg at the other end of the bed was Wally's stash: four
> > nickel bags and two dime bags—$40 worth of heroin altogether.
> > Chicago Tribune 7 March (Magazine) 29/1
> > [End OED excerpt]
> >
> > OED nickel bag noun
> > [Begin OED excerpt]
> > U.S. slang.
> > A bag containing, or a measure of, five dollars' worth of a drug.
> > 1963 Nickel bag [see nickel n. A.2c].
> > [End OED excerpt]
> >
> > OED nickel noun
> > [Begin OED excerpt]
> > 2.c. U.S. slang. Five dollars' worth of a drug (originally marijuana).
> > Recorded earliest in nickel bag n.
> > 1963 These criminal activities are directed toward the acquisition of
> > larger sums of money when related to drug use. Even a ‘nickel bag’ of
> > marihuana costs $5.
> > American Sociological Review vol. 28 426/2
> > [End OED excerpt]
> >
> > Garson
> >
> > On Tue, Jan 6, 2026 at 6:17 AM Shapiro, Fred
> > <00001ac016895344-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:
> > >
> > > I am having trouble getting into some OED entries.  Can anyone check
> for me what is the earliest citation on oed.com for "dime bag" meaning a
> $10 packet of a drug ?
> > >
> > > Fred Shapiro
> > >
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> >
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>
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