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Glite Dictionary
to do on acid

to do on acid

9.9
To create or perform something while taking LSD so it looks strange and colorful
  • phrasal verb
  • NSFW
translation icon : hacer bajo los efectos del ácido
  • The mural looked like it was done on acid with all those swirling patterns and neon colors.

Examples

  • Some of their music videos seem to be done on acid, full of bizarre and trippy imagery.

  • He wrote that poem as if he had done it on acid.

  • He did on acid some amazing artwork last summer.

  • Can you really do on acid something creative?

  • She painted that mural as if she had done it on acid, with its vibrant colors and distorted shapes.

  • The film's visuals were so wild that it looked like it was done on acid, filled with swirling patterns and flashing lights.

  • His performance was incredibly surreal, almost as if he had done it on acid to create such a psychedelic experience.

Synonyms

shot on acid
vsto do on acid
  • NSFW
9.9

A video or film with bright, swirling images that look unreal, like a strong drug trip

covers creating or performing broadly, not only visual or filmed work

Surface Forms

do on acid infinitive
did on acid past
done on acid past participle
doing on acid present participle
does on acid third person singular

Morphology

do + on + acid

The phrase combines the verb 'do' with the prepositional phrase 'on acid' (i.e. while under the influence of LSD), so its meaning 'perform/create while intoxicated' is directly derivable from the constituents. The extension 'make something appear psychedelic' is a predictable metaphorical extension of the known effects of 'acid', and the pattern 'do + on [drug]' is common and cross-linguistically transparent, so a B1 learner who knows the parts would likely infer the meaning.

Etymology

The phrase do on acid comes from the image of a person doing something while taking acid, where their work fills with bright, melting colors and strange, dream-like shapes. So, saying something was done on acid means it looks 'trippy' or like a colorful, strange dream.