gateway drug
- noun
- /ˈɡeɪtˌweɪ drʌɡ/
- NSFW
- Many people believe that marijuana is a gateway drug that leads to the use of harder substances.
- gateway drug marijuana
Content is the gateway drug to success in our society.
- Content is the gateway drug to success in our society.
- And so sugar is the gateway drug to diabetes and obesity.
- And I want, I don't want to use V Friends as a gateway drug for people to find Gary Vee.
- Well, what I always teach is that your short form content is just the gateway drug to your long form.
- We need to be selling gateway drugs on these platforms, not the real deal.
- I mean, I talk about gateway drug businesses.
- And that's the truth of it all is that pot can be a gateway drug man, to bombings.
- And I don't know, say that let's say that I'm supposed to be some pretty boy gateway drug right to the alt right.
- But I will not take this gateway drug anymore because I have a daughter, because I am a woman, an adult human female.
- That's the gateway drug to people saying we need to have a system wide change with how technology and us relate.
Examples
-
Meth is a real gateway drug for him.
-
Tobacco is associated with the increased likelihood of using other addictive substances, acting for some as a "gateway drug" (Elders, Perry, Erikson, & Giovino, 1994).
Academic text (2005) -
This can be a gateway drug.
-
You know how they say weed is a gateway drug?
-
Alcohol, not pot, is a gateway drug.
Blog text (26) -
For others, dope is a gateway drug, and they get hooked on heavier drugs.
Blog text (12) -
He agrees with law enforcement officials who consider marijuana a gateway drug.
Blog text (6) -
Pens like these were like my gateway drug into the world of false lashes.
-
But Samantha believes that CreepShots is a gateway drug to more dangerous hobbies.
Blog text (22) -
In discussions about substance abuse, experts often refer to alcohol as a gateway drug for teenagers.
How Addictive
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound combines 'gateway' (an entrance or means of access) with 'drug', so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer it denotes a drug that opens the way to trying other drugs. The metaphor is straightforward and common cross-linguistically, making the overall meaning directly derivable from the constituents.
Etymology
Gateway drug comes from the simple picture of a small gate or door that opens onto a bigger, more dangerous road, and a mild drug is like that gate because it can 'lead to' stronger drugs. So a gateway drug means a drug that is not very harmful itself but may 'lead to' more dangerous drug use.