Bolivian marching powdernoun · 1980s
Well attestedA novel about New York nightlife in 1984 put this phrase into general English.
Jay McInerney used it repeatedly in Bright Lights, Big City, and the phrase escaped the book. Bolivia and Peru grew most of the world's coca through the 1980s and 1990s, before Colombia overtook them, which is why English also has Peruvian and Colombian marching powder. Marching powder plays on the military use of stimulants.
Named from the placeRead →