(HIL.bil.ee hayr.oh.in)
n.
Slang nickname for the prescription painkiller OxyContin, which is said to produce an effect similar to heroin.
Example Citation:
The Reid boys ... have been caught in an alarming wave of addiction triggered largely by the abuse of OxyContin, a prescription painkiller that produces a powerful, heroin-quality high. More than a year ago this tenacious synthetic opiate began ravaging poor, rural parts of New England and Appalachia, earning the nickname "hillbilly heroin."
— Elizabeth Mehren, "Hooks of 'hillbilly heroin'," Los Angeles Times, October 4, 2001
Earliest Citation:
"Proven Effective in Low Back Pain," reads the medical journal ad, showing a carpenter reaching for his lumbar area. Doan's pills? Bayer aspirin? Tylenol? The ad is for OxyContin, a potentially lethal, highly abused painkiller, one a local pharmaceutical representative calls "hillbilly heroin" for its recreational popularity among rural Appalachians.
— Greg Stone, "This painkiller can kill," The Sunday Gazette Mail, March 25, 2001,
Related Words:
Category:
New words. 2013.