# Etymology of "Straight Dope"

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/etymology-of-straight-dope/235431>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [March 20, 2004, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/etymology-of-straight-dope/235431 "2004-03-20T19:35:34Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Mathist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8edcca/32.png) [@Mathist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mathist)\
**Post date:** [March 20, 2004, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/etymology-of-straight-dope/235431/1 "2004-03-20T19:35:34Z")

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What, really, is the origin of “straight dope” (the phrase, not the column)? When I search using Google, I just get pointers to Cecil’s column. When I search within Straight Dope, the returns are endless and not to the point.

Can Straight Dope define “straight dope”?

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**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\
**Post date:** [March 20, 2004, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/etymology-of-straight-dope/235431/2 "2004-03-20T20:04:25Z")

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> [@Mathist](#):
>
> Can Straight Dope define “straight dope”?

Of course we can! From [here](http://www.word-detective.com/081100.html#dope):

> [@](#):
>
> And, since you were just about to ask, the use of “dope” to mean “inside information” (as in “the straight dope”) probably comes from the “dope,” or stimulant drugs, once given to racehorses to improve their performance. Knowing that a certain horse had been “doped” would, of course, be invaluable information for any bettor, and “dope” eventually came to mean the information itself.