# How widespread is the word drug used as the past tense of drag **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 15, 2024, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-widespread-is-the-word-drug-used-as-the-past-tense-of-drag/996104 "2024-01-15T06:54:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lord\_Mondegreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/91b2a8/32.png) [@Lord\_Mondegreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Mondegreen)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2024, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-widespread-is-the-word-drug-used-as-the-past-tense-of-drag/996104/1 "2024-01-15T06:54:12Z")
I’m not a US resident, although I have spent plenty of happy times there. I also don’t believe there is any such thing as right or wrong in language, just usage. From time to time I have heard on TV a person using the word “drug” as a synonym for “dragged.” I have never heard it in person. How widespread is it? Is it a regional usage? ---
**Author:** ![Nyvaak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Nyvaak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nyvaak)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2024, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-widespread-is-the-word-drug-used-as-the-past-tense-of-drag/996104/2 "2024-01-15T09:45:12Z")
> [@Lord\_Mondegreen](#): > > Is it a regional usage? Regional? Well, my own experience is . . . um, completely non-indicative. In grade school (in suburban Long Island) we were cautioned against this usage, though _none_ of us ever said “drug” instead of “dragged.” When we asked about this the teacher said a lot of kids in the City said it, and this was aimed at them. Years later it somehow came up in conversation when I was with a friend who grew up in NYC. I told her what my teacher said, and she replied, “same here, except our teachers said it was aimed at kids from upstate.” ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2024, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-widespread-is-the-word-drug-used-as-the-past-tense-of-drag/996104/3 "2024-01-15T13:01:53Z")
This is probably more IMHO than FQ. I’m originally from SoCal but have lived all over the US. Presently in FL. Thinking about it I use “drug” over “dragged” occasionally. Maybe 10% of the time. I’ve been thinking about whether there’s any sentence pattern or use situation more prone to one over the other, but inspiration wasn’t coming. I have a vague notion that “dragged” is higher register speech than “drug” which is more informal / slangy / uneducated. Not that I think “drug” is truly slang or factually wrong; it’s certainly a regular past tense form of the word. Just that, like slang, it “reads” as idiomatic, not as formally (hyper-)correct. ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2024, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-widespread-is-the-word-drug-used-as-the-past-tense-of-drag/996104/4 "2024-01-15T14:37:55Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Not that I think “drug” is truly slang or factually wrong; it’s certainly a regular past tense form of the word. I think you mean irregular? ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2024, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-widespread-is-the-word-drug-used-as-the-past-tense-of-drag/996104/5 "2024-01-15T14:46:56Z")
Old joke: > A doctor is called to the local police station, where he finds an officer keeping watch over an unconscious man. After examining the man, the doctor turns to the officer and says “He’s been drugged.” “Indeed,” replies the officer, “I drug him all the way here.” ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2024, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-widespread-is-the-word-drug-used-as-the-past-tense-of-drag/996104/6 "2024-01-15T15:44:13Z")
> [@WotNot](#): > > > [@LSLGuy](#): > > > > Not that I think “drug” is truly slang or factually wrong; it’s certainly a regular past tense form of the word. > > I think you mean irregular? Oops. IANA linguist. I should have used the word “ordinary” not “regular”, which is a linguistic term with specific meaning. And not a specific meaning I meant. 🤦‍♂️ Thanks for fixing my goof. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2024, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-widespread-is-the-word-drug-used-as-the-past-tense-of-drag/996104/7 "2024-01-15T21:47:01Z")
It might be a regional dialect thing: [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/drug#Etymology\_2](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/drug#Etymology_2) > **[Dragged or Drug—Which Is Correct?](https://www.grammarly.com/blog/dragged-drug/)** > > The recognized and correct past tense form of the verb drag is dragged. Drug can still sometimes be heard, but only in certain dialects within… > **[Do You Say "Dragged" Or "Drug"?](https://www.thesaurus.com/e/grammar/dragged-or-drug/)** > > Stop dragging your feet and start reading this article that explains the difference between "dragged" and "drug" and when to use each word. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2024, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-widespread-is-the-word-drug-used-as-the-past-tense-of-drag/996104/8 "2024-01-16T00:02:08Z")
I might use it, but only jocularly. There is a small handful of verbs which can alternate between strong and weak conjugation. Dive is another. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2024, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-widespread-is-the-word-drug-used-as-the-past-tense-of-drag/996104/9 "2024-01-16T01:25:52Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > > [@WotNot](#): > > > > > [@LSLGuy](#): > > > > > > Not that I think “drug” is truly slang or factually wrong; it’s certainly a regular past tense form of the word. > > > > I think you mean irregular? > > Oops. > > IANA linguist. I should have used the word “ordinary” not “regular”, which is a linguistic term with specific meaning. And not a specific meaning I meant. 🤦‍♂️ > > Thanks for fixing my goof. Perhaps you mean strong verb (as opposed to weak verb). It is not, though this is really confusing because there is the very closely related verb **draw** (past tense: “drew”), both of which look like derivatives of the same (strong) verb _draȝan_. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2024, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-widespread-is-the-word-drug-used-as-the-past-tense-of-drag/996104/10 "2024-01-16T02:26:42Z")
I can remember my mother commenting that her brother’s children “weren’t brought up, they were drug up.” I don’t know what I would say. They both sound right. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2024, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-widespread-is-the-word-drug-used-as-the-past-tense-of-drag/996104/11 "2024-01-16T02:35:36Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > Perhaps you mean strong verb (as opposed to weak verb). It is not, though this is really confusing because there is the very closely related verb **draw** (past tense: “drew”), both of which look like derivatives of the same (strong) verb _draȝan_. If this was directed at me, I only meant “drug” is valid, not a mere colloquialism like “ain’t” or “y’all” or a junk coinage like “cromulent”. Legit linguistic ideas and categorizations like strong / weak, regular / irregular, etc. are beyond my expertise. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Mondegreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/91b2a8/32.png) [@Lord\_Mondegreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Mondegreen)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2024, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-widespread-is-the-word-drug-used-as-the-past-tense-of-drag/996104/12 "2024-01-16T16:57:35Z")
I’m glad you allow it to stay in FQ. I never wanted opinions. This has helped me to expand my knowledge. As I said, I am not a recent visitor to the US, so I love to hear things like this