knockout drops

American  

plural noun

1. chloral hydrate or any similar rapidly acting drug, especially one put in a drink secretly to make the drinker unconscious.

---

knockout drops British  

plural noun

1. slang a drug secretly put into someone's drink to cause stupefaction See also Mickey Finn

---

Etymology

Origin of knockout drops

First recorded in 1890–95

Example Sentences

But Frank Brooks wasn't full of knockout drops this time, and with a clear head he was no pushover.

From Deadly City by Fairman, Paul W.

He had a horror of knockout drops and the police.

From K by Rinehart, Mary Roberts

"The same old knockout drops, sir, that sailors in all parts of the world know so well, sir, I think," answered one of the men, with a quiet grin.

From The Submarine Boys and the Middies The Prize Detail at Annapolis by Durham, Victor G.

The old Bowery, where they used to take your tintype by force and give ye knockout drops before having your palm read, is now called the Wall Street of the island.

From Sixes and Sevens by Henry, O.

He never saw a bludgeon in his life; and he scorned knockout drops.

From Strictly business: more stories of the four million by Henry, O.