what is a "mickey"?

Hi, In the episode "The Revenge", George slips a "mickey" in his boss's drink. I wanted to know what is a "mickey", I had never heard about this. Thanks.

"Mickey" is short for "Mickey Finn" and, as every good pupil of B-movies knows, a "Mickey Finn" is a potion secretly slipped into the hero's drink in a "dive," rendering him "instantly unconscious." He then awakes tied to a chair in the same deserted warehouse that all B-movie heroes awoke tied to a chair in.

But surprise, surprise, the movies were wrong. A "Mickey Finn" was not, originally, a "knock-out potion" (although such "potions" -- usually chloral hydrate -- did exist). A real "Mickey Finn" was a powerful laxative sometimes surreptitiously employed by bartenders to rid their establishments of unruly or belligerent customers. Consider the logic of the real "Mickey Finn" versus "knock-out drops." Rendering an objectionable customer "instantly unconscious" would only compound the bartender's problem -- instead of just an obnoxious drunk, he would then have an unconscious obnoxious drunk on his hands. Far better to use a "run-out powder" to cause the fellow to leave, very quickly, under his own power.

No one has ever been able to establish whether there ever was an
original "Mickey Finn." Most authorities agree that it was just a
generic Irish name, adopted in the 19th century when the Irish bars of
New York City were rowdy and often dangerous places. The phrase
apparently only came into general use in the 1920's and 30's through the
movies as well as the use of actual "Mickey Finns" in the speakeasies of
Prohibition-era America.
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Good answer, Dave! Where did you score this information? `Wish I sat next to you in college!

Dave wrote in message ...

Dave wrote:

Thanks Cliffy! :-)

As always: knowledgable, informative, accurate, complete, interesting. A+

Does that get me a free beer?

Cheers...

Interestingly enough, beer was invented by the ancient Sumerians...
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In article ,

A 'mickey' is a term used in a lot of old films, when describing a drink with a little bit of poison, or drugs in it. It was mentioned in a film I saw not so long back. I can't remember the film though.