Gila monster trip

Posted by Brian from Shawnee on June 09, 2009 at 15:51

In Reply to: Gila monster trip posted by Shamsterdam on June 09, 2009 at 11:33:

: Hunter S. Thompson is talking about US politics in the '70s and about Frank Mankiewicz and says: "...he seemed very tense, very strong into the gila monster trip..." I Couldn't find "gila monster trip" anywhere and it doesn't make any sense even with the larger context. I'm aware of the lizards in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, but those hallucinations do not seem to fit here at all.

Sounds to me like Mr. Mankiewicz had latched onto something and was refusing to let go. The gila monster is legendary for biting and tenaciously hanging on even when its head is chopped off, as anyone who's seen The Treasure of Sierra Madre knows. I think the word "trip" here just means "thing" in a slangy way, as in "I'm into that whole Phrase Finder trip, man".