phrases, sayings, idioms and expressions at

Drink the coolaid

Posted by ESC on June 12, 2006

In Reply to: Drink the coolaid posted by Conservas Ortiz on June 12, 2006

: Any takers for "Drink the coolaid"? It would appear to be a US originated phrases and it's meaning is quite close to "towing the corporate line". I'm curious how it came to be. I'm thinking it could be realetd to the energizing drink Gatorade, but it also appears to be a cocktail.

It refers to mass murder/suicide by members of the Jim Jones cult. The poison was in a Kool Aid type drink.

James Warren "Jim" Jones (May 13, 1931 - November 18-19(?), 1978) was the American founder of the Peoples Temple church that developed into a group with cult-like beliefs, power structures and practices. On November 18, 1978, most Peoples Temple members followed Jones' advice to commit mass suicide by drinking poison in their isolated agricultural intentional community called Jonestown, located in the jungle of Guyana. Jones was found dead from a gunshot wound to the head among the 914 corpses there.

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