165) Word Association

(Photo from Asahi Beer.)

There's been a ton of news coverage on the Albert Brown death sentence controversy. What I didn't understand was why the phrase, "three drug cocktail" had become the standard way to refer to the lethal injection that involves three different drugs. Every single NPR reporter, every article in major news sources that I've come across has consistently used a word usually reserved for happy hour to describe a method of capital punishment.

Turns out, "cocktail" is the correct pharmaceutical term. From dictionary.com:

cocktail
–noun
1. any of various short mixed drinks, consisting typically of gin, whiskey, rum, vodka, or brandy, with different admixtures, as vermouth, fruit juices, or flavorings, usually chilled and frequently sweetened.
2. a portion of food, as seafood served with a sauce, a mixture of fruits, or juice, served as the appetizer course of a meal.
3. Pharmacology . a beverage or solution concocted of various drugs.
4. any eclectic mixture or miscellaneous collection.

A bit unfortunate that the appropriate term for this tri-blend lethal injection also carries associations of frivolity, fun and Sex and the City. Whenever I hear the phrase, I can't help but picture Albert Brown swirling a martini glass.