Nibbie Sweetie

[ainitatyb]

What is the origin of the word 'nibbie sweetie' in relation to drugs? The only name derivation I can find is food related - ie nibbles and sweet things, but the words are not used in conjunction in this derivation. When was it used in popular tongue to relate to drugs?

[Quizmonster]

In Scotland, a nippy sweetie originally referred to a sweet such as an acid drop that was rather tart or biting rather than sweet to the taste. It then became applied to someone who - on the surface - was pleasant but who could also become rather sour and biting, too.
I don't know anything about the drug connection, but I'd guess it has much the same meaning...ie something superficially pleasant but with an unpleasant kick to it.

[ainitatyb]

Thanks Quizmonster, your explanation fits perfectly to the context in which I originally found the term, and it was from a Scottish person that I heard it 20-30 years ago. Over the years in our house it has become to mean food nibbles or nice things that one may wish to nibble or pick at after you have eaten but still feel peckish, but I knew that this was not the origin of the term. Thanks for your help

[heathfield]

QM's nippy sweetie is also a term sometimes used in Scotland for a dram (nip) of whisky