General
droog
What does droog mean?
By extension, a member of a loyal crew or pack who roams and causes trouble together, with the loyalty more tribal than tender.
"'There were four of us, my droogs and me' sets up the gang as a single unit."
Origin
Coined by Anthony Burgess in A Clockwork Orange (1962); anglicised from Russian 'drug' (друг), 'friend'. Burgess built most of Nadsat from Russian roots to estrange the reader, as he explained in his essay 'Clockwork Marmalade' (1972).
Frequently asked questions
What does droog mean?
It is Nadsat slang for a friend or gang member, taken by Burgess from the Russian word 'drug', meaning friend.
Is droog a real word?
It is a fictional argot word invented for A Clockwork Orange, though its root, Russian 'drug', is genuine.
Where did droog come from?
Anthony Burgess constructed it in 1962 by anglicising the Russian 'drug' as part of his teen slang Nadsat.
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