People who sell illegal drugs, or those who aggressively promote or force something on others. Can also refer to people who literally push objects or push others forward.
From 'push' plus agentive suffix '-er', with the drug dealer sense emerging in American slang around the 1930s-40s. The metaphor captures how dealers 'push' drugs onto users, often aggressively marketing addictive substances.
The evolution of 'pusher' from a neutral description of someone who pushes to a loaded term for drug dealers shows how language absorbs moral judgments. The word implies not just selling, but actively corrupting - 'pushing' someone toward addiction rather than simply providing a product.
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