A refrigerated truck or container for transporting perishable goods; slang for a marijuana cigarette.
From 'refrigerator', shortened to 'reefer' in trucking industry jargon. The marijuana sense emerged in the 1930s, possibly from the tight rolling resembling a reef (sail) or from the 'reef' of smoke it produces.
The dual meaning of 'reefer' created confusion during the 1930s anti-marijuana campaign - 'Reefer Madness' had to compete with the legitimate trucking term that had existed for decades. The word perfectly demonstrates how slang can hijack existing terminology, forcing context to determine meaning.
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