trip sit

English

Alternative forms

• trip-sit

Etymology

Back-formation from trip sitter. Compare babysit. Attested from the 21st century; see quotations below.

Verb

trip sit (third-person singular simple present trip sits, present participle trip sitting, simple past and past participle trip sat)

1. To watch over a person while they are using drugs; to act as a trip sitter.
   • 2006, Dan Carpenter, A Psychonaut’s Guide to the Invisible Landscape, page 76:

     My friend Beth, who trip sat me in the early days (remember her from the section “Breaks in Time”?) died during the writing of this book. I ask, “Where is Beth?”

   • 2014 January, Justin Poklis, Kelly Devers, Elise Arbefeville, Julia Pearson, Eric Houston, Alphonse Poklis, “Postmortem detection of 25I-NBOMe [2-(4-iodo-2,5-dimethoxyphenyl)-N-[(2-methoxyphenyl)methyl]ethanamine] in fluids and tissues determined by high performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry from a traumatic death”, in Forensic Science International, volume 234, number C, →DOI, Supplement:

     The decedent was reportedly “trip-sitting” for his friends who were using “acid” on the evening of his death. “Trip sitting” refers to someone who remains drug free for the purpose of monitoring the safety of those under the influence of a drug.

   • 2015 December 14, Benjamin Preiss, “Stronger drugs are worrying services”, in The Canberra Times, page 2:

     The program also notched up almost 500 “intense interventions”, ranging from treating nausea from drinking too much alcohol to “trip sitting” patrons who had taken drugs and encountered a “challenging psychedelic experience”.

   • 2019, Michelle Janikian, Your Psilocybin Mushroom Companion, page 46:

     So if you are considering this for your first psychedelic experience, definitely enlist a close friend or loved one to trip sit for you, and have them read Chapter 12 of this book to prepare!

2. To guide another person's drug trip; to act as a psychedelic guide.
   • 2022 April 4, Patrick Kyle, “A brief guide to trip sitting”, in The Nation, page 62:

     A brief guide to trip sitting. There is often a tendency to overpower the tripper with our insights or knowledge. Let go of this impulse.