Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. (US) a person who exaggerates [he ‘shoots/throws the bull’].

1910		Union Postal Clerk 6-7 16: The ‘Mexican athlete’ contest brought out many competitors. Sandy McNaughton was finally declared the winner, as he tossed the bull with greater skill and proficiency than' any other contestant.
1911		Goodwin’s Wkly (Salt Lake City, UT) 9 Dec. 10/1: For [...] those who do not know exactly what consitutes a Mexican athlete [I] beg to state that such an individual is one who ‘throws the bull’.
1912		T.A. Dorgan in Zwilling TAD Lex. (1993) 57: I’m tired of being the boob around town. I’m going to be a mexican athlete. Throw the bull about being a fighter and get away with it.
1913		Signal Engineer 6 244: The ‘bull throwing’ contest was won by Foreman ‘Windy’ Pearson, the Mexican athlete from Mansfield, Mass.
1929		E. Hubbard Advertising and Advertisements 30/2: The whole thing looks like the butting in of the newly-rich, or the bully bounce of the Mexican athlete.

2. (US) an unsuccessful candidate for a college or school sports team.

1934		H. Sebastian ‘Negro Sl. in Lincoln University’ in AS IX:4 288: Mexican athlete One who tries to gain a place on all the teams, but makes none.
1979		Maledicta III:2 165: Mexican athlete n Unsuccessful candidate for a sport’s team.
1989		H. Rawson Dict. of Invective (1991) 247: Mexican athlete. One who fails to make the team.

(US, orig. USN) slitting a mattress near the foot and hiding one’s wallet in the stuffing.

2020

D. Whish-Wilson Shore Leave 29: ‘Old navy practice, called the Mexican bank. [...] Every cathouse in every port, you’ll find sliced pockets in the mattresses, always on the bottom by the feet’.

(US Und.) a banknote of high denomination rolled around a large number of notes of small denomination.

1941		‘Gypsy Rose Lee’ G-String 286: It [i.e. a bankroll] was no Mexican; the twenties went right through to the bottom .
1950		Goldin et al. DAUL 138/1: Mexican bankroll. See Michigan bankroll.
1971		Winick & Kinsie Lively Commerce 117: A pimp often has a ‘Mexican bankroll,’ a large bill on the outside covering a roll of singles.

(US) jeans worn as ski pants.

1962

E. Cray ‘Ethnic and Place Names as Derisive Adjectives’ in Western Folklore 21:1 32: Mexican Bogner's-blue denim pants (usually Levi’s) worn as ski pants. Bogner’s is a favorite brand of ski clothing. (Max McCormick, Mono County, California, 1960).

(Aus.) a knife.

1993		M.B. ‘Chopper’ Read How to Shoot Friends 78: Any drunken mug can whiz out the old Mexican boxing glove and stab an unarmed man.
2009		J. Lansdale Sanctified & Chicken-Fried 72: McBride took the razor out of the side of one of the shoes, held it up for Beems to see, said, ‘Mexican boxing glove’.

(US, Texas) a cigarette and a glass of water (alt. urination / coffee), i.e. nothing nourishing at all.

1949		Reader’s Digest 54 79: Grandpa was in the kitchen ahead of me, having his usual ‘Mexican breakfast’ of black coffee and cigarettes.
1960, 1975		Wentworth & Flexner DAS.
1972		(ref. to 1930s) J. Womack in N.Y. Rev. of Bks 31 Aug. 🌐 There was then [i.e. 1930s] a regular joke about ‘the Mexican breakfast: a cigarette and a piss’.
1979		Maledicta III:2 165: Mexican breakfast n Cigarette and glass of water; from the stereotype of Mexican poverty and hunger.
1989		H. Rawson Dict. of Invective (1991) 247: Mexican breakfast. A glass of water and a cigarette.
2000		L. Block Hitlist n.p.: ‘You just went out every morning for a Mexican breakfast.’ ‘Huevos rancheros.’ ‘And here I always thought a Mexican breakfast was a cigarette and a glass of water’.
2006		S. Lloyd Gone Troppo 224: Mexican breakfast is ‘a Coke, a cigarette and a fart’ .

(US) a Chevrolet.

1979

Maledicta III:2 165: Mexican Buick n [Cray 1959] Chevrolet.

(US) an old but showily decorated Chevrolet.

1962		D. Dempsey ‘Lang. of Traffic Policemen’ in AS XXXVII:4 270: mexican cadillac, n. An old, but ‘dolled-up,’ Chevrolet automobile.
1976		J.V. Torres-Metzgar Below the Summit 37: An old crestfallen, rattle-doomed Chevie — the Mexican Cadillac people hereabouts called it.
1987		M. Siegel (ed.) World according to Evan Meacham 25: A local joke was that the Pontiac was ‘the Mexican Cadillac.’ There was no slur intended and no one seemed to mind.
1990		A. Islas Migrant Souls 238: He called the ’74 Chevy his ‘Mexican Cadillac’.

(US) a donkey.

1979

Maledicta III:2 165: Mexican carriage n Burro, donkey.

wearing a pistol/revolver without a holster but thrust directly down the front of one’s trousers.

2014		D.R. Engel Truth About Firearms and Concealed Carry 189: In the movies and unfortunately in real-life situations, there are people who want to carry their handgun in their waistband without a holster, which is sometimes defined as Mexican carry.
2020		Twitter 22 Sept. 🌐 I believe that jamming a firearm down the front of your pants is referred to as ‘Mexican carry.’ Not recommended.

(US) washing the car by leaving it out in the rain.

1979

Maledicta III:2 165: Mexican carwash n [Cray 1950] Leaving a car in the rain.

(US) a sweatshirt.

1962		Western Folklore 32: Mexican cashmere— a sweatshirt (Gordon Wilson, Redondo Beach, California, 1957) .
1979		Maledicta III:2 165: Mexican cashmere n [Cray 1957] Sweatshirt.

1. aluminium paint used to simulate real (and more expensive) chrome on a car.

1962		Western Folklore 32: Mexican chrome— aluminum paint used to decorate an automobile. (Max McCormick, Los Angeles, 1960) .
1979		Maledicta III:2 165: Mexican chrome n 1: [Cray 1960] 1 Aluminum paint used as a substitute for automotive chrome 2: [Cray 1955] Any silver paint.

2. any form of silver paint.

1979		see sense 1.
1989		H. Rawson Dict. of Invective (1991) 247: Mexican chrome. Silver paint (hot-rod talk).

(US) a piece of hose used to siphon petrol from another car into the tank of one’s own.

1979

Maledicta III:2 165: Mexican credit card n Siphon hose for stealing gasoline.

(US) a shovel or spade.

1979		Maledicta III:2 165: Mexican dragline n [Cray 1959] Shovel.
1982		Mers & Grieder Ups and Downs of a Rebel Longshoreman 5: Armed with a shovel apiece—the old ‘idiot spoon,’ ‘Mexican dragline,’ the muckstick [etc.].
1987		W.B. Anderson Notable Crime Investigations 220: ‘How’s that Mexican dragline workin’?’ The detective said that the ‘Mexican dragline,’ Texas vernacular for laborers with shovels, was falling apart.
1993		A. Green Wobblies 334: California building tradesmen denigrated laborers in the act of shoveling by referring to them as ‘operating a Mexican dragline’.

(US) a hose used to siphon petrol from another car into one’s own.

1979

Maledicta III:2 165: Mexican filling station n [Cray 1959] Siphon for stealing gasoline.

(US) diarrhoea, dysentery.

1962		Western Folklore XXI 28: The North American in Mexico has collected a number of names for the inevitable dysentary [sic] and diarrhea: [...] ‘Mexican fox-trot’.
1979		Maledicta III:2 165: Mexican fox-trot n [Cray 1960] Dysentery.

an old, hairless tennis ball.

1979		Maledicta III:2 165: Mexican hairless n Old tennis ball; a play on the dog breed.
1989		H. Rawson Dict. of Invective (1991) 247: Mexican hairless. A well-used tennis ball.

(US) an overcrowded automobile.

1962

D. Dempsey ‘Lang. of Traffic Policemen’ in AS XXXVII:4 270: mexican hayride, n. An automobile badly overloaded with passengers.

(US) a donkey.

1979

Maledicta III:2 166: Mexican jeep n Burro, donkey.

(US) a Chevrolet that has been lowered in the rear and fitted with a Venetian blind in the rear window.

1962		Western Folklore 32: Mexican jelly bean— 1936 Chevrolet, lowered by shackling the leaf springs and fitted with a ‘Mexican window blind’ (Venetian blind) in the rear window. (Ken Potter, Los Angeles, ca. 1955).
1979		Maledicta III:2 166: Mexican jelly bean n [Cray 1955] 1936 Chevrolet lowered in the rear and fitted with a Mexican window shade (Venetian blind) in the rear window.

(US) tequila.

1975

Newsweek 13 Jan. 75: ‘Mexican Lightning’ has become particularly popular among younger drinkers at singles bars and ski resorts .

smears of blood around the mouth of one who has been having cunnilingus with a menstruating woman.

1999		Roger’s Profanisaurus 3 in Viz 98 Oct. 20: Mexican lipstick n. Pasata grin (qv). The embarrassing facial tide marks often found after eating out with a lady who was up on blocks (qv).
2001		P. Meditzy ‘A Day In The Life Of...’ 29 Apr. 🌐 It stunk like an ‘anchovies fanny’ and I could feel the ‘Mexican lipstick’ all over my chops but I didn’t give a shit as I hadn’t been ‘muff diving’ for ages.

(US) a hostile stare.

1917

R. Lardner Gullible’s Travels 137: He dropped the fork and they both blushed till you could see it right through the sunburn. Then they give me a Mexican look and our acquaintance was at an end.

(US) a Mercury.

1962		Western Folklore 32: Mexican Maserati— a Mercury.
1979		Maledicta III:2 166: Mexican Maserati n [Cray 1960] Mercury.

(US) tequila.

2000

www.tulleeho.com 🌐 Mexican Milk Shake (Tequila, Kahlua, Vodka).

inner tubing used as a shock absorber, rather than the purpose-built material.

1962		Western Folklore 32: Mexican motor mount— inner tubing used as shock absorbing material instead of special mounting parts. (Laramee Haynes, San Marino, 1959).
1979		Maledicta III:2 166: Mexican motor mount n [Cray 1959] Inner tubing used as shock-absorbing material instead of special mounting parts.

(US) a homemade silencer made from a tin can stuffed with steel wool that is then attached to the car’s exhaust pipe.

1962		Western Folklore 32: Mexican muffler— a tin can stuffed with steel wool attached to an automobile exhaust. (Ken Potter, Los Angeles, 1953).
1979		Maledicta III:2 166: Mexican muffler n [Cray 1953] Automobile muffler made of a tin can stuffed with steel wool.
1986		S. King It (1987) 940: He gave the Fury, which still burbled softly through its dual cherry-bomb mufflers (cherry-bombs had been outlawed in the State of Maine in 1962), a wide berth.

(gay) gaudy ceramic crockery, typical of that sold to tourists in Mexico.

1986–7

Maledicta IX 59: Mexican nightmare n [R] Gaudy ceramic crockery; homosexual slang.

(US) an athletic support or jockstrap.

1962		Western Folklore 32: Mexican nose guard— athletic supporter. (Stanley Davidson, Los Angeles, 1959).
1979		Maledicta III:2 166: Mexican nose guard n [Cray 1959] Athletic supporter.

(US) nonsense, rubbish.

1962		Western Folklore 32: To feed someone Mexican oats— To feed someone ‘baloney’ or to feed (hand out) a line.
1979		Maledicta III:2 166: Mexican oats n Nonsense.

(US) coasting or freewheeling in order to save petrol.

1955		M.W. Frazier ‘Truck Drivers’ Language’ in AS XXX:2 94: MEXICAN OVERDRIVE, n. A term used for coasting down hill with gears disengaged.
1962		D. Dempsey ‘Lang. of Traffic Policemen’ in AS XXXVII:4 270: mexican overdrive, n. The (illegal) act of coasting with the gears in neutral.
1979		Maledicta III:2 166: Mexican overdrive n [Cray 1955] Coasting downhill in an automobile.
1989		H. Rawson Dict. of Invective (1991) 247: Mexican overdrive. Disengaging the clutch and coasting down a hill.
1990		S. Morgan Homeboy 222: Slipping into sweet Georgia overdrive for the long downhill coast.

(US) a better job but one that brings no increase in salary.

[1962		Western Folklore 32: Mexican promotion — a military promotion made possible by the death of an immediate superior (Stanton Garner, Providence, R.I., 1966)].
1979		Maledicta III:2 166: Mexican promotion; Mexican raise n Advance in rank or status without increase in salary.

(US) a mule.

2002

S. Cameron & R. Clare ‘Memorial Drive’ Taking Notes and Stealing Quotes 🌐 ‘Mexican quarter horse’ is a mule, and ‘Mexican donkey’ has been used to mean heroin.

(US) anything that has been poorly constructed.

2001

M. Wanskasmith ‘The Twig’ Buffoonery.org 7 Nov. 🌐 Me and my dad used to be our own fucking copier repairmen.... as the service contracts on those fuckers cost way too much... so we done fixed that shit up Mexican rig style with rubber bands and hoky paper clips and shit....

(US gay) any art in poor taste, typically that sold to tourists in Mexico.

1986–7

Maledicta IX 59: Mexican schlock n [R] Any art in poor taste; homosexual slang.

(US) a newspaper or paper bag in which poor sailors carry their belongings.

1935		‘Sailor Sl.’ AS X:1 79: mexican seabag A newspaper or paper bag in which the poor sailor carries his belongings.
1979		Maledicta III:2 166: Mexican sea bag n Paper bag in which a poor sailor carries his belongings.
1989		H. Rawson Dict. of Invective (1991) 247: Mexican seabag. A paper bag in which a sailor who cannot afford a more durable container carries his belongings.

(US) a rudimentary wash, cleaning only the face and armpits.

1996		K. Sanzel Replacement Killers 44: She dips her head into the sink, taking a quick Mexican shower.
2002		ADS-L 17 Nov. 🌐 Moore was asked if he bathes. Moore said that he takes a ‘Mexican shower’ – washing just the face and armpits.
2014		D. Long Bad Teeth 279: In his rush out the door he hadn’t had time for more than a Mexican shower—two quick fwooshes of spray to the underarms.

(US) black tyres painted white to imitate expensive white sidewalls.

1979

Maledicta III:2 166: Mexican sidewalls n [Cray 1955] Blackwall tires painted white.

1. (orig. US) a situation in which two parties are at a deadlock, with neither party willing to back down from a stated position and neither party having a superior edge; the result is that both parties give in and walk off.

1891		Sporting Times 19 Sept. 4: Cline, who got a Mexican stand-off from Dave Rowe, has signed with Louisville.
1920		N.Y. Tribune 16 Dec. 14/1: Vick wasn’t much use to the Yankees. He didn’t improve. he may or may not improve in Boston. It seems a mexican stand-off.
1932		V.F. Nelson Prison Days and Nights 13: Paddy very naturally resents my attitudes as I resent his [...] It is a Mexican stand-off.
1958		L.F. Cooley Run For Home (1959) 124: It’s a Mexican stand-off! No breeze south-bound — and too much north-bound!
1968		T. Wolfe Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test (1969) 255: Suddenly it is a Mexican standoff — with both sides glaring but nobody swinging a punch yet.
1978		S. Longstreet Straw Boss (1979) 259: Your top brass want to save face. I want to hold on. It’s a Mexican standoff.
1985		(con. 1968) D.A. Dye Citadel (1989) 163: You got a Mexican Stand-off here.
1989		R.G. Barrett Boys from Binjiwunyawunya 183: There was a bit of a Mexican stand-off [...] as they all glared at each other.
1991		M.B. ‘Chopper’ Read Chopper From The Inside 26: Invited out for a night on the town, then used as a cover to back out of a Mexican standoff.
2002		‘Touré’ Portable Promised Land (ms.) 208: We stood there in a nationally televised Mexican standoff, neither wanting to kill, neither willing to give in.
2004		R.G. Barrett Rosa Marie’s Baby (2013) [ebook] When it came to [...] violence in Melbourne, they didn’t muck around with Mexican standoffs.
2015		S. King Finders Keepers (2016) 342: ‘So it’s a Mexican stand-off?’ Red Lip says.
2023		Rayman & Blau Riker’s 209: So we are having a Mexican standoff.

2. (US) a partial victory or defeat, but one that still fails to provide a decisive outcome; often defined as 'lost one’s money but saved one’s life’.

1904		McClure’s Mag. Mar. 557: We jest made a ‘Mexican stand-off’ – lost our money, but saved our lives – and mighty lucky at that [DARE].
1905		R. Beach Pardners (1912) 77: Boys, as fur as the coin goes, we’re out an’ injured; we jest made a ‘Mexican stand-off’ — lost our money, but saved our lives.
1916		Sun (NY) 6 Feb. 14/4: It sure did look like a Mexican standoff where a fellow might lose his money but save his life.
1922		N.Y. Tribune 6 Oct. 14/1: From a seat in the press box it looked like a Mexican stand-off. The Giants didn’t win. Neither did the Yanks.
1927		C.M. Russell Trails Plowed Under 48: Barrin’ a bundle o’ robes Bad Meat grabs when we’re quittin’ the camp it’s a Mexican stand-off, which means gettin’ away alive.
1961		J. Scarne Complete Guide to Gambling 685: Mexican stand-off – act of quitting a gambling game when one is a very small winner or loser.
1979		Maledicta III:2 166: Mexican standoff n 1: Escape from a serious difficulty; from alleged Mexican cowardice.
1989		Hackworth & Sherman About Face (1991) 187: There is seldom a Mexican standoff in battle; you either win or lose.

3. a round in poker when no one is willing to open the betting or no one wins the pot.

1935		A.J. Pollock Und. Speaks n.p.: Mexican stand off, no chance to win.
1979		Maledicta III:2 166: Mexican standoff n [...] 2: [Cray 1958] Poker hand in which no one can open the betting or when no one wins the pot.

4. a head-on collision between two trains.

1979

Maledicta III:2 166: Mexican standoff n [...] 3: Head-on collision between two trains, a ‘cornfield meet’.

5. (US) execution by firing squad.

1929		Hostetter & Beesley It’s a Racket! 231: Mexican stand-off — To kill in cold blood.
1934		J.H. O’Hara Appointment in Samarra (1935) 222: The men were the victims of the St. Valentine’s Day massacre in Chicago, when seven men were given the Mexican stand-off against the inside wall of a gang garage.

any five cards and a knife in poker.

1979

Maledicta III:2 166: Mexican straight n [Cray 1950] In poker, any hand and a knife.

(US) a stripped bolt that has been forced into a hole to cut new threads.

1962		Western Folklore 32: Mexican threads— a bolt stripped of its threads but twisted into a hole to cut new threads is said to have ‘Mexican threads.’ (Laramee Haynes, San Marino, California, 1959).
1979		Maledicta III:2 166: Mexican threads n [Cray 1959] Stripped bolt which has been forced into a hole to cut new threads.

(US) poor timekeeping, unpunctuality.

1998		R.D. Lewis Road from Wigan Pier 285: Lessons began late (or on time, Mexican time, depending on how you look at it) .
2002		A.A. O’Dell Cultural Nuances and The Concept Of Time 🌐 Depending on the situation, Mexicans can and do arrive on time, known as hora americana (American time). Mexicans have a very different sense of which situations require exact attention to the clock and which do not. For most occasions, Mexicans live by the more flexible hora mexicana (Mexican time).
2006		M.E. Abarca Voices in Kitchen 133: If you are working with Mexican time, you say ‘I will be there at three.’ But you arrive at four or four-thirty. That’s Mexican time.

diarrhoea, often contracted on a foreign holiday.

1950		Life 25 Sept. 92: Every man promptly came down with ‘Mexican toothache’ — diarrhea.
1962		H.M. Karr Retire to Adventure! 89: The only Mexican ‘bad guy’ to give us much concern is a little bug that brings an affliction variously called the Mexican toothache, the Aztec two-step, Montezuma's curse, and the turista.
1979		Maledicta III:2 166: Mexican toothache n [Cray 1960] Dysentery.

(US) a knife.

2019

S.M. Jones Lives Laid Away [ebook] ‘Feel like I’m fucking naked,’ Tomás grumbled [...] ‘Coupla goddamn peashooters and a Mexican toothpick’.

diarrhoea.

1962		Western Folklore XXI 28: The North American in Mexico has collected a number of names for the inevitable dysentary [sic] and diarrhea: ‘Mexican two-step’.
1979		Maledicta III:2 166: Mexican two-step n [Cray 1960] Dysentery.
1994		G. Jolliffe Lazy person’s Guide to Life 83: You [are] laid low with botulism, salmonella or at the very least a serious two-week attack of the runs, which makes it impossible for you to let the lavvy out of your sight. In Tijuana this is known as the Mexican twostep.

(US drugs) Rohypnol.

2001

ONDCP Street Terms 15: Mexican valium — Rohypnol.

(US) flushing the carburettor of a running engine with kerosene.

1962		Western Folklore 32: Mexican valve job— flushing the carburetor of a running engine with kerosene.
1979		Maledicta III:2 166: Mexican valve job n [Cray 1958] Flushing carburetor of a running engine with kerosene.

Venetian blinds in the back window of a car.

1962		Western Folklore 32: ‘Mexican window shade’ (Venetian blinds).
1979		Maledicta III:2 166: Mexican window shade n [Cray 1955] Venetian blind mounted in the rear window of a car.

1. heroin, usu. weak, inferior.

1947		Report of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police 24: Traffic in the drug commonly referred to as Mexican brown heroin continues to occupy the close attention of our drug squads.
1954		Hearings on Juvenile Delinquency (El Paso, TX) 17 Sept. 21: This is so-called Mexican brown heroin, cocaine, morphine. This is morphine in tubes.
1976		R. Sabbag Snowblind (1978) 237: The Turkish ban [...] more than any single factor accounted for the popular emergence of Mexican Brown on the streets of New York.
1989		C. Hiaasen Skin Tight 151: I just dropped in with a briefcase full of Mexican brown, Can I pencil you in for a kilo?
1994		T. Willocks Green River Rising 162: He’d made more on electrical goods and porn that Larry ever did out of cocaine and Mexican brown.
1995		J. Stahl Permanent Midnight 219: One-man parades [...] to my favorite stall to cook more Mexican wonder-tar.
2001		ONDCP Street Terms 15: Mexican brown — Marijuana; heroin.
2015		J. Stahl OG Dad 5: I was shooting Mexican tar in the Cedars/Sinai OB/GYN men’s room in Los Angeles.
2019		D. Winslow Border [ebook] Heroin even evolves to get fitter. First there was Mexican black. Then cinnamon. Then fire.

2. high-strength marijuana.

1961		L. Block Diet of Treacle (2008) 50: Mexican brown [...] seemed a little stronger. The joint [...] half regular green and half Mexican brown.
1971		E.E. Landy Underground Dict. (1972).
1989		J. Morton Lowspeak.
2001		ONDCP Street Terms 15: Mexican brown — Marijuana; heroin.

(US drugs) an inferior variety of marijuana.

1946		Mezzrow & Wolfe Really the Blues 215: As soon as we got some of that Mexican bush we almost blew our tops.
[1953		E. Gilbert Hot & Cool 215: ‘I’m telling you— straight from the Mexican bush,’ Red said [...] He crushed out the weed in the ashtray].

(US) a (poorly made) marijuana cigarette.

[1887		F. Francis Jr Saddle and Mocassin 153: Squito would nestle down on a log by the hearth [...] gaze dreamily into the fire, rolling herself little Mexican cigarettes, in bits of maize leaf, from time to time].
1913		Van Loan ‘The Mexican Marvel’ in Lucky Seventh (2004) 188: Bill breezed into the sanctum [...] with a pocketful of Mexican cigars, and, after lighting one, proceeded to go into a trance and tear off the most amazing dream concerning one [...] Oliveras, who, is according to Bill’s hemp nightmare, [etc.].
1922		Ogden Standard & Examiner (UT) 24 Dec. 4/2: ‘Won’t you try a Mexican cigarette’ [...] We smoked them. Marihuana is probably the only drug which is not included in the Federal narcotic bill.
1953		T. Runyon In For Life 107: They were something like the Mexican cigarettes I’ve tried — a blow-your-head-off impressiveness with the first puff, and no body, no satisfaction, behind it.
1972		B. Rodgers Queens’ Vernacular 210: a poorly rolled joint [...] Mexican cigarette.
1986–7		Maledicta IX 58: Mexican cigarette n [R] Poorly made marijuana cigarette; homosexual slang.

(US drugs) average strength Mexican marijuana.

2002

VitaminT posting 4 Jun. on ‘The Real Dope’ at Cannabis News 🌐 I’ve been smokin’ the good herb for 28 years now and I can say that the Mexican commercial I smoked in the seventies was about as effective then as the Mexican commercial I smoke today!

(US drugs) methamphetamine.

2001		ONDCP Street Terms 15: Mexican crack — Methamphetamine with the appearance of crack; methamphetamine.
2008		J.D. Doss Three Sisters 12: My .45 is locked in the truck, inside the backpack with my Buck knife and brass knuckles and the forty kilos of Mexican crack.

(drugs) a weak grade and type of marijuana.

1968		Tubby Hayes Quartet [song title] Mexican Green.
1969		R.R. Lingeman Drugs from A to Z (1970).
1971		E.E. Landy Underground Dict. (1972).
1981		D.E. Miller Bk of Jargon 338: Mexican green: Common, low-potency marijuana from Mexico.
2001		ONDCP Street Terms 15: Mexican green — Marijuana.

(drugs) heroin, presumably from Mexico.

1977		S.N. Pradhan Drug Abuse.
2001		ONDCP Street Terms 15: Mexican horse — Heroin.

1. (drugs, gay) amphetamines.

1972		B. Rodgers Queens’ Vernacular 134: Mexican jumping beans amphetamines.
1986–7		Maledicta IX 59: Mexican jumping bean n [R] Amphetamine; homosexual slang.

2. (drugs) barbiturates, esp. Seconal, made in Mexico.

1971

E.E. Landy Underground Dict. (1972).

(US drugs) heroin.

1976		Mexican heroin: a report to the Illinois General Assembly 44: Their city was the number one drop-off point and distribution center for this new influx of ‘Mexican mud’.
1978		Investigation of Narcotics Trafficking and Money Laundering in Chicago (US Congress) 3: Mexican heroin (known as Mexican ‘mud’) is brown in color, and originates primarily in the State of Durango, Mexico.
1989		District of Columbia appropriations for fiscal year 1990 (US Congress) 155: Mexican mud, selling at $900 per ounce, continues to predominate in Chicago. Mexican brown and white heroin dominate the Mlnneapolls/St. Paul market.
1992		Bentley & Corbett Prison Sl. 70: Mexican Mud also Mud Mexican heroin. […] This heroin is brown in color and forms a brown liquid when mixed with water and cooked.
2001		ONDCP Street Terms 15: Mexican mud — Heroin.

(drugs) psilocybin, psilocin.

1969		R.R. Lingeman Drugs from A to Z (1970).
2001		ONDCP Street Terms 15: Mexican mushrooms — Psilocybin/psilocin.

1. a barbiturate.

1969		R.R. Lingeman Drugs from A to Z (1970).
1977		L. Young et al. Recreational Drugs.
1980		‘Gloss. of Drug Terms’ National Instit. Drug Abuse.
2001		ONDCP Street Terms 15: Mexican reds — Depressants.

2. a potent variety of Mexican marijuana.

1971		E.E. Landy Underground Dict. (1972).
2001		ONDCP Street Terms 15: Mexican red — Marijuana.

see Mexican brown