jonesing
verb (present participle of jones); US informal

- craving something intensely, especially a drug or food 

- experiencing withdrawal symptoms from an addictive substance

- feeling an urgent or obsessive longing for someone or something

Cambridge Dictionary, Oxford English Dictionary, Collins English Dictionary

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WORD ORIGIN

Jonesing is the -ing form of the American slang verb jones. The older form is the noun jones, recorded by Merriam-Webster from about 1962 for a habit or addiction, especially to heroin. Its earliest verb citation is from 1981, although 1970s evidence shows the noun developing into verbal forms. From that drug context, the meaning widened to any powerful desire.

The deeper origin is uncertain. Merriam-Webster considers a connection with the surname Jones probable but cannot explain the allusion. Other proposals involve keeping up with the Joneses or Manhattan’s Great Jones Alley, supposedly frequented by drug users; neither is proved.

Today, English speakers use it lightly for everything from espresso to vintage vinyl.

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THE CHEMISTRY OF MAYBE

A rhesus macaque sits in a laboratory, watching a light bulb. When the bulb flashes, the monkey must press a lever ten times. A hatch slides open, delivering a drop of sweet juice.

Neurobiologist Robert Sapolsky noted that the monkey’s dopamine surged not when the juice touched its tongue, but the moment the cue appeared. Dopamine is not the biochemical reward of satisfaction; it is the driver of pursuit.

Then Sapolsky altered the terms. What if pressing the lever produced juice only fifty per cent of the time?

Under conditions of total predictability, dopamine quickly subsides once the habit forms. Introduce a 50/50 gamble, however, and dopamine levels double. Nothing provokes biological craving like uncertainty. “Maybe” acts like a neurological amplifier.

Every app designer in Silicon Valley understands this mechanism. Infinite feeds, pull-to-refresh animations, and intermittent notifications replicate the macaque’s half-broken juice lever.

The uncomfortable itch felt when our pocket buzzes is dopamine preparing us for a hunt. 

But jonesing for a screen check, doesn’t mean we can’t resist.

Helga & Paul Smith

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SYNONYMS

aching for, craving, fancying, hankering for, itching for, JONESING, longing for, lusting after, pining for, thirsting for, yearning for

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SMUGGLE OWAD into a conversation today. Say something like:

“JONESING for a screen check, doesn’t mean we can’t resist doing it.”

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