What "You're Dipping In The Kool-Aid And You Don't Even Know The Flavor" REALLY Means

Edited by Azizi Powell

Update: August 1, 2019 at 10:57 PM

This pancocojams post presents meanings for the African American Vernacular English (AAVE)* saying "..."dippin[g] in the (or "my") Kool-Aid" (or, as Senator Cory Booker (Dem: New Jersey) put it: “There’s a saying in my community: You’re dipping into the Kool-Aid and you don’t even know the flavor.”)

Addendum #1 to this post presents a definition of the English word "dip" and information about "Kool-Aid".

Addendum #2 presents an excerpt from a 2012 pancocojams post entitled "The Stereotype Of African Americans & Kool-Aid". I added that Addendum because I believe that the phrase "dippin[g] in the Kool-Aid" comes from African American culture and I want to share the history and my thoughts about the stereotypical association of the brand name product "Kool-Aid" with African Americans.

The content of this post is presented for linguistic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Special thanks to Senator Cory Booker for popularizing this saying during an exchange with former Vice President Joe Biden in the Democratic Primary debate that was aired on CNN television July 31, 2019.
-snip-
*Pancocojams Editor's Note: I've found no online documentation that "dippin[g] in the Kool-Aid" originated with African Americans. However, given the way that phrase is constructed, and given the historical and present day dominance of African Americans in the creation and adaption of American slang, I believe that it is very likely that African Americans were the first to coin and use that saying.

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE POLITICAL EXCHANGE THAT POPULARIZED THIS SAYING
Source #1
From https://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/in-the-know/455670-kool-aid-embraces-debate-shout-out-from-booker-oh-yeah Kool-Aid embraces debate shout-out from Booker: 'Oh yeah'
BY JUDY KURTZ - 07/31/19 10:37 PM EDT 87
"An unexpected personality is busting in on the Democratic presidential debate: the Kool-Aid Man.

The campy red mascot for the fruit punch drink responded to a shout-out from Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) during Wednesday's showdown among White House hopefuls.

"There's a saying in my community," Booker told Joe Biden while responding to the former vice president's criticism of his crime-fighting record as mayor of Newark, N.J., “You’re dipping into the Kool-Aid and you don’t even know the flavor.”

Shortly after Booker's remark, the Twitter account for the perpetually smiling pitcher — who's known for breaking through walls — offered up a punchy reply, tweeting to its more than 31,000 followers:

Kool-Aid
‏
Verified account

@koolaid

#Ahem @SenBooker OH YEAH #WeKnowTheFlavor #DemDebate
10:06 PM - Jul 31, 2019”...

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Source #2
From https://twitter.com/brianstelter?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
Brian Stelter
‏
Verified account

@brianstelter

[July 31, 2019]

Per Twitter, the most-tweeted moment was Booker's "Kool-aid" comment to Biden"

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SHOWCASE VIDEO: Cory Booker to Biden: You're dipping into the Kool-Aid and don't even know the flavor



CNN, Published on Jul 31, 2019

Former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) have an exchange over criminal justice records during the second night of the CNN Democratic primary debate. #CNN #News
-snip-
The "Dipping in the Kool-aid" saying is at 4:24-4:28 of this video.

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UPDATE: August 1, 2019
IS THIS THE WAY THE "KOOL-AID" SAYING IS ACTUALLY WORDED IN AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITIES?
According to some Black folks writing on Twitter, the way that Senator Booker said the "Kool-Aid" colloquialism wasn't the way that it is actually said in African American communities.

[Note: " "New Day" is a weekday morning television show on CNN.]

From https://twitter.com/NewDay/status/1156918589108236288
"New Day
‏
Verified account

@NewDay

[August 1, 2019]

Sen. @CoryBooker on his “Kool-Aid” line: “The heat of a debate, you get up there in front of millions of Americans, have the vice president of the United States distorting your record, do it with a smile and come back at him with a colloquialism we use in our communities.”

**
"IllNana Vanzant
‏
@kinkythought

[August 1, 2019]

Replying to @NewDay @CNN @CoryBooker
literally no one uses THAT "colloquialism." That's not even how you say it. 😂"

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From https://www.huffpost.com/entry/cnn-panelists-cory-booker-kool-aid_n_5d432d4be4b0ca604e2ee999 CNN Panelists Weigh In On Cory Booker’s ‘Kool-Aid’ Debate Moment, Laughs Ensue
By Kimberley Richards, 08/01/2019 06:23 pm ET
[...]
"New Day
✔
@NewDay
Cory Booker’s “Kool-Aid” moment – was it delivered right? @AprilDRyan @Bakari_Sellers @Angela_Rye and @AndrewGillum have some fun dissecting the zinger. “With black phrases you don’t enunciate every word,” says Sellers. “He was too pedigreed with it,” adds Ryan. #DemDebate

[...]

[Angela] Rye also noted what many Twitter users also pointed out: “You don’t say you’re ‘dipping in the Kool-Aid’... [it’s] you all up in the Kool-Aid.”....
-end of August 1, 2019 Update-

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From https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=all%20in%20the%20Kool%20Aid%20and%20don%27t%20even%20know%20the%20flava

"all in the Kool Aid and don't even know the flava

(adjective) referring to one who is spreading gossip of a false nature or a clueless individual.
Lotoya be ALL UP IN THE KOOL AID AND DON'T EVEN KNOW THE FLAVOR!
by Fangsta April 29, 2003"
-snip-
Added August 1, 2019 at 10:57 PM

For what it's worth, I'm African American but-prior to hearing Senator Booker use that "Kool-Aid" saying and then looking it up online- the only "Kool-Aid" colloquialism that I knew was "drink the Kool-Aid" https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=drink%20the%20kool-aid, meaning become a firm believer in a cult group or gotten taken in by a scam artist.

That said, this morning I asked my 40+ year old daughter [who also lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania] if she had ever heard the saying "dippin in the Kool-Aid and don't even know the flavor" and if so, what did she think it meant. She said, "Yes" and, without any hesitation, said it meant somebody getting all up into someone's business and getting things wrong.

When I read the "All up in the Kool-Aid" saying, I asked my daughter if she had heard that version instead of the "dipping in the Kool-Aid" version. She said she had heard both of them, but also has heard "She's all up in my bizness".

My guess is that whether people say "dipping in the Kool-Aid...or "all up in the Kool-Aid" or both depends on where they live.
-snip-
"All up in" is an African American phrase that means "to be really involved in [something]".

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SAYING "DIPPING IN THE KOOL-AID" FROM VARIOUS ONLINE SOURCES
These entries are given in no particular order and are numbered for referencing purposes only.

Source #1
From https://bestlifeonline.com/1970s-slang-terms/
20 Slang Terms From the 1970s No One Uses Anymore
by BOB LARKIN, DECEMBER 8, 2017
..."6. Stop dipping in my Kool-Aid
When somebody is up in your business and they won’t leave you alone, just tell them to stop dipping in your Kool-Aid. Your Kool-Aid, in this equation, is your business, and the dipper is the person who won’t leave you alone.

Example: “I told you I don’t want to talk about my divorce. Stop dipping in my Kool-Aid.” "

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Source #2
From https://lingomash.com/slang-meanings/50380/slang-meaning-of-stop-dipping-in-my-kool-aid
"Slang meaning of Stop Dipping In My Kool-aid
Stop Dipping In My Kool-aid means: stay out of my buisness"

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Source #3
From https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Dont%20be%20dipping%20in%20the%20koolaid%20when%20you%20dont%20know%20the%20flavor
"Dont be dipping in the koolaid when you dont know the flavor

What you say to dum people that are getting in your bizness or messing with stuff they dont need to be messin with.
(thinking they know somthing when they dont )
Bill: LMAO I bet she dumped you cus u were a cheap ass!
Nick: Man Dont be dipping in the koolaid when you dont know the flavor.
#dum#meddelin#comebacks#bizness#koolaid#flavor#dont#know#when#dipping#bisness#cheepass#cheep ass
by sheirdog December 10, 2008"

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ANOTHER MEANING FOR THE SAYING "DIPPING IN MY KOOL-AID"
1.
From https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Dipping%20in%20my%20kool-aid

"Dipping in my kool-aid
Trying to take/having an afair with someones girl.
1:Are you dippin' in my Kool-aid?!

2:No man she is all yours.
by Theodore Calech January 23, 2005"

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2.
From https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Dipping%20in%20my%20kool-aid

"Dipping in my kool-aid
Messing with, trying to steal, or interfering with someone getting a girl.
"Ay girl wanna go to the movies tonight?"
"Naw f&&k* that ,girl go with me"
"Dude quit Dipping in my kool-aid."
#dipping#kool-aid#kool#aid#dipp#stealing
by I3randon. December 18, 2008"
-snip-
*This word is fully spelled out in this comment.

Given that "Kool-Aid" is associated with something sweet, I think it's likely that the above meanings for "dippin in my Kool-Aid" [with "my Kool-Aid" meaning "my woman"] pre-dates "dippin in "my" or "the" Kool-Aid" [with "Kool-Aid" meaning "my business"].

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ADDENDUM #1: DEFINITION OF "DIP" AND INFORMATION ABOUT THE BRAND NAME "KOOL-AID"
Definition for "dip"
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dip
"a. to plunge or immerse momentarily or partially under the surface (as of a liquid) so as to moisten, cool, or coat"

**
Information about "Kool-Aid"
Excerpt #1
From http://mentalfloss.com/article/68405/15-sweet-facts-about-kool-aid 15 Things You Might Not Know About Kool-Aid, BY ALVIN WARD APRIL 14, 2016
"It’s been a staple of American pitchers and cups for nearly 90 years, but you might not know the sugary drink quite as well as you think you do. Here are a few nuggets about its history, alternate uses, and marketing that will make you yell, “Oh yeah!”

1. KOOL-AID WAS BORN IN HASTINGS, NEB.
Edwin Perkins, the man behind Kool-Aid, was originally a mail-order merchant of all sorts of products. He peddled a sunburn salve of his own creation, medicine, cleaning supplies, foods, and whatever else he could find. After striking out on his own in 1920 to form the Perkins Products Co. in Hastings, Neb., Perkins expanded his offerings to include a fruity soft drink that quickly won customers over.

2. IT WASN'T ALWAYS A POWDER.
Kool-Aid is famous for its inexpensive envelopes of powdered drink mix, but it wasn’t always a solid. When Perkins began selling fruity soft drinks in the 1920s, his product was a liquid concentrate that came packaged in four-ounce bottles. Perkins would ship the small bottles to customers, who could mix up a pitcher of soft drink by adding sugar and water.

[...]

3. A SHIPPING PROBLEM HELPED SPARK ITS SUCCESS.
Drinkers loved Perkins’s concoction, but it was far from the perfect mail-order product. The syrup—which he sold in lemon, raspberry, orange, root beer, cherry, and grape varieties—had to be mailed in heavy glass bottles, which led to hefty expenses for postage and were prone to shattering in transit. Ever the inventive chemist, Perkins took a cue from the success of Jell-O and abandoned the liquid in favor of a lightweight, easily shipped powder form of the drink. He started marketing the new powder in 1927."...

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Excerpt #2
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kool-Aid
..."Production
Kool-Aid is usually sold in powder form, in either packets or small tubs. The actual beverage is prepared by mixing the powder with sugar (the packets of powder are usually, though not always, unsweetened) and water, typically by the pitcherful. The drink is usually either served with ice or refrigerated and served chilled. Additionally, there are some sugar-free varieties.

Advertising and promotion
The Kool-Aid Man, an anthropomorphic pitcher filled with Kool-Aid, is the mascot of Kool-Aid. The character was introduced shortly after General Foods acquired the brand in the 1950s. In television and print ads, the Kool-Aid Man was known for randomly bursting through walls of children's homes and proceeding to make a batch of Kool-Aid for them. His catchphrase is "Oh, yeah!"

Starting in 2011, Kraft began allocating the majority of the Kool-Aid marketing budget towards Latinos. According to the brand, almost 20 percent of Kool-Aid drinkers are Hispanic, and slightly more than 20 percent are African-American.[9]"...
-snip-
Click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fjEViOF4JE for this YouTube video that shows a big pitcher of red Kool-Aid crashing through walls:
"Classic Kool-Aid Man Commercial Compilation (OH YEAH!)"
RealityVirtual, Published on Jul 9, 2015

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ADDENDUM #2
From http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/02/the-stereotype-of-african-americans.html "The Stereotype Of African Americans & Kool-Aid", posted in February 2012
...[quoting an online question] "Okay, Non-American here... Is there a specific streotype associated to Kool-Aid and blacks in the States, or is it just a random\strange product to choose?"
- Spekatie, http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2012/02/09/black-history-month-kool-aid-sale/#disqus_thread
-snip-
[Pancocojams Editor] I decided to look online before I responded to that query, and doing so I found a similar, but much more loaded question on http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20091228235646AAiesFk

"Why do black people like kool aid, fried chicken, and watermelon?

what do African Americans like kfc kool aid and watermelon im not a racist im not trying to be one no offence to anyone but why do people say they like it so much?"
- Mr. Crazy, 2010
-snip-
[Pancocojams Editor] There were several responses to that question, but the one that was voted the best was submitted by Mr. Baltimoron. I agree with the first part of his response:

"Many black people in America come from poor backgrounds. Chicken always used to be a cheaper meat (than, say, beef), so it's the protein they could afford. Of course chicken is bland in flavor (it tastes like, uh, chicken) so what can you do to spice it up? Flour is cheap, oil is cheap, and deep frying anything makes it 127% tastier. Tah-dah! Fried chicken. Same thing for Kool Aid (cheap and easy to make). Both are less a "black" thing and more economic and regional (the South) in origin but were grafted onto blacks as a dehumanizing mechanism...
- The Baltimoron 2010
-snip-
That blogger goes on to write that "Yes, your question (whether intended or not) is offensive. Whites used to malign black people as watermelon and chicken thieves. They would say that during the night, when it was pitch dark, black people would go to the master's field to steal watermelons, or, like foxes, to the chicken coop to steal chickens. But supposedly, these black people were always betrayed by their white teeth and white eyes which shone in the dark like lightning. So they could not hide, even in the darkest of nights, even though they were so black. That was why their smiles were cut like slices of watermelon and they were considered, like chickens, to be cowards."
-snip-
I don't agree that asking a question about the reasons for stereotypes is necessarily offensive. However, I believe that accepting that stereotype as the truth is offensive for the reasons that Baltimoron wrote.

Referring to Kool-Aid as the Black person's drink is a short handed way of saying that all Black people are poor. That statement is stereotypical. First of all, there are more poor White people in the USA (since it's probable that those making that statement erroneously equate the referent "Black people" with African Americans). Furthermore, all Black people in the United States aren't poor. Some of us (but unfortunately not me) are quite wealthy.

However, I think there are other reasons besides that product being inexpensive why many Americans (including Black Americans) may associate Kool-Aid flavored drink with Black folks. One of those reasons is that that company appears to have made a strategic marketing decision to target Black people in its ads. Note that the uploader of the video on the top of this page wrote that "I remember seeing this commercial every Saturday during Soul Train lol." Soul Train was a very popular music/dance show that featured mostly Black dancers and guest recording stars. However, it wasn't just Black people who watched that show.

A number of people who watched Soul Train may have favorable rememberances of those ads not only because they were aired during that well loved show, but also because those ads favorably depicted Black people."...

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