have a Chinaman on (one's) back

To suffer from an addiction to narcotics or the withdrawal symptoms caused by it. A derogatory phrase, it likely refers to opium's classical association with Southeast Asia. Having that Chinaman on her back has kept Janet out of work for years. I want to get clean and turn my life around, but having this Chinaman on my back is absolute torture.

Common Names:

Name	Pronounced	Usage
Matthaios	-	Biblical Greek
Kuro	koo-ṙo:	Japanese
Rudolf	[ru:dɔlf]
Faramund	-	Ancient Germanic
Hilaria	ee-LAH-ryah (Spanish)	Ancient Roman, Spanish
Denton	DEN-tən	English