tune in, turn on, drop out

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

1960s counterculture slogan popularized by Timothy Leary and attributed to Marshall McLuhan.

Phrase

tune in, turn on, drop out

  1. Pay attention to the new way of living; go within yourself, take drugs; abandon the established ways and stop conforming.
    • 2018 August 23, Kara Swisher, “How and Why Silicon Valley Gets High”, in The New York Times‎, ISSN 0362-4331:
      That research might eventually move the category of drugs from their turn-on-tune-in-drop-out heyday in counterculture San Francisco to the mainstream.

Usage notes

According to Leary, the original form is turn on, tune in, drop out.[1][2]

References
  1. Timothy Leary (1983) Flashbacks, New York: Putnam, published 1990, →ISBN, page 253: “Dripping wet, with a towel around my waist, I walked to the study and wrote down this phrase: “Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out.””
  2. “Leary's Legacy Is, Like, Flipped, Man”, in The New York Times‎, 1996-06-09, ISSN 0362-4331

Further reading
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