bootlegger
/'bu:t,legə/
Definition
- Noun:
- A person who makes, distributes, or sells alcoholic beverages illegally: A bootlegger is someone involved in the illegal production or trade of liquor, especially during a period of prohibition when such activities are banned by law.
Usage Examples
- Noun:
- During Prohibition, the bootlegger became a notorious figure in American cities.
- The police raided a warehouse and arrested a known bootlegger.
- He made a fortune working as a bootlegger, smuggling whiskey across the border.
Advanced Usage
- The term bootlegger is historically most associated with the United States during the Prohibition era (1920-1933). It can also apply to modern contexts involving the illegal trade of any copyrighted or patented goods (e.g., software, media), though this is an extended, metaphorical use.
- "to bootleg" (verb): The related verb means to make, sell, or transport illegally.
- They attempted to bootleg rare recordings of the concert.
Variants and Related Words
- Bootleg (noun/adj.): Refers to the illegal liquor or goods themselves, or something produced illegally.
- Noun: They found a stash of bootleg in the cellar.
- Adjective: He sold bootleg DVDs on the street corner.
- Bootlegging (noun): The act or business of being a bootlegger.
- Bootlegging was a dangerous but profitable enterprise.
Synonyms
- Smuggler: A person who moves goods illegally into or out of a country.
- Moonshiner: Specifically, a person who makes illegal whiskey, often in an unlicensed distillery.
- Rum-runner: A person or ship engaged in smuggling alcoholic beverages.
Related Phrases
- While "bootlegger" itself is not typically part of a phrasal verb, the activity is often described with related verbs.
- To run/smuggle liquor: To transport illegal alcoholic drinks.
- They used fast boats to run liquor across the lake.
Related Idioms
- "The real McCoy": This idiom, meaning the genuine article, is often said to have originated during Prohibition to distinguish high-quality bootleg whiskey from inferior substitutes.
- This isn't a cheap imitation; it's the real McCoy.
Noun
-
someone who makes or sells illegal liquor
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