rot-gut
Definition
Noun: "rot-gut" refers to cheap, low-quality, and often harmful alcoholic liquor, typically whiskey or spirits that are poorly distilled and may cause digestive distress.
Usage Examples
- (Cheap, low-quality liquor that harms the stomach.)
- (Poorly made alcohol sold illegally.)
- (Inferior, unrefined alcohol.)
Advanced Usage
"to drink rot-gut": to consume cheap, low-quality alcohol as a means of intoxication.
- The homeless man would drink rot-gut to forget his troubles. (To consume harmful, inexpensive liquor.)
"rot-gut whiskey": a specific type of cheap, harsh whiskey.
- The miners drank rot-gut whiskey to warm themselves in the cold. (A low-grade, rough whiskey.)
Variants and Related Words
Rot-gut (adj): describing something as cheap, harmful, or of low quality, especially alcoholic beverages.
- The rot-gut brew was barely drinkable. (The low-quality drink was unpleasant.)
Gut-rot (n): a synonym for rot-gut, referring to cheap alcohol that harms the stomach.
- He avoided gut-rot and spent extra for decent wine. (Cheap, stomach-damaging liquor.)
Synonyms
- Moonshine: illegally distilled or homemade alcohol, often of poor quality.
- The illegal distillery produced moonshine that was pure rot-gut.
- Swill: cheap, low-quality drink, especially beer or liquor.
- The bar served swill that was essentially rot-gut.
- Hooch: informal term for cheap or illicit liquor.
- They smuggled hooch across the border, much of it rot-gut.
Idioms
"Not fit for human consumption": describing extremely low-quality alcohol, like rot-gut.
- That rot-gut is not fit for human consumption — it tastes like paint thinner. (The drink is dangerously bad.)
"Paint-stripper": a humorous term for very strong, harsh alcohol.
- This rot-gut could strip paint off a wall. (The drink is extremely potent and unpleasant.)