rum-runner

A rum-runner unloads crates from a small boat at night.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • A person who smuggles alcoholic liquor: "rum-runner" refers to an individual who illegally transports or sells alcoholic beverages, especially during Prohibition.
   • A vessel used for smuggling liquor: "rum-runner" can also denote a boat or ship employed to transport contraband alcohol.

Usage Examples

• (A person caught smuggling liquor.)
• (A boat used for smuggling alcohol.)

Advanced Usage

• "rum-running" (noun): the activity or trade of smuggling alcoholic beverages.
  • Rum-running was a lucrative business during the 1920s. (The illegal trade in liquor was profitable.)

Variants and Related Words

• Rum (noun): a distilled alcoholic beverage made from sugarcane byproducts.
  • He ordered a glass of dark rum. (A specific type of liquor.)
• Runner (noun): a person who transports goods, often illegally.
  • The drug runner was caught at the border. (A person moving contraband.)

Synonyms

• Bootlegger: a person who makes, sells, or transports alcoholic liquor illegally.
• Smuggler: someone who moves goods into or out of a country illegally.

Related Idioms

• "Run a blockade": to evade a naval or police blockade to transport goods.
  • The rum-runner tried to run the blockade under cover of darkness. (Attempted to slip past the cordon.)