Get your binoculars ready!
On a toot meant to go on a drinking spree!
During Prohibition, dry was a noun used in reference to a person who is opposed to the legal sale of alcoholic beverages.
Also known as rum-running, bootlegging originally involved transporting flasks of alcohol inside one's boots.
"To toot one's horn" may have played a role in coining this phrase, as some people tend to get a bit overconfident when they drink.
This would be done by pushing a syringe of alcohol through the cork in the barrel, and injecting it into the beer. However, it was very dangerous.
Bureau of Prohibition agents were often referred to as dry agents, though corruption was highly common. As an adjective, it describes a place that doesn't serve alcohol.
Believed to be a shortened form of "government man," a g-man was a special agent of the FBI. Laws banning the sale of alcohol led to an increase in crime, and caused many more law enforcement officers to be assigned in this area.
Meaning a contemptuous law violator, the term came about as a result of America's attempt at collective sobriety.
Sources: (Mental Floss) (Merriam-Webster)
Giggle water was a term for champagne that originated in 1910. During Prohibition, it referred more generally to alcoholic beverages made of whiskey or gin.
Blotto is an extremely drunk person, often to the point of unconsciousness.
In the '30s, the term began to be used to refer to a bar, club, or stall serving either alcoholic or non-alcoholic liquor.
The opposite of dry, a wet was a person who was for the legal sale of alcoholic beverages. It was also a place where liquor was supplied.
Hooch refers to low-quality liquor, usually whiskey. Having originated in the late 1800s, as a shortened version of Alaskan beverage Hoochinoo, it came back into heavy use in the '20s.
White lightning was the whiskey equivalent of bathtub gin. It was highly potent, illegally made, and also made from poor-quality spirits.
Teetotal and teetotaler first appeared with their current meanings in 1834. But it was only during Prohibition that it was popularized.
Bathtub gin was homemade gin, which would often be made in a bottle so tall that it couldn't be mixed with water from a sink tap. Instead, it was mixed in a bathtub.
A teetotaler is a person who abstains from the consumption of alcohol. In the early 1800s, tee-total and tee-totally were used to intensify the words total and totally.
Poorly made, the phrase came to be used as a general term for any type of cheap homemade booze.
During the Prohibition era, a saloon keeper could use alcohol-free or low-alcohol beer, a jar of alcohol, and a needle to make needle beer, also known as spiked beer.
People who wanted wine could get some by simply adding water to a dehydrated block of juice. After storing it for a few weeks, it would become wine.
The term was made up by American journalist and essayist H.L. Mencken in 1920 to describe his love of alcohol.
"I'm ombibulous. I drink every known alcoholic drink and enjoy them all," Mencken wrote. He was also fond of referring to bootleggers as booticians.
A jake walk is paralysis or loss of muscle control in the leg due to an overconsumption of Jamaican ginger, which is known as Jake. It's a legal substance with an alcoholic base.
The numbness led consumers to walk in a distinct way, which was also known as Jake leg or Jake foot.
Another term for a speakeasy was a blind pig. However, the difference was that a blind pig evaded police detection by fronting as a different sort of legitimate business.
A speakeasy was an illicit establishment that sold alcoholic beverages during Prohibition. Today, it may also refer to a retro style bar that replicates aspects of historical speakeasies.
A juice joint was a term originally used for a soft drink stand. But that changed during Prohibition.
Also known as a blind tiger, these places would charge patrons a fee up front so they could look at some sort of exotic animal (a blind pig or tiger). They would then give them a free cocktail once they entered.
For some, bootlegging became a lucrative business. Bootlegging king George Remus (pictured) earned a US$5 million fortune from this illegal activity during the early days of Prohibition.
In January 1920, the 18th Amendment to the US Constitution went into effect, prohibiting the production, importation, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages. This kicked off the period known as Prohibition, which, believe it or not, led to the creation of brand-new words—everything from drinking establishments, to the people who made booze, to booze itself. And while the 21st Amendment ended Prohibition on December 5, 1933, the colorful colloquialisms it popularized have stood the test of time.
Curious? Click on to check out words and phrases popularized during Prohibition.
Words and phrases popularized during Prohibition
From "beer needle" to "blind pig"
LIFESTYLE History
In January 1920, the 18th Amendment to the US Constitution went into effect, prohibiting the production, importation, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages. This kicked off the period known as Prohibition, which, believe it or not, led to the creation of brand-new words—everything from drinking establishments, to the people who made booze, to booze itself. And while the 21st Amendment ended Prohibition on December 5, 1933, the colorful colloquialisms it popularized have stood the test of time.
Curious? Click on to check out words and phrases popularized during Prohibition.