Definitions

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun An illegal trader of goods, especially of alcohol.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun someone who makes or sells illegal liquor

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Originally a nickname given to smugglers in King George III's reign, derived from the smugglers' custom of hiding packages of valuables in their large sea-boots when dodging the king's coastguardsmen.

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Examples

  • I seem to recall the term bootlegger being thrown around a bunch.

    The Clog 2010

  • A bootlegger is a man convicted, not a man merely suspected.

    Is Quebec A British Province? 1934

  • American ideal that feels especially exhalted in a year dominated by anti-government sentiment: the bootlegger is the lone frontiersman, the rebel outlaw, the Marlboro Man.

    msnbc.com: Top msnbc.com headlines 2010

  • American ideal that feels especially exhalted in a year dominated by anti-government sentiment: the bootlegger is the lone frontiersman, the rebel outlaw, the Marlboro Man.

    msnbc.com: Top msnbc.com headlines 2010

  • The bootlegger is the person who stands to gain from the policy.

    NZ On Screen 2010

  • The gambler and the "bootlegger" and the white slave dealer find their habitat in large centres of population.

    Policing the Plains Being the Real-Life Record of the Famous North-West Mounted Police R.G. MacBeth

  • It’s called a bootlegger’s turn, staple of TV shows, Tennessee moonshiner’s gift to the world.

    Venom Joan Brady 2010

  • The much-reviled "bootlegger," after all, is just a businessman, albeit a businessman without an office or membership in a chamber of commerce.

    Nunatsiaq News - Online jimb@nunatsiaq.com 2010

  • The much-reviled "bootlegger," after all, is just a businessman, albeit a businessman without an office or membership in a chamber of commerce.

    Nunatsiaq News - Online jimb@nunatsiaq.com 2010

  • "Well, I'm not going to take the word of a so-called bootlegger over the word of a federal agent.

    The Twelfth Of August -The life story of Sheriff Buford Pusser Morris, W. R. 1971

Comments

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  • She was only a bootlegger, but I loved her still.

    December 3, 2009

  • Bilby, have you been talking to my father? He just presented that joke a few days ago at Thanksgiving.

    December 3, 2009

  • I have a good "A....walks into a bar" joke. Where should I post it?? *too lazy to look for the list*

    December 3, 2009

  • An ellipsis and a period walk into a bar. The bartender says "Hey! Where's the colon?" and the the ellipsis says....

    December 3, 2009

  • dontcry, here's the list.

    December 3, 2009

  • ruz :-)

    rt, your father and I meet to discuss you at least twice a year. Lately he's been quite concerned about your ______ *whispers*

    December 3, 2009

  • Oh, bilby, I almost spat out my tea. Thank you!

    (...wait, why am I thanking him for almost wasting good tea?)

    December 3, 2009

  • Strikingly similar: "He was the best laxative salesman in the country, but he was just a regular guy."

    December 3, 2009

  • Bilby: Ooooh. So that's what he was talking about on Friday....

    December 4, 2009