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Today's Word "Bootleg"

To produce legally prohibited products on

Published in Vocabulary

bootleg \BOOT-lehg\ (verb) - To produce and/or distribute legally prohibited products.

"Jason's avocation was bootlegging illegal fireworks up and down the east coast until a bolt of lightning caught up with his truck on a run through Maryland."

 

Today's word originated from the habit of men, when they wore high boots in centuries past, of smuggling objects across borders by hiding them in the legs of their boots. In the late 19th century, however, its meaning shrunk to the smuggling of whisky into counties and states that were 'dry.' During Prohibition, the word became even more popular as the vocation of smuggling alcoholic beverages into the United States from Canada or from, well, bootleg distilleries. However, the word did not go the way of Prohibition. Rather, its meaning has broadened again recently to refer to the distribution of any illegal product, such as copyrighted tapes, CDs, and DVDs that are widely produced and distributed illegally today.


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