rumrunner
Prohibition-era smuggler
A rumrunner is someone who smuggles alcohol illegally, especially by boat.
The term emerged during Prohibition in the United States (1920–1933), when smugglers transported liquor from ships anchored beyond territorial waters or across borders from Canada and the Caribbean.
Rumrunners made fortunes during the dry years.
The word also applies to the boats themselves.
Illicit liquor establishment
- moonshineIllegally distilled spirits
- bathtub ginAmateur-made illegal liquor
- 18th AmendmentConstitutional liquor ban
- temperanceHabitual moderation in behavior
bootlegging · Roaring Twenties · jazz age · flapper · repeal · homebrew · teetotalism · prohibitionist
Prohibited trade goods
- smugglingIllegal covert transport
- bootleggerIllegal liquor trafficker
- traffickingIllegal transport for profit
- black marketIllicit trading system
clandestine · underground · cargo · shipment · hidden compartment · coast guard · evasion · border crossing
Fast motorized watercraft
- motorboatEngine-propelled watercraft
- schoonerMulti-masted sailing craft
- nauticalOf ships and sailing
- seafaringTraveling by ocean vessel
navigation · coast · harbor · cove · inlet · dock · offshore · cargo ship
- mafiaCriminal organization using intimidation
- syndicateCombined group pursuing shared interest
- gangsterCriminal organization member
- mobsterOrganized crime member
underworld · racketeering · bribery · corruption · cartel · organized crime · turf · henchman
Slang for tax collectors
- G-menFBI agents, informally
- Eliot NessProhibition-era federal agent
- raidSudden armed incursion
- arrestSeize by law
seizure · informant · coast guard · pursuit · chase · capture · federal agents · surveillance
speakeasy
Illicit liquor establishment
- moonshineIllegally distilled spirits
- bathtub ginAmateur-made illegal liquor
- 18th AmendmentConstitutional liquor ban
temperance · bootlegging · Roaring Twenties · jazz age · flapper · repeal · homebrew · teetotalism · prohibitionist · temperance movement
contraband
Prohibited trade goods
- smugglingIllegal covert transport
- bootleggerIllegal liquor trafficker
- traffickingIllegal transport for profit
black market · clandestine · underground · cargo · shipment · hidden compartment · coast guard · evasion · border crossing · drop-off
speedboat
Fast motorized watercraft
seafaring · navigation · coast · harbor · cove · inlet · dock · offshore · cargo ship · deckhand
Al Capone
- mafiaCriminal organization using intimidation
- syndicateCombined group pursuing shared interest
- gangsterCriminal organization member
mobster · underworld · racketeering · bribery · corruption · cartel · organized crime · turf · henchman · boss
revenuers
Slang for tax collectors
- G-menFBI agents, informally
- Eliot NessProhibition-era federal agent
- raidSudden armed incursion
arrest · seizure · informant · coast guard · pursuit · chase · capture · federal agents · surveillance · tip-off
- Prohibition EraProhibition, bootleggers, bootlegging, bootlegger, speakeasies
- Rumcachaca, single barrel, Bacardi, Captain Morgan, Malibu
- speakeasysecret bar, hidden door, password, bootleg liquor, bathtub gin
rumrunnerprohibitionist
Advocate against legal alcohol
teetotaler · temperance advocate · abstainer · dry · designated driver
rumrunnerrevenue agent
Official investigating tax compliance
revenuer · federal agent · Eliot Ness · customs officer · T-man