Rumrunner

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. a person who illegally transported or sold alcoholic beverages during prohibition
2. someone engaged in the clandestine smuggling and distribution of contraband liquor
3. an individual who trafficked in bootleg alcohol in violation of laws banning its production and sale

Etymology: Rum-runner is a plain compound: "rum," the strong spirit, joined to "runner," someone who carries goods illegally. The pairing describes the trade rather than the drink, and the word's real interest lies in what the trade was. During the period in American history when the sale of alcohol was banned nationally, smugglers moved liquor across the border from Canada and by sea from the Caribbean to supply a thirsty public. The figure of the runner, slipping goods past authorities, is built directly into the word. The compound works the way many English trade words do: the first element names the commodity and the second names the person moving it. "Runner" in this sense has long meant someone who carries goods clandestinely, so the word needed no metaphor to make sense. It described a job, and the job was dangerous and lucrative enough to attract a large number of people.

Synonyms: bootlegger, smuggler