Antedating of "Bootlegger"

Shapiro, Fred fred.shapiro at YALE.EDU
Wed May 28 21:36:27 UTC 2014


bootlegger (OED 1889)

1886 _Plain Dealer_ (Cleveland) 9 Mar. 4 (America's Historical Newspapers)  THE Iowa liquor law has given rise to the "boot legger."  He wears high-top boots and carries a flask of liquor in each, which he produces when he sells a drink.  The federal revenue officers find it very difficult to detect the boot legger.

Fred Shapiro

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org



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