rumrunner
1
9.9
- noun
- /ˈrʌmˌrʌnər/
- Archaic
:
contrabandista de ron
- He became known as a notorious rumrunner because he transported illegal whiskey at night.
- rumrunner during Prohibition
Examples
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Rumrunners, bootleggers, scofflaws, every tom, dick, and Harry has a double life of some sort these days.
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Your rumrunners learned the game from our pirates, even to hijacking.
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I thought he was just a rumrunner from down south.
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Some rumrunner is going to meet us at this cottage and tell us we can make a fortune with just a few illegal trips across the Canadian border.
Fiction book (1999) -
I'll bet they don't rate 1-9 with our rumrunners.
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Last time the rumrunners who used this island as a cache came by, and I was able to barter passage off.
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It continued through Prohibition, as drinkers moved south and Mexican rumrunners sent alcohol north.
Academic text (2009) -
(Unless he was a silver-fox fictional archaeologist or a 1930s rumrunner on the lam.)
Blog text (2) -
During Prohibition, many rumrunners smuggled alcohol across the Canadian border.
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The police set up roadblocks to catch any rumrunners trying to bring alcohol into the dry county.
Synonyms
89
3.8
A person who secretly moves goods across borders to avoid paying tax
53
8.3
A person who brings goods into a country without paying customs
11
8.6
A person who makes and sells alcohol illegally, often during Prohibition
A person who moves goods across a border illegally, often to avoid taxes
A person who secretly brings goods into or out of a country to avoid paying taxes
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
The word rumrunner comes from rum ('the strong drink') and runner ('someone who moves things quickly or secretly'). It began during Prohibition when people ran bottles across coasts at night, so a rumrunner is a person who illegally transports alcohol.