Scofflaw

Last updated

Scofflaw is a noun coined during the Prohibition era which originally denoted a person who drinks illegally, or otherwise ignored anti-drinking laws. It is a compound of the words scoff and law . Its use has been extended to mean one who flouts any law, especially those difficult to enforce, and particularly traffic laws.

Contents

Etymology

"Scofflaw" was the winning entry of a nationwide competition to create a new word for "the lawless drinker," with a prize of $200 in gold, sponsored by Delcevare King, a banker and enthusiastic supporter of Prohibition, in 1923. [1] Two separate entrants, Henry Irving Dale and Kate L. Butler, submitted the word, and split the $200 prize equally. Scofflaw was deemed the best and most suitable out of over 25,000 entries. [2] The word was from the outset frequently used until the eventual repeal of Prohibition in 1933. It experienced a revival in the 1950s, as a term for anyone who displays disdain for laws difficult to enforce. The word itself remains a symbol of the Prohibition era.[ citation needed ]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cocktail</span> Combination of spirits and alcohol

A cocktail is a mixed drink, usually alcoholic. Most commonly, a cocktail is a combination of one or more spirits mixed with other ingredients, such as juices, flavored syrups, tonic water, shrubs, and bitters. Cocktails vary widely across regions of the world, and many websites publish both original recipes and their own interpretations of older and more famous cocktails.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prohibition</span> Outlawing of alcohol

Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage, transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic beverages. The word is also used to refer to a period of time during which such bans are enforced.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Volstead Act</span> 1919 US law initiating the prohibition of alcoholic beverages

The National Prohibition Act, known informally as the Volstead Act, was an act of the 66th United States Congress designed to execute the 18th Amendment which established the prohibition of alcoholic drinks. The Anti-Saloon League's Wayne Wheeler conceived and drafted the bill, which was named after Andrew Volstead, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, who managed the legislation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Temperance movement</span> Social movement against drinking alcohol

The temperance movement is a social movement promoting temperance or complete abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and its leaders emphasize alcohol's negative effects on people's health, personalities and family lives. Typically the movement promotes alcohol education and it also demands the passage of new laws against the sale of alcohol, either regulations on the availability of alcohol, or the complete prohibition of it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moonshine</span> High-proof distilled spirit, generally produced illicitly

Moonshine is high-proof liquor, traditionally made or distributed illegally. Its clandestine distribution is known as bootlegging. The name was derived from a tradition of distilling the alcohol at night to avoid detection. In the first decades of the 21st century, commercial distilleries have adopted the term for its outlaw cachet and begun producing their own legal "moonshine", including many novelty flavored varieties, that are said to continue the tradition by using a similar method and/or locale of production.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Speakeasy</span> Establishment that illegally sells alcoholic beverages; now, retro-style bars

A speakeasy, also called a blind pig or blind tiger, was an illicit establishment that sold alcoholic beverages. The term may also refer to a retro style bar that replicates aspects of historical speakeasies.

The talent was a unit of weight used in the ancient world, often used for weighing gold and silver, but also mentioned in connection with other metals, ivory, and frankincense. In Homer's poems, it is always used of gold and is thought to have been quite a small weight of about 8.5 grams (0.30 oz), approximately the same as the later gold stater coin or Persian daric.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rum-running</span> Illegal business of smuggling alcoholic beverages

Rum-running, or bootlegging, is the illegal business of smuggling alcoholic beverages where such transportation is forbidden by law. The term rum-running is more commonly applied to smuggling over water; bootlegging is applied to smuggling over land.

In the United States, the nationwide ban on alcoholic beverages, was repealed by the passage of the Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution on December 5, 1933.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pauline Sabin</span> American activist

Pauline Morton Sabin was an American prohibition repeal leader and Republican party official. Born in Chicago, she was a New Yorker who founded the Women's Organization for National Prohibition Reform (WONPR). Sabin was active in politics and known for her social status and charismatic personality. Sabin's efforts were a significant factor in the repeal of Prohibition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rum row</span>

A rum row was a Prohibition-era term (1920–1933) referring to a line of ships loaded with liquor anchored beyond the maritime limit of the United States. These ships taunted the Eighteenth Amendment’s prohibition on the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages. Although rum prevailed along Caribbean shores, other beverages were popular elsewhere.

<i>Avodah Zarah</i> Tractate of the Talmud

Avodah Zarah is the name of a tractate of the Talmud, located in Nezikin, the fourth Order of the Talmud dealing with damages. The main topic of the tractate is laws pertaining to Jews living amongst Gentiles, including regulations about the interaction between Jews and "avodei ha kochavim", which literally interpreted is "Worshipers of the stars", but is most often translated as "idolaters", "pagans", or "heathen."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alcohol laws of Kansas</span>

The alcohol laws of Kansas are among the strictest in the United States, in sharp contrast to its neighboring state of Missouri, and similar to its other neighboring state of Oklahoma. Legislation is enforced by the Kansas Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drinking establishment</span> Business

A drinking establishment is a business whose primary function is the serving of alcoholic beverages for consumption on the premises. Some establishments may also serve food, or have entertainment, but their main purpose is to serve alcoholic beverages. There are different types of drinking establishment ranging from seedy bars or nightclubs, sometimes termed "dive bars", to 5,000 seat beer halls and elegant places of entertainment for the elite. A public house, informally known as a "pub", is an establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises in countries and regions of British influence. Although the terms are increasingly used to refer to the same thing, there is a difference between pubs, bars, inns, taverns and lounges where alcohol is served commercially. A tavern or pot-house is, loosely, a place of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and, more than likely, also be served food, though not licensed to put up guests. The word derives from the Latin taberna and the Greek ταβέρνα/taverna.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prohibition in the United States</span> Alcohol ban, 1920–1933

The Prohibition era was the period from 1920 to 1933 when the United States prohibited the production, importation, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages. The alcohol industry was curtailed by a succession of state legislatures, and Prohibition was formally introduced nationwide under the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified on January 16, 1919. Prohibition ended with the ratification of the Twenty-first Amendment, which repealed the Eighteenth Amendment on December 5, 1933.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alcohol law</span> Law pertaining to alcoholic beverages

Alcohol laws are laws relating to manufacture, use, being under the influence of and sale of alcohol or alcoholic beverages. Common alcoholic beverages include beer, wine, (hard) cider, and distilled spirits. Definition of alcoholic beverage varies internationally, e.g., the United States defines an alcoholic beverage as "any beverage in liquid form which contains not less than one-half of one percent of alcohol by volume". Alcohol laws can restrict those who can produce alcohol, those who can buy it, when one can buy it, labelling and advertising, the types of alcoholic beverage that can be sold, where one can consume it, what activities are prohibited while intoxicated, and where one can buy it. In some cases, laws have even prohibited the use and sale of alcohol entirely.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rum-running in Windsor, Ontario</span> Alcohol smuggling in 20th century Canada

Rum-running in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, was a major activity in the early part of the 20th century. In 1916, the State of Michigan, in the United States, banned the sale of alcohol, three years before prohibition became the national law in 1919. From that point forward, the City of Windsor, Ontario was a major site for alcohol smuggling and gang activity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teetotalism</span> Abstinence from the consumption of alcohol

Teetotalism is the practice or promotion of total personal abstinence from the consumption of alcohol, specifically in alcoholic drinks. A person who practices teetotalism is called a teetotaler or teetotaller, or is simply said to be teetotal. Globally, almost half of adults do not drink alcohol. A number of temperance organisations have been founded in order to promote teetotalism and provide spaces for non-drinkers to socialise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glossary of cannabis terms</span>

Terms related to cannabis include:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Consequences of Prohibition</span> Effects of alcohol prohibition in the United States

The Consequences of Prohibition did not just include effects on people's drinking habits but also on the worldwide economy, the people's trust of the government, and the public health system. Alcohol, from the rise of the temperance movement to modern day restrictions around the world, has long been a source of turmoil. When alcoholic beverages were first banned under the Volstead Act in 1919, the United States government had little idea of the severity of the consequences. It was first thought that a ban on alcohol would increase the moral character of society, but a ban on alcohol had vast unintended consequences.

References

  1. "DELCEVARE KING, BANKER, 89 DEAD; Prohibitionist's Contest Led to Coining of 'Scofflaw'". The New York Times. March 22, 1964.
  2. "Ken Burns: Prohibition". PBS . Retrieved July 28, 2013.