moonshine
Plural: moonshines
Noun
- the light of the Moon
- whiskey illegally distilled from a corn mash
- The light of the moon.
- High-proof alcohol (especially whiskey) that is often, but not always, produced illegally.
- smuggled spirits, often with a specific sense; (Kent, Sussex) white brandy; (Yorkshire) gin.
- Nonsense.
- A branch of pure mathematics relating the Monster group to an invariant of elliptic functions.
- A spiced dish of eggs and fried onions.
- A month.
Verb
- distill (alcohol) illegally; produce moonshine
- To make homemade (especially, illicit) alcohol, especially distilled spirits.
- To make (an ingredient) into such a drink.
Examples
- He was talking moonshine.
- His grandfather started to moonshine when things got really bad in 1933; when he got caught moonshining, he did a bit of time.
- They watered down the moonshine.
Origin / Etymology
From Middle English mone schyne, mone-schyne, moone shone; equivalent to moon + shine. Illegally distilled liquor is so named because its manufacture may be conducted without artificial light at night. The verb sense is a back-formation from moonshiner.
Synonyms
bootleg, corn liquor, Moon, moonlight, bathtub gin, coon-dick, coondick, hooch, moonbeam, mountain dew, white lightning
Scrabble Score: 14
moonshine: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Wordmoonshine: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
moonshine: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary