bootleg

Noun- alcohol that is illegally sold, manufactured, or transported.

Verb- to illegally sell, manufacture, or transport alcohol.

The history: When the 19th Amendment was passed, it became illegal to purchase, manufacture, or transport alcoholic beverages in the United States, but that did not stop people. Bootleggers became famous for their illegal dealings with alcohol on the black market. They got their name from concealing the contraband beverage in their boots either in a flask or poured right in.

(A bootleg photo of the culprits who loved to say bootleg)

My first year of teaching at West Dallas, I was in over my head in more ways than I could count. (But I think that is how most teachers feel about their first year.) One of the issues that I had to deal with that I never expected was the flagrant use of slang in my classroom. While the slang was varied, diverse, and often very creative, the most popular word with my first class of kids was bootleg. Now, it started with using bootleg as an adjective describing anything that was copied or made illegally like dvd's or songs: i.e. "I got a bootleg copy of Saw IV." Then bootleg became an adjective describing anything cheap or uncool: i.e. "These shoes are bootleg. I want me some Jordans." Then the meaning of the word morphed into a general exclamation of disgust: i.e. in response to being corrected or getting a bad grade, "Man, that's bootleg!" All of my conversations with students about how there is a time and place for everything and that in the classroom we need to practice more formalized language were to no avail. The slang still abounded so I had to get a little more creative. Students would have to copy large portions out of a grammar text for illegal use of slang, and flagarant uses of bootleg earned copying the real definition of bootleg out of the dictionary 30+ times. Needless to say, when we got to the 1920's and studied Prohibition, speakeasies, and real bootleggers, the kids loved it.

Since then, my students have learned quicker the consequences of using slang and they are practicing more formalized language in the classroom. Although, every year I see a new form of slang emerge from the kids' daily register of words. But no other class has used bootleg with as much panache. And I must say, I kind of miss it.