bootleg
The part of a boot that is above the instep.
Adjective
- Illegally produced, transported, or sold.
- Near-synonym: pirated
Synonyms: pirated
- Being an inferior imitation of something, possibly a counterfeit.
- bootleg coffee
Synonyms: ersatz
Origin
From boot + leg. Originally a nickname given to smugglers in King George III's reign, derived from the smugglers' custom of hiding packages of valuables in their large sea-boots when dodging the king's coastguardsmen.
Noun
- The part of a boot that is above the instep.
- Holonyms: upper < boot
- An illegally produced, transported, or sold product.
- He thinks he can cross this border with bootleg and get away with it. I doubt he's right. Maybe years ago, but not nowadays.
Synonyms: contraband
- An unauthorized recording; for example, of a live concert.
- Years ago I heard a fantastic bootleg of that song. It was my favorite rendition.
- A remix or mashup that is a combination of two songs but that is not authorized and audited for copyright use; primarily in the electronic music scene.
- A play in which the quarterback fakes a handoff, conceals the ball against his hip, and rolls out.
Forms
Verb
- To engage in bootlegging.
- Only certain dishes are allowed—-not fish and lobster, reserved to the state restaurants—-and those paladares that break the rules operate like speakeasies in the time of Prohibition, the fish-bootlegging owners keeping...
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(chiefly US, ambitransitive) To make, transport and/or sell illegal alcoholic liquor.
- In the 1930s, Grandpa used to bootleg to make ends meet.
- In the 1930s, Grandpa used to bootleg whiskey from a still hidden in the backwoods.
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(ambitransitive) To make, transport and/or sell an illegal version or copy of a copyrighted product.
- In the 1990s, Grandpa used to bootleg under some sort of Robin-Hood-esque notion.
- In the 1990s, Grandpa used to bootleg Windows CD-ROMs.
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(chiefly US, ambitransitive) To operate a mine illicitly.
- In the 1930s, Grandpa used to bootleg to make ends meet.
- In the 1930s, Grandpa used to bootleg coal from a shaft hidden in the backwoods.