speakeasy: 1 n (during prohibition) an illegal barroom Type of: bar , barroom , ginmill , saloon , taproom a room or establishment where alcoholic drinks are served over a counter For example, some speakeasies only let in known customers; some required passwords; some required speakeasy cards (an identification card, of sorts, that told the proprietor it was okay to let the person in).5, While Prohibition was the law of the land for 13 years, it didnt turn Americans abstinent, and as time went on, support for the law decreased substantially. Speakeasy Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com tom selleck hearing aid. "Blind tiger" also referred to illegal drinking establishments in which the seller's identity was concealed. For When 'Lowdown Crook' Isn't Specific Enough. Learn a new word every day. During that time, the sale, manufacture, and transportation (bootlegging) of alcoholic beverages was illegal throughout the United States. Partial Hospitalization Programming (PHP), College Towns with the Most Alcohol Consumption, Alcohol Consumption Demographics & Treatment Statistics. In fact, as many as 8 of 10 congressmen may have been drinking on the sly during these years.6, However, while speakeasies may have been appealing to plenty of folks and, to some extent, people of all economic classes did mix in these clubs, only a small percentage could afford to visit them regularly. In other cases, brand names were used to specify the liquor customers wanted. Making educational experiences better for everyone. [7] Although failing to account for earlier usage outside the U.S., a common American anecdote traces the term to saloon owner Kate Hester, who ran an unlicensed bar in the 1880s in McKeesport, supposedly telling her rowdy customers to "speak easy" to avoid attention from authorities. 1 In fact, drinking alcohol . When letters make sounds that aren't associated w One goose, two geese. While an actual count was impossible to make because of the covert nature of these underground establishments, the New York Historical Society states that the actual number may have been much higher (up to 100,000) than this estimate.3, In fact, the sale of alcohol during Prohibition was so prevalent that Detroits illicit alcohol trade was the second-biggest contributor to the economy at the time, behind only the citys auto industry.1, Speakeasies were often run by gangsters who began to dominate the alcohol industry when it was run underground.4. They started the business in Greenwich with a place called "The Redhead" and later moved onto the next operation "The Puncheon Club". Word of mouth continues to support the business of these figurative and sometimes literal underground clubs. words you need to know. Speakeasy. Sun Aug 15 2021 at 07:00 pm to Mon Aug 16 2021 at 12:00 am, Hawaiian Brian's | HB Social Club | Honolulu, HI. Films were restricted from depicting alcohol on screen, but some still continued to do so because they felt it showed the way Americans lived, such as the scene in Our Dancing Daughters in which Joan Crawford dances on a table in a speakeasy.[20]. The meaning of SPEAKEASY is a place where alcoholic beverages are illegally sold; specifically : such a place during the period of prohibition in the U.S.. The precise term "speakeasy" dates from no later than 1837 when an article in the Sydney Herald newspaper in Australia referred to 'sly grog shops, called in slang terms "speakeasy's" [sic] in this part Boro Creek. However, sometimes when brand names were used, some speakeasies cheated; they lied to their customers by giving them poor quality liquor instead of the higher-quality liquor the customer ordered. Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced searchad free! Join our online community to learn more about addiction and treatment. a place where alcoholic drink was sold illicitly during Prohibition, The 'Safe Supply' Movement Aims to Curb Drug Deaths Linked to the Opioid Crisis, The Lost Year: What the Pandemic Cost Teenagers, Cold War Kids on Faith, Hipster Detractors & Their Musical Evolution. Some were operated by people who were part of organized crime. Many businesses would set up their speakeasies to attract women to get more profits. Cheap liquor was generally used because it was more profitable. The speakeasy soon became one of the biggest parts of American culture during this time. You could drink alcohol you already had in your home, for example. speakeasy hawaiian brian's | Future Property Exhibiitons To cater to the very large population of people who still wished to drink, hidden bars and nightclubs were established in cities across the country. His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project. New York's 21 Club was a Prohibition-era speakeasy. Speakeasies found their place in society during the time of Prohibition in the United States.