Illegal traffic in liquor in the U.S. The term was probably first used to describe the practice of concealing flasks of illicit liquor in boot tops when going to trade with Indians. It became widely used in the 1920s when the 18th Amendment to the Constitution and the Volstead Act of 1919 effected the prohibition of liquor manufacturing and sales. Early bootleggers smuggled foreign-made liquor into the U.S. from Canada and Mexico and from ships anchored in international waters. Later sources included medicinal whiskey, denatured alcohol, and the manufacture of corn liquor. Bootlegging led to the rise of organized-crime syndicates that controlled operations from the manufacture of liquor to its distribution in restaurants and speakeasies. In 1933 Prohibition was repealed by the 21st Amendment. Some counties and municipalities continue to ban liquor, and bootlegging is still practiced
Informal efforts by managers and employees to create new products and new processes
the act of selling illegally or without permission; "the bootlegging of video tapes is common in the Orient"
Bootleg is used to describe something that is made secretly and sold illegally. a bootleg recording of the band's 1977 tour of Scandinavia. bootleg liquor. = illegal legal
To bootleg something such as a recording means to make and sell it illegally. He has sued a fan for bootlegging his concerts Avid Bob Dylan fans treasure bootlegged recordings. Bootleg is also a noun. The record was a bootleg. + bootlegger bootleggers boot·leg·ger Bootleggers sold 75 million dollars-worth of copies. bootleg alcohol, software, or recordings are made and sold illegally. an illegal recording of a music performance