noun General Slang

Hooch

/huːtʃ/ · noun · slang

Cheap bootleg liquor, the rough stuff that flowed through Prohibition speakeasies.

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Definitions

1

Alcohol in general, used casually.

“Bring some hooch to the party.”
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2

Illegally made or smuggled liquor, often crude and strong.

“The hooch they served burned all the way down.”
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3

Home-distilled spirits or moonshine of dubious quality.

“Uncle Joe made hooch in a still out back.”
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Hooch In A Sentence

He kept a bottle of hooch stashed under the seat.
That hooch could strip paint off a fender.
Half the town was buying hooch from the same bootlegger.

Origin & Usage

Shortened from 'Hoochinoo,' the name of an Alaskan Tlingit group known for distilling liquor, the term spread through the late 1800s and became wildly common in 1920s Prohibition America as a name for bootleg booze.

Variants hootch
Tags #1920s#flapper#jazz-age#prohibition#vintage#drinking

People Also Ask

What does 'hooch' mean in slang?

It means cheap or illegal liquor, especially the bootleg spirits of the Prohibition years.

Where did 'hooch' come from?

It's a shortening of 'Hoochinoo,' an Alaskan Tlingit group famous for making liquor. By the 1920s it meant any rough bootleg booze.

Is hooch the same as moonshine?

They overlap. Hooch is any low-grade illegal liquor; moonshine specifically means home-distilled spirits.

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