moonshine

[ moon-shahyn ]

noun

1. Informal. smuggled or illicitly distilled liquor, especially corn liquor as illicitly distilled chiefly in rural areas of the southern U.S.
2. empty or foolish talk, ideas, etc.; nonsense.
3. the light of the moon; moonlight.

moonshine

/ ˈmuːnˌʃaɪn /

noun

1. another word for moonlight
2. illegally distilled or smuggled whisky or other spirit
3. foolish talk or thought

Word History and Origins

Origin of moonshine¹

1375–1425; late Middle English: moonlight. See moon, shine ¹,

Example Sentences

Following the shocking reveal that Hetty’s son was responsible for murdering Alberta with a bottle of strychnine-laced moonshine, Pinnock relished the opportunity to play a more romantic side of Alberta this season.

From Los Angeles Times

Luckily, her neighbors stopped her on Wednesday and calmed her by giving her a local moonshine called “Changaa” popular in rural and low-income areas of the capital.

From Seattle Times

Instead, the self-proclaimed “chairman of the Tortured Poets Department” has released successive batches of lyrics, including “Crowd goes wild at her fingertips / Half moonshine, / full eclipse” — posted on the day of the April 8 solar eclipse.

From Los Angeles Times

Female video of the year: Lainey Wilson, “Watermelon Moonshine”

From Seattle Times

As a proud Houston native — “the grandbaby of a moonshine man,” as she puts it in the new album’s opener, “Ameriican Requiem” — Beyoncé’s connection to country music runs deep: “Got folk down Galveston, rooted in Louisiana,” she sings in “Ameriican Requiem,” a surging march layered with guitar, sitar and the hum of an electric church organ.

From Los Angeles Times