revenuer
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English
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From revenue + -er, reflecting the U.S. Treasury Department's former Bureau of Internal Revenue (a predecessor of the IRS and ATF), because the administrative mechanism for enforcing Prohibition originated in excise tax administration; Wikipedia gives details at Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives § History.
Noun
[edit]revenuer (plural revenuers)
- (US, regional, now historical) A government official who enforces laws prohibiting the illegal distillation of alcohol. [from 19th c.]
- Hypernym: exciseman
- Antonyms: smuggler; bootlegger, moonshiner, shiner, rum-runner
- 1970, Donald Harington, Lightning Bug:
- ‘Mister, if yo're another revenuer, I kin tell ye y'aint gonna leave this valley alive.’
Usage notes
[edit]- This term is especially associated with the efforts of the U.S. government to prevent illegal production and distribution of alcohol during the period of Prohibition in the U.S.
