moonshine

[moon-shahyn] /ˈmunˌʃaɪn/

noun

Informal. smuggled or illicitly distilled liquor, especially corn liquor as illicitly distilled chiefly in rural areas of the southern U.S.

empty or foolish talk, ideas, etc.; nonsense.

the light of the moon; moonlight.

Origin

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

Examples from the web for moonshine

Beverages of all types are sold, including illegally produced moonshine.
Lard seems as outdated as a wood-burning stove, as risky as a quart of moonshine.
He is free of any romantic moonshine about the moral charms of primitives or the glories of blood-stained dictators.
moonshine was produced by many settlers for both personal use and as an income source.

British Dictionary definitions for moonshine

moonshine

/ˈmuːnˌʃaɪn/

noun

another word for moonlight (sense 1)

(US & Canadian) illegally distilled or smuggled whisky or other spirit

foolish talk or thought

Word Origin and History for moonshine

c.1500, "moonlight," from moon (n.) + shine (n.). In figurative use, implying "appearance without substance," from late 15c.; perhaps connected in that sense with notion of "moonshine in water" (cf. moonraker). Meaning "illicit liquor" is attested from 1785 (earliest reference is to that smuggled on the coasts of Kent and Sussex); moonlight also occasionally was used in this sense early 19c. As a verb from 1883. Related: Moonshiner (1860).

Slang definitions & phrases for moonshine

moonshine

noun

Whiskey made by unlicensed distillers; corn whiskey; mountain dew: the moonshine distilled in the mountains (1877+)
Any cheap, inferior whiskey; rotgut (1920+)
Any liquor or whiskey (1920+)
Exaggerated talk; vain chatter; baloney, bullshit: His story's plain moonshine (1843+)