1920s Slang For Alcohol (Helpful Content!)

Slang terms for alcohol during the 1920s were influenced by American prohibition, giving us such euphemisms as “moonshine,” “hooch” or “giggle water”. However, other generic slang terms still in use today such as “booze” or “liquor” were still in use during the 1920s. “Sauce” and “Juice” were also common.

There have virtually always been lots of different slang terms for alcohol, and this was ramped up considerably during a time when it was illegal to own or sell alcohol.

But these terms were not only used in the United States but around the world, too.

Let’s find out more.

What was alcohol called in the 1920s?

Alcohol of all kinds went by many names in the 1920s.

There are a couple of quintessentially 1920s terms with which you are most probably familiar.

Moonshine

The first term that you will have most likely heard of is “moonshine.”

This was a very common term for homebrewed alcohol, made secretly (and illegally) in the U.S. during prohibition.

Today, this term still survives as a generic term for questionable alcohol that has been brewed in someone’s backyard.

Hooch

“Hooch” was another slang term for alcohol in the 1920s, usually referring to cheap alcohol.

Again, given that you couldn’t legally buy alcohol at all in the 1920s, less than reputable people would brew it up quickly and easily in order to sell to desperate people.

This is the kind of thing that hooch at first referred to, though this term is still used today to some extent.

Giggle Water

“Giggle water” was another very common, if not particularly subtle, slang term for alcohol in use in the 1920s.

Naturally, the term simply referred to the fact that drinking alcohol would often make you giddy and act stupid.

This one has fallen mostly out of use, though people will probably still understand what you mean if you use it.

It was very common in the 1920s.

Many of the terms we still use today as generic slang words for alcohol were already in use in the 1920s or were even coined during this time.

Booze

“Booze” of course is one of the most common slang terms for alcohol from this time which is still almost universal today.

It mostly referred specifically to hard alcohol and spirits, but it could refer to anything like beer or cider too.

Liquor

“Liquor” was also already well in use by this time, though this only referred to spirits and strong alcohol as it does today.

Where do all these terms come from, then?

Why was alcohol called “moonshine” in the 1920s?

The term “moonshine” may have been popularized by and heavily associated with the 1920s, but the word is in fact far older than this.

It has been in use since at least the 15^th Century, though it was not until the 18^th Century that it referred to alcohol.

Originally, the term was used in England, and referred to the fact that you would often brew your own alcohol at night in order to avoid being caught.

Naturally, this became a much more important aspect of brewing during prohibition.

This is why moonshine as a term became so popular during this period.

It was often made in remote areas by farmers and other workers under the moonlight at their farms.

Why was alcohol called “hooch” in the 1920s?

The term “hooch,” as mentioned, most often referred to cheap spirits, particularly fiery and difficult-to-stomach spirits that again people would brew themselves.

Interestingly, this term, common as it was and still is, is derived from the remote reaches of Alaska.

Indigenous Alaskan peoples used the term hutsnuwu, literally meaning “grizzly bear fort,” for fiery alcohol.

This term was spelled differently by other peoples and Europeans, as “hootzenoo”, and “hoochinoo”, among others.

This was eventually shortened to “hooch”, and became very common in the 1920s as people were much more commonly brewing their own hooch at home under prohibition.

Why was alcohol called “giggle water” in the 1920s?

The simple reason for the use of the term “giggle water” is, as mentioned, just the fact that drinking alcohol often makes you giggle and act silly.

This one was particularly used in reference to champagne, a popular drink even during the prohibition era—it was very often smuggled in from around the world.

It’s quite difficult to secretly brew champagne without an orchard.

It fell largely out of use after the 1920s, and was again just another of these euphemisms people would use to avoid talking publicly and explicitly about alcohol.

What else was alcohol called in the 1920s?

Beyond these specifically 1920s terms, there were many terms for alcohol used in the 1920s that we still use today.

“Booze,” of course, is the most common, and was more or less as universal than as it is now.

That said, because most people knew what it meant, it wouldn’t be used in public as much for fear of reprisal.

Similar slang terms for alcohol which can be used to describe any kind of alcohol in the 1920s included terms like “sauce” and “juice,” both of which are still widely used today.

Alcohol may have been illegal in the United States during the 1920s, but this did not stop it from being consumed.

For better or worse, people wanted alcohol, and they would get it whether legally or illegally.

At the same time, they didn’t want to get caught, so using these euphemisms to describe it was the perfect way to conceal their true intentions.

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