revenuer

English

Etymology

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

revenuer (plural revenuers)

1. (US, regional, now historical) A government official who enforces laws prohibiting the illegal distillation of alcohol. [from 19th c.]

   Antonyms: smuggler; bootlegger, moonshiner, shiner, rum-runner

   Hypernym: exciseman

   • 1970, Donald Harington, Lightning Bug:

     ‘Mister, if yo're another revenuer, I kin tell ye y'aint gonna leave this valley alive.’

Usage notes

• 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.