moonshinen.adj.
/ˈmuːnʃʌɪn/, U.S. /ˈmunˌʃaɪn/ A. n.
1. † c. humorous. A month. Obsolete.Apparently an isolated use.† d. The time when the moon begins to shine; moonrise. Obsolete.
a. = moonlight n. 1a. Now chiefly poetic and Caribbean.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > light > naturally occurring light > [noun] > moonlight
moonlightc1300
moona1393
moonshinec1425
night-shine1648
moonglow1860
c1425 in Hist. MSS Comm.: Rep. MSS Ld. Middleton (1911) 108 in Parl. Papers (Cd. 5567) XXVII. 1 If any man..be taken..betwene bell and bell, pay fowty pens to the kyrke, save os this, if any man in peyse harvest..bynd a mornynge or to be mone schyne.
c1440 S. Scrope tr. C. de Pisan Epist. of Othea (St. John's Cambr.) (1970) 50 Piramus..be the mone-schyne parceyued the wympil.
c1500 Melusine (1895) 22 Here shall we abyde tyl it be mone shyn.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Merry Wives of Windsor (1623) v. v. 101 Pinch him, and burne him, and turne him about, Till Candles, & Star-light, & Moone-shine be out. View more context for this quotation
1631 Earl of Manchester Contemplatio Mortis 84 His dayes..passe as a shadow by Moon-shine.
1707 E. Ward London Terræ-filius No. 3. 12 Two Hours in the Moonshine.
1798 S. T. Coleridge Anc. Marinere i, in W. Wordsworth & S. T. Coleridge Lyrical Ballads 10 Whiles all the night thro' fog smoke-white Glimmer'd the white moon-shine.
1814 W. Scott Waverley II. xiv. 209 The twilight had given place to moonshine when the party halted upon the brink of a precipitous glen. View more context for this quotation
1884 W. C. Smith Kildrostan 45 Every..gleam of moonshine..mocked and laughed at him.
1987 Z. Tomin Coast of Bohemia i. 5 Beneath the moonshine the city lay pale.
b. In figurative context. Radiant sweetness; pleasant distraction.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > [noun] > and pleasing
sweetnessc900
grace1340
ornament1531
moonshine1607
1607 G. Chapman Bussy D'Ambois iv. 43 Women..as the tender Moon-shine of their beauties Cleeres, or is cloudy, make men glad or sad.
?1804 R. B. Sheridan Let. (1966) II. 227 I know not how to look out for a ray of Light, sunshine or moonshine but by turning to you.
1839 P. J. Bailey Festus 169 The lap-dog dreams, as round he lies, In moonshine of his mistress' eyes.
1929 R. Bridges Test. Beauty iii. 55 The empty mind may float lightly in the full moonshine of o'erblown affluence.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > period > a month or calendar month > [noun]
montheOE
moonshine1608
menology1807
calendar month1827
mo1836
thirty days1928
1608 W. Shakespeare King Lear ii. 5 For that I am some twelue or 14. mooneshines lag of a brother? View more context for this quotation
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > day and night > night > [noun]
nighteOE
nightertalec1300
darkc1400
nightertimec1425
night-timec1430
night-tidea1500
night-season1530
darkmans?1536
Nox1567
moonshine1652
darkie?1738
the watches of the night1826
nite1928
bat-flight1934
1652 Faithful Scout No. 99. 782 They were exposed to extream hazard all the time of the fight (which lasted till Moon-shine).
1690 tr. U. Chevreau Great Scanderberg 19 We went together, at the Moon~Shine, upon the Sea Shore.
2. † b. to hang by the moonshine: to have no basis in fact. Obsolete.
a. Appearance without substance; something unsubstantial or unreal; (now) esp. foolish or fanciful talk, ideas, plans, etc. Originally †moonshine in the water.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > absence of meaning > nonsense, rubbish > [noun]
magged talea1387
moonshine1468
trumperyc1485
foolishness1531
trash1542
baggage1545
flim-flam1570
gear1570
rubbisha1576
fiddle-faddle1577
stuff1579
fible-fable1581
balductum1593
pill1608
nonsense1612
skimble-skamble1619
porridge1642
mataeology1656
fiddle-come-faddle1663
apple sauce1672
balderdash1674
flummery1749
slang1762
all my eye1763
diddle-daddle1778
(all) my eye (and) Betty Martin1781
twaddle1782
blancmange1790
fudge1791
twiddle-twaddle1798
bothering1803
fee-faw-fum1811
slip-slop1811
nash-gab1816
flitter-tripe1822
effutiation1823
bladderdash1826
ráiméis1828
fiddlededee1843
pickles1846
rot1846
kelter1847
bosh1850
flummadiddle1850
poppycock1852
Barnum1856
fribble-frabble1859
kibosh1860
skittle1864
cod1866
Collyweston1867
punk1869
slush1869
stupidness1873
bilge-water1878
flapdoodle1878
tommyrot1880
ruck1882
piffle1884
flamdoodle1888
razzmatazz1888
balls1889
pop1890
narrischkeit1892
tosh1892
footle1894
tripe1895
crap1898
bunk1900
junk1906
quatsch1907
bilge1908
B.S.1912
bellywash1913
jazz1913
wash1913
bullshit?1915
kid-stakes1916
hokum1917
bollock1919
bullsh1919
bushwa1920
noise1920
bish-bosh1922
malarkey1923
posh1923
hooey1924
shit1924
heifer dust1927
madam1927
baloney1928
horse feathers1928
phonus-bolonus1929
rhubarb1929
spinach1929
toffeea1930
tomtit1930
hockey1931
phoney baloney1933
moody1934
cockalorum1936
cock1937
mess1937
waffle1937
berley1941
bull dust1943
crud1943
globaloney1943
hubba-hubba1944
pish1944
phooey1946
asswipe1947
chickenshit1947
slag1948
batshit1950
goop1950
slop1952
cack1954
doo-doo1954
cobbler1955
horse shit1955
nyamps1955
pony1956
horse manure1957
waffling1958
bird shit1959
codswallop1959
how's your father1959
dog shit1963
cods1965
shmegegge1968
pucky1970
taradiddle1970
mouthwash1971
wank1974
gobshite1977
mince1985
toss1990
arse1993
the world > existence and causation > existence > substantiality or concreteness > unsubstantiality or abstractness > [noun] > unsubstantiality or lack of substance > something lacking substance > mere appearance or image of something
shadow?c1225
shade1297
phantomc1384
moonshine1468
fume1531
show1547
eggs in moonshine?1558
smoke1559
sign1597
ghost1613
umbra1635
parhelion1636
bogle1793
simulacrum1805
phantasmagoria1821
spectre1849
1468 in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) II. 389 Syr Thomas Howys wer..made byleve and put in hope of the moone shone in the water and I wot nat what.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 865/1 For moone shyne in the water pour vne chose de riens.
1598 W. Shakespeare Love's Labour's Lost v. ii. 207 Thou now requests but Mooneshine in the water. View more context for this quotation
1617 F. Moryson Itinerary iii. 6 Their continuall brawlings about Moone shine in the water.
1624 W. Bedell Copies Certaine Lett. ii. 49 Our dissentions are about Moone-shine.
1694 R. Franck Northern Mem. 28 Their..delectable Morsels will melt into Moonshines.
1781 Ld. McCartney Let. 25 Sept. in Private Corr. (1950 ) 1 Till that is settled the Treaty is mere moonshine.
1792 H. H. Brackenridge Mod. Chivalry I. ii. ii. 58 There can be no honour here; for it has become a mere matter of moon-shine to be a member.
1818 W. Scott Heart of Mid-Lothian iv, in Tales of my Landlord 2nd Ser. II. 96 Thae duds were a' o' the colour o' moonshine in the water, I'm thinking, Madge.
1841 B. Hall Patchwork II. viii. 155 I found the whole affair..a matter of moonshine.
1887 Spectator 3 Sept. 1173 As for all this talk about Federalism, it is moonshine. It means nothing practical at all.
1915 W. S. Maugham Of Human Bondage liii. 272 Telling you that philosophy was all moonshine.
1988 P. Pullman Shadow in North xix. 230 Whatever I said the other day..it was moonshine.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > existence > substantiality or concreteness > unsubstantiality or abstractness > be insubstantial [verb (intransitive)]
to hang by the moonshine1532
1532 T. More Confut. Tyndale in Wks. 564/2 Ye may wel perceiue..that the profe of al his whole conclusion..hangeth all by the moneshyne.
3. Cookery.† a. eggs in moonshine n. a dish consisting of egg yolks on a sweet base, popular in the 16th and 17th centuries; also used allusively with reference to sense A. 2a. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > egg dishes > [noun] > other egg dishes
poachéa1425
meseladea1450
potrona1450
malasadec1450
poached eggc1450
eggs in moonshine?1558
snow1597
fondue1806
Scotch egg1808
soufflé1813
scrabbed eggsa1825
Scotch woodcock1836
egg salad1873
prairie oyster1879
Adam and Eve on a raft1891
Russian egg1891
eggs Benedict1898
huevos rancheros1901
sabayon1906
oeuf en cocotte1909
shakshuka1930
piperade1931
thousand-year egg1961
the world > existence and causation > existence > substantiality or concreteness > unsubstantiality or abstractness > [noun] > unsubstantiality or lack of substance > something lacking substance > mere appearance or image of something
shadow?c1225
shade1297
phantomc1384
moonshine1468
fume1531
show1547
eggs in moonshine?1558
smoke1559
sign1597
ghost1613
umbra1635
parhelion1636
bogle1793
simulacrum1805
phantasmagoria1821
spectre1849
?1558 Proper New Bk. Cokerye (1913) 43 To make Egges in Moneshyne [v.r. moneshine]. Take..rosewater and..suger..and let them boyle, then take the yolkes of viii or ix egges..and put them ther to everyone from other.
1576 H. Gilbert Disc. Discov. New Passage Cataia x. sig. Hiij It is to be intended that the king of Portigal, would not haue giuen to the Emperour, such summes of money for egges in mooneshine.
1593 G. Harvey Pierces Supererogation 24 You may discourse of..I wott not what maruelous egges in mooneshine.
1660 R. May Accomplisht Cook 421 Eggs in Moonshine.
b. Any of various sweet, usually light puddings, often made of blancmange, meringue, etc., originally sometimes formed in a moon-shaped mould. Now U.S. regional.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > jelly > [noun] > sweet and other jellies
blancmange1377
manger blanc1574
moonshine1608
viper-jelly1702
saloop1712
jelly1728
salep1736
bread jelly1750
hartshorn jelly1769
arrowroot1822
table jelly1830
pineapple jelly1841
fruit-jelly1846
jujube paste1858
sponge1859
stone cream1861
pavlova1911
tracklement1954
1608 W. Shakespeare King Lear vii. 29 Ile make a sop of the moone-shine a you. View more context for this quotation
1650 J. Howell New Vol. of Lett. (ed. 2) xxii. 35 in Epistolæ Ho-elianæ (ed. 2) Could I those whitely Stars go nigh,..I'de poach them, and at Moonshine dress To make my Delia a curious mess.
1748 H. Glasse Art of Cookery (ed. 3) xvi. 289 Moon-shine. First have a Piece of Tin made in the Shape of a Half-Moon... Pour in the..Blanc Manger into the Dish, and when it is quite cold take out the Tin Things.
1865 M. B. Chesnut Diary 12 Mar. in C. V. Woodward Mary Chesnut's Civil War (1981) xxxii. 762 Moonshine is a sort of paste—light and fairylike, white as snow.
1890 V. E. James Mother James' Key Good Cooking 241 Moonshine. Take a glass of tart jelly and beat up until easy to work with. Beat the whites of six eggs to a stiff froth; add..sugar..flavor to taste; add the jelly and beat until stiff enough to stand in a pretty erect way on a flat dish.
1966 in Dict. Amer. Regional Eng. (1996) III. 654/1 Moonshine—rice and raisins cooked together (eaten by cowboys).
4. colloquial. Smuggled or illicitly distilled alcoholic liquor. Frequently attributive.The precise application varies with the locality; in the United States, usually whisky.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > drink > intoxicating liquor > distilled drink > [noun] > illicit spirits
moonshine1782
moonlight1809
Jack1816
sly grog (seller, etc.)1829
busthead1851
hooch1897
jackass1921
moon1921
samogon1928
shine1933
shinny1934
Hokonui1947
1782 European Mag. & London Rev. Sept. 179/1 That being a house of call for smugglers, one is sure of meeting always with genuine Moonshine.
1785 F. Grose Classical Dict. Vulgar Tongue (at cited word) The white brandy smuggled on the coasts of Kent and Sussex, is [1796 and the gin in the north of Yorkshire are] called moonshine.
1841 J. T. J. Hewlett Parish Clerk I. 9 A glass of real Hollands—genuine moonshine.
1875 E. King Southern States N. Amer. 478 Producing from his pocket a flask of ‘moonshine’ whiskey, [he] invited us to drink.
1901 Munsey's Mag. June 428/1 Georgia and Arkansas have the greatest number of moonshine stills.
1922 E. B. White Let. 8 May (1976) 42 Children had been coming to school drunk from moonshine.
1957 M. McCarthy Memories Catholic Girlhood vii. 157 It did not smell like the whisky my grandfather drank. It was moonshine, they said; corn whisky.
1981 M. Moorcock Byzantium Endures xii. 287 I..was offered a flask of vodka. I accepted it and sipped. It was raw moonshine.
1992 Harper's Mag. Mar. 62/3 The anti-alcohol campaign..led to sugar being bought up for moonshine manufacture.
B. adj. (attributive).
1. Illuminated by the moon; moonlit; occurring by moonlight or at night; nocturnal. Now chiefly Caribbean.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > light > naturally occurring light > [adjective] > resembling moonlight > moonlit
moonlight1584
moonshine1587
moonshiny1602
moonshining1638
moony1648
moonlit1783
moon-bright1790
moonlighted1811
mooned1831
moon-litten1845
1587 W. Harrison Descr. Eng. i. xxiv. 129 A spirit that would of custome in a moone shine night..run at tilt and turneie in complet armor with anie knight..in that place.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Merry Wives of Windsor (1623) v. v. 37 You Moone-shine reuellers. View more context for this quotation
1626 F. Bacon Sylua Syluarum §866 Starre-Light Nights, yea, and bright Moone-shine Nights, are Colder than Cloudy Nights.
1660 S. Pepys Diary 9 Oct. (1970) I. 262 And so home in our barge, a clear Moone-shine night.
1726 J. Swift Gulliver I. i. v. 89 It being likewise a Moon-shine Night.
1820 Sporting Mag. 7 97 Moonshine sportsmen, familiarly termed poachers.
1832 D. Brewster Lett. Nat. Magic xiii. 327 During the clear moonshine nights of November.
1948 E. N. Burke Stories told by Uncle Newton iv. 7 Though but 13 years of age, Joshie..knew much about corn-shelling parties, moonshine revels [etc.].
1978 in A. W. Shilling Some Non-standard Features Bahamian Dial. Syntax (Ph.D. thesis, Univ. of Hawaii) 146 When you pass is moonshine night.
2. Vain, empty, foolish; worthless. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > existence > substantiality or concreteness > unsubstantiality or abstractness > [adjective] > unsubstantial or merely apparent
shadowy1374
phantom?c1450
shadowish1561
dreamish1563
fleshlessa1592
dreamya1594
shadowed1597
unreal1605
phantasmatic1607
dreamlike1615
umbratilous1637
phantasmatical1642
umbratile1647
moonshine1668
phantomical1687
visionary1697
faerie1767
filmlike1804
phantasmal1805
spectral1816
moonshiny1821
phantomatica1834
parheliacal1852
phantomic1878
translunar1927
celluloid1928
1668 H. More Divine Dialogues iii. xxvi. 471 They are weak, abortive, Moon-shine Conceptions.
1825 N.Y. Lit. Gaz. 10 Sept. 2/1 No money can be raised on your moonshine securities; post-obits, and wind bills all fail.
1870 ‘F. Fern’ Ginger-snaps 70 I would like to write a book on some kinds of legal murder; that is if really good people had not such moonshine notions about ‘delicacy’.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2002; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
moonshinev.
/ˈmuːnʃʌɪn/, U.S. /ˈmunˌʃaɪn/ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > deception by illusion, delusion > deceive, delude [verb (transitive)]
bedidderc1000
bipechec1000
swikeOE
fodea1375
flatter1377
to make believea1393
illude1447
miscarrya1450
to fode forth (also occasionally forward, off, on, out)1479
delude1493
sophisticate1597
sile1608
prestigiate1647
will-o'-the-wisp1660
bilk1672
foxa1716
fickle1736
moonshine1824
1824 E. Weeton Let. 6 July in Jrnl. of Governess (1969) II. 298 I visited the Diorama... I was too much gratified to think I was moon-shined out of my money.
1852 G. W. Bungay Crayon Sketches & Off-hand Takings 116 Speaking of backsliders, he observed: ‘They slide by moonshining and deceiving themselves.’
2. intransitive. North American colloquial. To distil liquor, esp. whisky, illicitly. Occasionally transitive with it.
ΚΠ
1886 Atlantic Monthly Sept. 401/2 She swore that you were moonshining.
1902 W. N. Harben Abner Daniel 209 We moonshined it together two year, though he never knowed my chief hidin'-place.
1910 ‘O. Henry’ Whirligigs xv. 173 He acknowledged no occupation save that of a squirrel hunter, but he ‘moonshined’ occasionally by way of diversion.
1949 Times-Picayune (New Orleans) 13 Feb. 6/2 Even a small operator can make fair living moonshining.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2002; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.adj.c1425
v.1824