Scofflaw is a

noun In grammar, a noun is a word that represents a concrete or abstract thing, like living creatures, places, actions, qualities, states of existence, and ideas. A noun may serve as an Object (grammar), object or Subject (grammar), subject within a p ...

coined during the

Prohibition era Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacturing, manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption ...

which originally denoted a person who drinks illegally, or otherwise ignored anti-drinking laws. It is a compound of the words ''

scoff Scoff or SCOFF may refer to: * Scoff, a colloquial term for the act of eating, usually quickly * "Scoff" a song by Nirvana on their album ''Bleach'' * Scoff, a colloquial term for fellatio Fellatio (also known as fellation, and in slang as blo ...

'' and ''

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

''. Its use has been extended to mean one who flouts any law, especially those difficult to enforce, and particularly traffic laws.

Etymology

"Scofflaw" was the winning entry of a nationwide competition to create a new word for "the lawless drinker," with a prize of $200 in gold, sponsored by Delcevare King, a banker and enthusiastic supporter of Prohibition, in 1923. Two separate entrants, Henry Irving Dale and Kate L. Butler, submitted the word, and split the $200 prize equally. ''Scofflaw'' was deemed the best and most suitable out of over 25,000 entries. The word was from the outset frequently used until the eventual repeal of Prohibition in 1933. It experienced a revival in the 1950s, as a term for anyone who displays disdain for laws difficult to enforce. The word itself remains a symbol of the Prohibition era.

References

External links

{{wiktionarypar
Scofflaw at Online Etymology Dictionary
1920s neologisms 1924 establishments in the United States American English words Prohibition in the United States