Blind Tiger [1]

Blind Tiger

by William S. Powell, 2006

"Blind tiger" was a term of unknown origin applied to establishments that sold liquor during Prohibition [2]. Newspapers [3] and other publications in North Carolina in the 1920s used it as a synonym for "speakeasy," and North Carolina author Thomas Wolfe [4] also used it in his novel The Web and the Rock (1938). With the repeal of Prohibition in 1933, the term became obsolete.

Additional Resources:

Graham, Nicholas. "On Blind Tigers" North Carolina Miscellany (blog). April 30, 2012. http://www.lib.unc.edu/blogs/ncm/index.php/2012/04/30/on-blind-tigers/ [5] (accessed June 20, 2012).

Hammond, Lilian Kirk. "Sunday in Tippah." The Atlantic Monthly 91. January 1912. p 206. http://books.google.com/books?id=4YwGAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA206#v=onepage&q&f=false [6].

MacRae, David. The Americans at Home: Pen-and-Ink Sketches of American Men, Manners, and Institutions. Volume II. Edinburgh, Scotland: Edmonston & Douglas. p. 315. http://archive.org/stream/americanshome02macrrich#page/314/mode/2up [7].

Subjects:

N.C. Industrial Revolution (1900-1929) [8]

Food and drink [9]

Pastimes [10]

Slogans, slang, and sayings [11]

UNC Press [12]

Authors:

Powell, William S. [13]

From:

Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press. [14]

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1 January 2006 | Powell, William S.