Literally Speaking

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Bootleg

At one time, “bootleg” referred exclusively to the making, selling or transport of illegal liquor.*
Modernly, when we say something is “bootlegged,” we mean types of media (CDs, DVDs) have been unlawfully produced, distributed, or sold.

A “boot,” of course, is “a fitted covering (as of leather or rubber) for the foot and usually reaching above the ankle”…when it is not a navy or marine corps recruit undergoing basic training, a summary** dismissal, or a torture device used to crush the foot—though some haute couture mars the distinction.

“Leg” by one definition is “the part of the upper (as of a boot) that extends above the ankle.”*** But the more common interpretation is a human leg,**** especially if someone is pulling it.

* The repeal of prohibition on December 5, 1933 by the Twenty-First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States meant that we had to find another use for this word, lest it slip into oblivion.

** Quickly executed, not comprehensive.

*** Which means that “leg leg” would essentially mean the same thing as “bootleg” in this context.

**** “A limb of an animal used especially for supporting the body and for walking,” or “one of the paired vertebrate limbs that in bipeds extend from the top of the thigh to the foot; or the part of such a limb between the knee and foot.”

Definitions of “boot” and “leg” used by Permission from Merriam Webster’s Collegiate® Dictionary, Eleventh Edition © 2007 by Merriam-Webster, Inc. (www.Merriam-Webster.com).

Definition of “bootleg” is author’s own.


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Literally Speaking and Literally Speaking Too are books which consist of a total of 200 artistic depictions of clichés (expressions we’ve used so much that we take the meaning for granted), idioms (vernacular particular to a geographical region), plays on homophones (using identically-sounding words for their alternate meanings), and/or use of terms ironically (to express something other than the literal meaning).

The website address is at least a quadruple pun (GetLiterallySpeaking.org): you get it (gain control of the book by picking it up), you get it (you understand it!), you get it (you buy it) and you get literally speaking (as in, you start doing it!). The website is designed for an ongoing exploration of language and a really good time.

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