white lightning

noun

Chiefly Midland and Southern U.S.

1. moonshine.

Word History and Origins

Origin of white lightning¹

An Americanism dating back to 1910–15

Example Sentences

Seeing the navy uniform with gold-lined white lightning bolts “struck me at the core,” Jefferson said.

From Los Angeles Times

“Our relationship is really tight, obviously, to give him a little handoffs here and there, you know, somebody said they call him ‘White Lightning,'” Wilson said with a chuckle.

From Seattle Times

Jones, a country music legend in the making, had slipped a bit since his hits “White Lightning” and “She Thinks I Still Care,” and he was known to disappear on marathon benders.

From New York Times

Others to pay tribute included comedian Patton Oswalt, who said Beatty had given "chilling, villainous turns" in 1973's White Lightning and 1976's Mikey and Nicky.

From BBC

He was equally memorable as Otis, the idiot henchman of villainous Lex Luthor in the first two Christopher Reeve "Superman" movies and as the racist sheriff in "White Lightning."

From Fox News