Scofflaw

Origin

The Roaring Twenties brought with them not just jazz and flappers, but also the great American experiment of Prohibition. As the government struggled to enforce the ban on alcohol, many citizens simply scoffed at the law, finding clever ways to skirt it. In 1923, a frustrated Bostonian, Delcevare King, launched a competition, offering a $200 prize to coin a new word for a person who "flouted" the Prohibition law. From thousands of entries, "scofflaw"—a perfect blend of "scoff" and "law"—was chosen. The word immediately caught fire, becoming the defining term for those who brazenly disregarded the Volstead Act, and quickly expanding its meaning to anyone who defies any law, big or small.