jointist

jointist

English

Etymology

joint (“restaurant, bar, or nightclub”) +‎ -ist

Noun

jointist (plural jointists)

1. (obsolete) Operator of an illegal drinking place or "joint" [1885-1933]
   • 1892, Henry M. Gougar, "Christ and the Liquor Seller", The Arena: Volume 7, p. 467:

     In Kansas no man dares to flaunt his sign in the eyes of the public, to entice custom; the liquor seller is the sneaking boot-legger, skulking jointist, criminal and outlaw, afraid of every shadow that falls across his hiding-place […]

   • 1901, Massachusetts Reformatory, Our Paper: Volume 17, p. 237:

     While we were waiting for the train one day, a prominent Topeka jointist was talking with her. Presently he went out on the platform, I where some one heard him say, "There were a lot more things I wanted to say, but I should have broken down and made a fool of myself if I had stayed there any longer." Later I heard this man talking with another jointist on the train, and he was insisting that Mrs. Nation was a good, kindly old woman. The very jointkeepers recognize that she is their friend, and she speaks truly when she says that every blow of her hatchet is prompted by love.

   • 1901, Charles Moreau Harger, "Kansas's Prohibition Status", The Independent, Volume 53, p. 431.

     The injunction method has proved the most successful, action being brought against the jointist and the building he occupies as against a common nuisance. This is tried before the judge, and not a jury. Once made permanent, the injunction is not likely to be violated for fear of contempt. It is weak in that it does not punish the jointist and does not prevent his changing location and starting in business again.

   • 1906, "The Character of the Enemy We Are Fighting", Gleanings in Bee Culture: Volume 34, p. 1380:

     I have avoided jury trials, because, if the jointist is acquitted by a jury, the county must pay the costs. By using the injunction, a vastly different result is obtained. When a jointist can not disprove a charge, the court will fine him. The liquor-men do not fight this kind of case—they go into court and allow the injunction to be made permanent.

   • 1911, "The Governor of Oklahoma and Prohibition", The Advance: Volume 62, p. 271:

     It seems that it is very easy for the local officials in your county to arrest a man acting under a commission issued by the special enforcement officer of the state, but the gambler, the bootlegger and the jointist is each permitted to ply his trade, wreck homes, destroy youth, and make a laughing stock of the laws of this state with impunity.