Talk:Speakeasy

How was the term "speakeasy" created?

According to the History Channel, it comes from the manner in which patrons ordered - the bartender would tell them to be quiet and 'speak easy'. I added this to the article. Tkessler 18:47, Apr 13, 2005 (UTC)

Can anybody provide source information for this line of the article: "Some discreet venues called smoke-easies have popped up in states such as New York, California, and Massachusetts where smoking marijuana in bars and clubs is prohibited." I live in Boston, MA and this is news to me.

I'd always heard it came from the fact that because anyone in such an establishment was de facto breaking the law already, gangsters and whatnot could "speak easy" about business without worrying about who overheard them. Anyone know if there's any truth to that? Mule Man 18:09, 25 June 2007 (UTC)

Article misleading?

Am I right in saying that a speakeasy was often masked behind a legitimate business, especially during prohibition, in order to lower the chances of their being raided?

If so, the article makes little mention of it.

I could, of course, be entirely wrong. Ollieha 17:44, 21 June 2006 (UTC)

No, I think you're right about that. Chavila 20:46, 21 June 2006 (UTC)

Does anyone have any references, for this then? Or shall I add it anyway? Ollieha 22:00, 21 June 2006 (UTC)

this article seems to include a bias against Jazz, implies that Jazz music simply came from prohibition. clearly, Jazz stands on it's own. not a user —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.252.110.34 (talk) 18:05, 10 May 2008 (UTC)

Its more then misleading it reads like it was written by a religious zelot. Im not a drinker myself but clearly this article needs to be removed and rewritten. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 202.12.233.23 (talk) 23:14, 24 June 2008 (UTC)

I disagree about removing the article. The writing could be improved by saying speakeasies made jazz flourish. The competition between each "joint" promoted the hiring of big bands. Dress styles were changing, but not because of speakeasies. It was mostly due to college students changing their appearance with fur coats and short skirts. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.219.55.126 (talk) 13:52, 8 August 2008 (UTC)

This article is clearly pure knowledge and reinterpretation. it speaks of what was, so it should sound like it was written by a religious zhelott. I happen to be an 8th grader with a brain of a college professor. I am agreeing on not removing the article. <3kayla t.:)

Citations

Should the parenthesis type citations be replaced by wiki-style citations? --SonicEarth (talk) 02:50, 12 May 2008 (UTC)

Corruption?

This term "corruption" doesn't bother me at all here. If we use the laws of the land at the time, then indeed the speakeasies were corrupting the public by providing easy access to alcohol and not respecting the law. This doesn't equate to the moral definition of corruption, but the legal realities during the prohibition period.

There's a lot of talk about 'corruption' in this article...it's loaded language. I think a lot of that language should be removed. Niten (talk) 02:12, 19 May 2008 (UTC)

I agree, it seems biased and repetitive. Speakeasy's should not be tied exclusively with corruption. (Brodisseus (talk) 21:07, 20 June 2008 (UTC))

I would not include people who went to speakeasies as being corrupt. Most were hard working people at legitimate jobs and they went to a speakeasy usually only on Saturday night. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.219.55.126 (talk) 13:39, 8 August 2008 (UTC)

It reads like a high school or really bad college essay. The author is trying to demonstrate that speakeasies caused corruption, failing. It is also not really relevant to 'public reception.' 67.160.86.119 (talk) 01:25, 13 August 2008 (UTC)

I couldn't agree more. By the time I got to this line: "The speakeasies corrupted the general public by making it easy to break the laws of the prohibition." I was rolling my eyes. EricTN (talk) 15:10, 24 August 2008 (UTC)

This section adds no significant information to the article; it seems the author was only interested in saying "corruption" as many times as possible. 208.85.2.68 (talk) 19:23, 9 December 2008 (UTC)

Blind Pig

Oppose merger with speakeasy. 1990's use of the term "blind pig" in Detroit referred to an establishment that illegally sold liquor after the official closing time. (An after hours club) It is not the same as a speakeasy, which is an illegal liquor selling establishment, usually during Prohibition. Pustelnik (talk) 01:49, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

Massive editing needed

The entire "public reception" section needs to be removed - there is little of redeeming value in it and the tone is completely juvenile. Any objections? Robotk (talk) —Preceding undated comment was added at 12:39, 13 September 2008 (UTC).

No objections here. Madman (talk) 14:30, 13 September 2008 (UTC)

At least needs a POV tag. So I added one. Woodega (talk) 19:13, 27 November 2008 (UTC)

I agree with the suggested removal. 208.85.2.68 (talk) 19:22, 9 December 2008 (UTC)

Another yes vote for deleting the "public reception" section. Totally POV, no supporting factual basis. Steve Hyland (talk) 06:05, 30 January 2009 (UTC)

I also vote for deleting it, and I have deleted it. Wahrmund (talk) 22:25, 4 February 2009 (UTC)

Merged

I have copied and pasted the information from Blind pig into this article and tweaked it up some. I know it is not as good as it can be; it still needs a good bit of work. I redirectid Blind pig to Speakeasy#Blind pigs. If anyone objects, please feel free to undo my edits and let me know. Thanks. --Andrew Kelly (talk) 09:25, 31 October 2008 (UTC)

Suggestion: Locations

Suggestions on additional content:

• Gambling: Gambling had been very prevelant throughout the U.S. from colonial times through the 19th century (this was in fact one issue that led to the American Revolution). There was a "prohibition" on gambling that went into effect nationwide in the early 20th century before the prohibition on alcohol went into effect (the gambling prohibition was local in contrast to the alcohol prohibition). Gambling and alcohol during Prohibition often went hand-in-hand. That is, speakeasies were often casinos and vice versa. This seems worth bringing out in the article.
• Locations: The speakeasy culture was not uniform across the U.S. Whereas in some areas law enforcement was so tight that only informal mom-and-pop shops could operate, in other areas the speakeasies were big elaborate establishments as described in the article. It seems worthwhile to add a section discussing where the big speakeasy cultures were (i.e. where were the big drinking centers).
• Law enforcement: Although it is touched on in the article, it seems more could be said about the relationship between lax law enforcement and the success of speakeasy's (e.g. talking about specific notorious cases of whole police forces were on the payroll of particular mob figures allowing the speakeasies to operate).

--Mcorazao (talk) 19:50, 14 October 2009 (UTC)

Today's speakeasys

So if a news article today talks about a speakeasy (like this article) that is operating today, what exactly are they refering to? A "bar" without a liquor license? --Mûĸĸâĸûĸâĸû 02:05, 9 November 2009 (UTC)