moonshiner's turn

English

Etymology

Used by moonshiners to evade authorities during Prohibition.

Noun

moonshiner's turn (plural moonshiners' turns)

1. (colloquial, US) A rapid illegal U-turn performed by putting the car in neutral and applying the hand brake, thereby producing a controlled skid, with the car still moving backwards when forward power is again applied.

   Did you see the moonshiner’s turn he pulled in that chase scene?

   • 1979 March, P. J. O'Rourke, “How to Drive Fast on Drugs While Getting Your Wing-Wang Squeezed and Not Spill Your Drink”, in National Lampoon‎^[1], archived from the original on 2003-01-12:

     One sure way to cause an accident is with your basic "moonshiner's" or "bootlegger's" turn. Whiz down the road at about sixty or seventy, throw the gearshift into neutral, cut the wheel to the left, and hit the emergency brake with one good wallop while holding the brake release out with your left hand.

Synonyms

• bootlegger reverse, handbrake turn