Whispering for entry
The term originated from bartenders telling patrons to 'speak easy' to avoid drawing local police attention. Customers needed secret passwords, specific knocks, or membership cards to pass heavily guarded doors.
Chapter 1
The birth of the secret bar
Chapter 2
The modern revival
Chapter 3
Global interpretations
Chapter 4
The psychology of the secret
Ch 1 · The birth of the secret bar
diego Speakeasy Bar Origin
When the law went dry, You had to whisper low, "Speak easy," they'd say, In hidden spots, the good times flowed.
Fun Fact
Speakeasy word origin: The term 'speakeasy' was used in Pennsylvania in 1889, decades before Prohibition, to describe unlicensed saloons.
Glossary
speakeasy (noun)
An illicit establishment that sells alcoholic beverages, typically operating in secret. These clandestine venues proliferated across the United States following the enactment of the Eighteenth Amendment in 1920.
An illicit establishment that sells alcoholic beverages, typically operating in secret. These clandestine venues proliferated across the United States following the enactment of the Eighteenth Amendment in 1920.
BETA
diego Decode secret passwords to discover how the speakeasy trend spread across the globe.
Quiz
Which US state is credited with the earliest recorded use of the term 'speakeasy' in 1889?
Quiz
What was the nickname for fashionable, modern women who frequented 1920s speakeasies?
Quiz
Which constitutional amendment repealed Prohibition in 1933, making alcohol legal again?