mootah
An old American slang term for marijuana, most common in the 1930s through the 1950s.
Definitions
An old American slang term for marijuana, most common in the 1930s through the 1950s. 'Mootah' (also spelled 'muggles,' 'reefer,' and a dozen other ways during Prohibition-era jazz culture) was part of a rich underground vocabulary for cannabis that circulated among jazz musicians and their circles. While largely obsolete today, it occasionally surfaces in discussions of cannabis history or period-accurate media set in mid-century America.
The old jazz club memoir mentioned that half the musicians were passing mootah around between sets.
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(US, slang) Marijuana.
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Semantically related
- mootman60%
(legal, UK, obsolete) One who argued moot trials in the Inns of Court.
- doobage59%
(slang) marijuana.
- doober58%
(US, slang) A marijuana cigarette.
- jazz cigarette57%
A playful, slightly archaic euphemism for a cannabis joint or spliff. The jazz element evokes the early 20th century documented association between jazz musicians and marijuana use. The phrasing has a winking formality — calling something a jazz cigarette signals awareness that it is illicit while maintaining deniability through mock-genteel language. More affectionate than clinical. The term's archaic charm makes it appealing to speakers who want to reference cannabis while maintaining a certain wit and historical awareness.