A speakeasy was an establishment that illegally sold alcoholic beverages during the United States (and Canada) period known as prohibition (1920 - 1932, more time in some states). During this time, the sale, processing of alcoholic beverages and their transportation were illegal.

The term may come from the way a regular customer ordered an alcoholic beverage without raising suspicion: the [waiters] would say To the usual [clients] who were silent and "talked Low "(" easy ") or from the ability of regular customers to talk about alcohol without fearing that government cops were listening.