firewater

Noun

firewater (countable and uncountable, plural firewaters)

1. (informal) High-proof alcoholic beverage, especially whiskey (especially in the context of its sale to or consumption by Native Americans).
   • High Jack had been drinking too much rum ever since we landed in Boca. You know how an Indian is—the palefaces fixed his clock when they introduced him to firewater.1909, O. Henry [pseudonym; William Sydney Porter], “He Also Serves”, in Options
   • Four polite Englishmen in their middle 20s, feigning like firewater drunks in a Eugene O'Neill play: it's exactly the stuff that makes their detractors groan.2012 November 15, Tom Lamont, “How Mumford & Sons became the biggest band in the world”, in The Guardian

   Synonyms:

   adult beverage, alcohol, bevvy, booze, carouse, drink, fuddling, grog, hard drink, libation

2. (especially) Water for use in firefighting.
   • A continuously circulated firewater line supplies a deluge cooling system in each gathering center for fire containment.1981, Energy Progress, page 205
   • A break in a firewater line at BP Whiting Refinery caused water with an oil-like sheen to spread outside the refinery's walls along a section of Indianapolis Boulevard Tuesday night.2015 March 18, Karen Caffarini, “Cause of line break unknown at BP”, in Post-Tribune
3. High-temperature hydraulic condensate discharged from industrial boilers.
4. (obsolete) Synonym of alkahest.

   Synonyms:

   alkahest