Speakeasy - n. pl. speak-eas-ies
The word goes back 30 years or more before Prohibition, to at least the 1880s. Over a century before this there were Irish "spake-aisy" shops or smuggler's dens. The speakeasy club got its name because one had to whisper a code word or name through a slot in a locked door to gain admittance. Here "easy" means "softly" or "discreetly" and the name refers to either the tone of voice in which one addressed the lookout as he scanned you through the peephole, or the fact that such places were spoken about quietly in public, or that people spoke quietly in them to avoid attracting the attention of police or neighbors. Sometimes shortened to "speak" during Prohibition. The word may come from the English underworld "speak-softly shop" (1823), a smuggler's home or place of business. Many Prohibition speakeasies were clubs, some charged a 50 cent entrance fee; some issued much sought-after identification cards to their regulars, which could be flashed at the peephole or at the doorman; others were "key clubs," giving door keys to regular patrons. If you weren't known, a simple "Joe sent me" would often do.