The most common Norwegian term for hooch/moonshine (spirits that are manufactured without permission). Common synonyms are "HB", "himkok" and "heimert".

The Norwegian word "brenne" is polysemous - it can mean both "distill" and "burn". Therefore, after the introduction of CD writers (CD burners) to the home market, the term "hjemmebrent" has caught on as a joking term for CDs that are created by such devices. They are "burned at home", as liquour is "distilled at home".

Not only is this delightful word-play, but since most of what is written onto CDs is in fact copyrighted data, the expression draws attention to the similarities between illicit distilling, and unauthorized copying of data: both are strictly speaking illegal, but in most cases tolerated, at least as long as it's for your own use.

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