A bootlegger is a person who sells alcohol off hours. Orriginally a bootlegger was a person who smuggled contraband onto a ship in the long boots made of waxed leather used to keep dry when entering and exiting small boats used to get to and from a ship at anchor.
Amoebas are single-celled organisms. The so-called brain-eating amoeba is a species discovered in 1965 and formally named Naegleria fowleri. Although first identified in Australia, this amoeba is believed to have evolved in the United States. There are several species of naegleria, but only the N. fowleri species causes human disease. Like other amoebas, naegleria reproduce by cell division. When conditions are less than optimal, amoebas become inactive cysts. When conditions are favorable, the cysts turn into trophozoites -- their feeding form.
Typically, Naegleria fowleri amoeba infect people through the nose. Once they have a toehold there, they travel up to the brain, where they destroy tissue. The infection typically occurs when people go swimming in lakes and rivers and other surface water, especially in warm weather.