Meaning
Very high-strength white rum — 'over proof', well above standard strength (around 63% alcohol) — the fierce clear rum that is a Jamaican institution. Too strong for many to drink neat, overproof is cut into drinks and punches, but it also has a life beyond drinking: in blessing a house, folk medicine, rubbing on aches, warding off duppies, and pouring libation at a wake. Wray & Nephew is the famous brand.
Examples
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Cut di overproof wid some water an sugar.
Cut the overproof rum with some water and sugar.
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Dem rub overproof rum pon di aching joint.
They rub overproof rum on the aching joint.
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Overproof too strong fi drink straight.
Overproof is too strong to drink neat.
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One shot a overproof strong yuh up.
One shot of overproof rum strengthens you.
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Dem splash overproof pon di ground fi di duppy.
They splash overproof rum on the ground for the spirits.
Origin
From 'over' + 'proof' (above standard alcohol strength) + 'rum'; high-strength white rum. See Wray and Nephew.
How it’s used
Very strong (~63%) white rum; drunk cut, and used in ritual/medicine. See Wray and Nephew. White rum, its everyday name, is also poured on the ground for the ancestors at a nine-night, rubbed on aches, and used in bush baths.