Let's say you are holding a toy that is an unauthorized, unlicensed copy of a legitimate item. Is it "bootleg" or "bootlegged"?

It's a bootleg that was bootlegged.

If you bootlegged a bootleg, would that make it legitimate?

I would say the actual toy is bootleg. When your describing it then it's bootlegged?
Were those two sentences dumb or dumber?

The toy is a bootleg...you have not bootlegged until you flip it

Yup, because the word "bootleg" can be properly used as a noun, verb, or adjective. "Bootlegged" is past tense or inflected form. Context is everything.

It's hard to tell precisely what you're asking because the question doesn't include the words in sentences as examples.

Let's say you were making a header card for this M1GO Godzilla copy:

http://clubtokyo.org/articles/beaware// ... ?catID=Art

Would it say, "BOOTLEG GODZILLA TOY" or "BOOTLEGGED GODZILLA TOY"?

It is a bootleg.

It has been bootlegged.


I think bootleg would be proper, but bootlegged might work well w/ the quirky translations we seem to constantly get. like kaiju for grow ups?

Best I can tell from looking up definitions from several dictionaries, either usage would be correct. Hence, I'd say go with the one that sounds best or least awkward to you. To be totally pedantic, the former instance would be an adjective that modifies "Godzilla toy," and the latter would be past tense verb that modifies "Godzilla toy."

BOOTLEG GODZILLA TOY = That's what kind of toy it is.

BOOTLEGGED GODZILLA TOY = That's how it got to be that kind of toy.