Hollywood

en-prop

Hollywood (countable and uncountable, plural Hollywoods)

The name of the neighbourhood in Los Angeles (sense 1) was coined by real estate developer H. J. Whitley, from holly + wood. By metonymy, it became the name of the industry, and eventually also a name for decadence.

coin

Even without hovering drones, a lurking assassin, a thumping score and a denouement, the real-life story of Edward Snowden, a rogue spy on the run, could be straight out of the cinema. But, as with Hollywood, the subplots and exotic locations may distract from the real message: America’s discomfort and its foes’ glee.

2013 June 29, “Travels and travails”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8842, page 55:

Thinly-veiled homophobia – this time in early-2000s Hollywood – made Brokeback Mountain an immense challenge for Ossana and her fellow producer James Schamus.

2025 June 20, Nick Levine, “'In every theatre, people would leave': How 'gay cowboy movie' Brokeback Mountain challenged Hollywood – and the US”, in BBC:

(metonymic) The American motion picture industry, regardless of location.


stable

From Middle English stable, borrowed from Anglo-Norman stable, singular derived from the plural Latin stab(u)la (“dwellings, stables”).

close the stable door after the horse has been stolen

close the stable door after the horse has bolted

lock the stable door after the horse has been stolen

lock the stable door after the horse has bolted

shut the stable door after the horse has bolted

(metonymic) All the racehorses of a particular stable, i.e. belonging to a given owner.


swastika

en-noun

swastika (countable and uncountable, plural swastikas)

Learned borrowing from Sanskrit स्वस्तिक (svastika), from सु- (su-, “good, well”) + अस्ति (asti), a verbal abstract of the root of the verb "to be", स्वस्ति (svasti) thus meaning "well-being" — and the diminutive suffix क (ka); hence "little thing associated with well-being", corresponding roughly to "lucky charm". First attestation in English in 1871, a Sanskritism that replaced the Grecian term gammadion. From 1932 onwards it often referred specifically to the version used by the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (also called the "hooked cross", or German Hakenkreuz).

sauwastika

left-facing; symbolizing the night or the tantric aspects of Kali

"Is that what you think of me? I believe in the Grail, not the Swastika!"

1989, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, spoken by Dr. Elsa Schneider (Alison Doody):

“I can’t imagine anyone believes in Communist culprits instead of a contract job commissioned on behalf of the swastika.”

2011, Rudolph Herzog, translated by Jefferson Chase, Dead Funny: Humor in Hitler's Germany, Brooklyn: Melville House, →ISBN, page 36:

(fascism, history, metonymic, uncountable) Nazi rule.

hakenkreuz

chiefly in India referring to the Nazi swastika


Washington

en-proper noun

Washington (countable and uncountable, plural Washingtons)

Washington (the town in Tyne and Wear, northeast England): probably from the Old English place name Hwæssingatūn (literally “a settlement of the household of *Hwæssa”), from *Hwæssa (a Saxon chieftain's name) + -ing (“belonging to”) + tūn (“homestead, settlement”). It was attested in 1096 as Wasindone. Hwæssa is of uncertain origin, said to possibly correspond to waþ (“hunt”) + sige (“victory”), or possibly related to hwæte (“wheat”). There are other theories; more on Wikipedia.
The surname derives from the town, and most places in the United States are named for George Washington.

DC

The federal district and city are coterminous and the city government administers the district, so are jurisdictionally equivalent

(figuratively, metonymic) The federal government or administrative authority of the United States. From the capital city of Washington, D.C.


Dresden

Borrowed from German Dresden (“Dresden”) in the 1730s, from Middle High German Dresden, from a Sorbian source akin to Lower Sorbian Drježdźany, ultimately from Proto-Slavic *dręzga, of which the locative case is *dręzdzě.

The actual total hardly matters: if Dresden was indeed a war crime, just one death would make it so.

2001 July 23, Robin Neillands, The Bomber War: The Allied Air Offensive Against Nazi Germany, Barnes & Noble, Incorporated, →ISBN, page 358:

‘Father, you saw the papers, when Dresden happened. You see the papers today. People are seeing the cost of this, truly. Now that we know the consequences, countries will not use it.’

2017, John Theobald, A Kingdom Falls, Head of Zeus Ltd., →ISBN, page 314:

(history, metonymic) The Bombing of Dresden.


Greenwich

/ˈɡɹinwɪt͡ʃ/

From Middle English Greenwich, from Old English Grēnawīċ, Grēnewīċ (literally “green harbour, green settlement”). Equivalent to green + -wich.
The civil parish in New Brunswick may have been named after Greenwich near London, after Greenwich Village, or after Greenwich Street in Hampstead, New York.

(metonymic) The Greenwich meridian; the prime meridian.


Taipei

19th c., from Wade–Giles romanization of Mandarin 臺北／台北 (Tʻai²-pei³, literally “Taiwan north”), composed of 臺／台 (tái) (short for Taiwan) and 北 (běi, “north”).

zh-l

Tʻai-pei (alternative)
Taibei (alternative Hanyu-Pinyin)
Taipeh (alternative)

In the Shanghai Communiqué of 1972, we recognized the fact that both Beijing and Taipei viewed Taiwan as part of China but unequivocally expressed our support for a peaceful settlement of the unification issue. While we should not alter the fundamental pillars of our policy, we should consider certain steps that will raise Taiwan's international standing.

1992, Richard Nixon, “The Pacific Triangle”, in Seize the Moment, Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 181:

1993 The first official governmental contacts between Taipei and Beijing take place in Singapore.

2003, “Decisive Dates”, in Vivien Kim, editor, Taiwan (Insight Guides), →ISBN, →OCLC, page 19, column 2:

(metonymic) The government of the Republic of China (Taiwan).


gallery

From Middle English galery, gallerye, from Middle French galerie, gallerie, from Old French galerie, gallerie (“a long portico, a gallery”), from Medieval Latin galeria (“gallery”), of unknown origin. Perhaps an alteration of Latin galilea (“church porch”), probably from Latin Galilaea, Galilee, region of Israel. More at Galilee.

unk

unknown origin

The politician was clearly appealing to the gallery

Capello was missing his son's wedding in Milan to take charge – yet his reshaped England team gave him cause for a double celebration as they overturned the odds in front of a delighted Wembley gallery.

2011 November 12, “International friendly: England 1-0 Spain”, in BBC Sport:

en:spectators at an event, metonymically

(by extension, metonymic) The spectators at an event, collectively.


Shakespeare

Shakespeares (plural)
Shakespere (alternative obsolete)
Shakspeare (alternative obsolete)
Shakspere (alternative obsolete)

→ Vietnamese: Sếch-xpia

A common Middle English surname meaning spearman, corresponding to shake (“to brandish a weapon”) + spear.

He is reading Shakespeare.

I'm surprised that even the allusion to Hamlet flew over his head. Even someone who barely knows Shakespeare might catch that one!

en:William Shakespeare_s works or their adaptations

(metonymic) His works or media adaptations of his works.


nine-one-one (alternative)
nine one one (alternative)

9/11 attacks
Federal Communications Commission
National Emergency Number Association
United States

Chosen by the United States in the 1960s in place of the older British 999 number as a better way to avoid accidental calls from push-button telephones. It is officially pronounced "nine-one-one" and not "nine-eleven," as the latter refers to the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York and Washington. 9/11 is universally distinguished from 911 to refer the September 11 attacks. Officially written as 9-1-1 in regulations and materials from the United States National Emergency Number Association and Federal Communications Commission, which is also advocated by some media style guides.

When you call 911 in the United States, a local dispatcher usually answers the phone with "911" or "911. What's your emergency?"

I don't know why they couldn't just keep it as it was! How hard is it to remember 911?
You mean 999...
I mean 999!
That's the American one!
Yeah!

2006 Feb. 3, Graham Linehan, The IT Crowd, Season 1, Episode 2

Well, look, I wear a mask, I try not to be a maskhole about it. If I see — if I see somebody who doesn't have a mask, I don't call 911.

2021 March 18, John Kennedy, quotee, “SEN. JOHN KENNEDY (R-LA) IS INTERVIEWED ON FOX NEWS”, in Political Transcript Wire, Lanham:

Many still assume that “you call 988 and — much like 911 — that means someone is going to be dispatched to you,” said Hannah Wesolowski, NAMI’s chief advocacy officer. “For the vast majority — almost all callers — that’s not actually the case.”

2023 July 13, Christina Caron, “Is the New 988 Suicide Hotline Working?”, in The New York Times:

The telephone number for emergency services in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Belize, Costa Rica, Argentina, Uruguay, Ecuador, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Liberia, Ethiopia, the Philippines, Anguilla, Palau, and Tonga.

emergency services(Australia) 000(Mongolia) 105(China, Iran) 110(New Zealand) 111(European Union) 112(Japan, South Korea) 119(UK, Ireland) 999


en-noun

911 (countable and uncountable, plural 911s)

911 is sending an ambulance.

(Canada, US, Belize, Liberia, Philippines, metonymic) Emergency services; emergency service personnel.

(Canada, US, Belize, Liberia, Philippines, colloquial, metonymic) An emergency phone call.

(Canada, US, Belize, Liberia, Philippines, colloquial, metonymic) An emergency.


en-verb

911 (third-person singular simple present 911s, present participle 911ing, simple past and past participle 911ed)

London hairstylist Rick Haylor for the John Frieda Salon—the man Nicole Kidman 911s when she wants her curly mop to lie down and look glamorous—tells you how to go straight.

1997 August 10, “50 New Fall Hair Looks”, in Cosmopolitan, volume 223, number 2, page 208:

(Canada, US, Belize, Liberia, Philippines, colloquial) To call emergency services.


carbohydrate

From their general formula Cₙ(H₂O)ₙ; they were once thought to be hydrates of carbon.

I'm cutting down on carbohydrates like bread and pasta.

(colloquial, by extension, metonymic) Any food rich in starch or other carbohydrates.


red tape

Alluding to the former practice of binding government documents in red-colored tape. First use appears c. 1658 in the publication Public Intelligencer. See cite below.

All the red tape and paperwork that goes on there prevents any progress.

That committee does not cut through red tape ; it merely provides better scheduling for different agencies so you do not have sequential review by different agencies , so that you have some kind of simultaneity in the review by different agencies.

1979, United States Senate, Committee on Finance, Crude Oil Tax, U.S. Government Printing Office:

One conspicuous cost of the compromise reached was a promise made by Senator Chuck Schumer to Manchin on what was vaguely called permitting reform: a catchall phrase referring to a whole host of efforts to cut red tape and ease the rollout of energy infrastructure.

2022 October 5, David Wallace-Wells, “Progressives Should Rally Around a Clean Energy Construction Boom”, in The New York Times:

They said we’d be free of all that tedious European red tape and would take back control of our borders, encouraging anyone agitated by immigration to believe that fewer people would come in. […] Post-Brexit red tape is strangling thousands of small businesses, whether travelling musicians or exporters of goods, tying them up in daunting forms or extra charges that cost time and money they don’t have.

2023 June 23, Jonathan Freedland, “With even leavers regretting Brexit, there’s one path back to rejoining the EU”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

(metonymic, idiomatic) Time-consuming regulations or bureaucratic procedures.


(metonymic, dated) A vehicle with such an engine.


Beijing

/ˌbeɪˈd͡ʒɪŋ/

Beijing
Hongwu Emperor
Ming Dynasty
The Chicago Manual of Style
University of Chicago Press
Xinhuamen
Yongle Emperor

Borrowed from Hanyu Pinyin 北京 (Běijīng), romanization of the Mandarin pronunciation of Chinese 北京 (Běijīng, literally “northern capital”). First attested in c. 1958, and then replacing earlier Peking.
The name Beijing was to distinguish the city from Nanjing to the south, and first applied informally during the reign of the Yongle Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, who preferred to rule from Beijing but was obliged to treat Nanjing as a secondary capital by the dynastic injunctions of his father the Hongwu Emperor. The name continued a practice of several preceding dynasties—especially those of nomadic conquerers from the north such as the Jin and Liao—of maintaining a number of separate capitals designated by their cardinal directions.

bor

Peking (alternative dated)
Pei-ching (alternative)
Peiching (alternative)
Pekin (alternative obsolete)
Pachin (alternative obsolete)
Paquin (alternative obsolete)
Pequin (alternative obsolete)

In Beijing’s view, in the absence of an explicit treaty provision, the central line of the main channel—the Thalweg principle—provided a legal basis for delimiting the boundary in the two rivers. On this basis, Beijing claimed that 600 of the rivers’ 700 islands—including Zhenbao Island on the Ussuri River, just 180 miles southwest of an important Soviet city, Khabarovsk—belonged to the P.R.C.

1980, Melvin Gurton, Byong-Moo Hwang, China under Threat: The Politics of Strategy and Diplomacy, Johns Hopkins University Press, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 210:

Russian officials have raised increasingly frustrated requests for greater support during discussions with Beijing in recent weeks, calling on China to live up to its affirmation of a “no limits” partnership made weeks before the war in Ukraine began. But China’s leadership wants to expand assistance for Russia without running afoul of Western sanctions and has set limits on what it will do, according to Chinese and U.S. officials.

2022 June 2, Cate Cadell, Ellen Nakashima, “Beijing chafes at Moscow’s requests for support, Chinese officials say”, in The Washington Post, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2022-06-06:

While Beijing has credited the law with restoring peace and order to the city, it has been criticised by rights groups and western governments for imprisoning pro-democracy activists and undermining civil freedoms.

2023 June 15, Didi Tang, “Spotify removes protest song Glory to Hong Kong”, in The Times, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-06-15, World:

People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China

(metonymic) The government of the People's Republic of China.

Anhui · Fujian · Guangdong · Gansu · Guizhou · Henan · Hubei · Hebei · Hainan · Heilongjiang · Hunan · Jilin · Jiangsu · Jiangxi · Liaoning · Qinghai · Sichuan · Shandong · Shaanxi · Shanxi · Taiwan · Yunnan · Zhejiang


pink slip

From pink + slip (“piece of paper”), referring to the colour of the paper, in some cases as it was in past, and not necessarily present, practice.
* (automobile title): Most likely from California, where the title is printed on a smaller index-card sized piece of pink paper; in other states the title is typically a full-size 8 1/2" x 11" sheet, usually printed on blue or blue-green paper with borders, similar to a stock certificate.

Pink slips are being handed out faster in corporate America than you can say, “Recession? What recession?”

2003, Erica Orloff, Kathy Levinson, The 60-Second Commute: A Guide to Your 24/7 Home Office Life, page 139:

From 2002 to 2004, many individuals received pink slips as a result of a slow economy.

2008, Chioma Isiadinso, The Best Business Schools' Admissions Secrets, page 4:

2008, Warren Richard Plunkett, Raymond F. Attner, Gemmy S. Allen, Management: Meeting and Exceeding Customer Expectations, Thomson, 9th Edition, page 400,
Oracle chose a weekend in which to notify PeopleSoft employees of their termination: the company sent them pink slips via express mail.

(idiomatic, metonymic) A notice of termination of employment.


Vatican

→ Japanese: バチカン (Bachikan)

Learned borrowing from Latin Vātī̆cānus (“Vatican Hill”), further etymology unknown. The connection to vāticinārī (“to prophesy, oracle”) is folk-etymological.

lbor

(metonymic) The papal government; the papacy, the Holy See.


bump

en-noun

bump (countable and uncountable, plural bumps)

From Early Modern English bump (“a shock, blow from a collision”), probably of North Germanic origin; compare Danish bump (“a thump”), Danish bumpe (“to thump”), Old Danish bumpe (“to strike with a clenched fist”), all probably of imitative origin.
Apparently related to Middle English bumben, bummen (“to make a hollow noise”), Dutch bommen (“to hum, buzz”), German Low German bumsen (“to bump, push”), German bummen (“to hum, buzz”), Icelandic bumba (“drum”). More at bum, bumble. Compare also bomb.

onom

imitative

kuhmu

phrenological protuberance and associated aptitude

the bump of veneration; the bump of acquisitiveness

Our task is to elevate the character of the people, raising up, in fact, their bump of self-esteem and suppressing the bumps of servility and fury.

c.1845 Thomas MacNevin, cited in Charles Gavan Duffy (1896) Young Ireland: A Fragment of Irish History, 1840-45; final revision (London: T.F. Unwin) Vol.II p.100

Another, with the bump of order unnaturally developed, had his folios and quartos all reduced, in binding, to one size, so that they might look even on his bookshelves.

1902, William Blades, The Enemies of Books, 2nd edition, page 102:

(obsolete) One of the protuberances on the cranium which, in phrenology, are associated with distinct faculties or affections of the mind. Also (dated, metonymic) the faculty itself


perspiration

en-noun

perspiration (usually uncountable, plural perspirations)

/ˌpɜːspəˈɹeɪʃən/

/ˌpɝspəˈɹeɪʃən/

Borrowed from late Middle French perspiration, from perspirer (“perspire”), from Latin perspirare (“to blow or breathe constantly”), from per (“through”) + spirare (“to breathe, blow”)
Morphologically perspire + -ation

der

genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration

Genius is 1 per cent. inspiration and 99 per cent. perspiration.

1910, Frank Lewis Dyer, Thomas Commerford Martin, quoting Thomas Edison, Edison: His Life and Inventions, volume II, New York: Harper & Brothers, page 607:


Detroit

/dɪˈt͡ʃɹɔɪt/

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-Detroit.wav

From French détroit (“strait”) in Rivière du Détroit (Detroit River). Doublet of district, via Latin.

'Cause in the real world they're shutting Detroit down / While the boss man takes his bonus pay and jets on out of town.

2009, John Anderson, John Rich, “Shuttin' Detroit Down”, performed by John Rich:

(metonymic) The United States' automotive industry.


Madison Avenue

From Madison Avenue, a north–south avenue in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, where advertising boomed in the 1920s.

An avenue in Manhattan, New York, known as the center of the American advertising industry.


Westminster

From the abbey of Westminster; from Middle English Westmestre; equivalent to west + minster.

City of Westminster
Westminster (disambiguation)

(colloquial, metonymic) The British parliament, based at the Palace of Westminster.


Tin Pan Alley

Purported to be a reference to the constant sound of pianos as songwriters worked out their tunes.

From its inception the OWI framed directives that offered guidelines for songwriters to aid them in the composition of “proper” war songs, and, in the public press, the OWI rebuked Tin Pan Alley for its uninterrupted production of “nostalgic” hit songs.

2003, Kathleen E. R. Smith, God Bless America: Tin Pan Alley Goes to War, University Press of Kentucky, →ISBN, page 81:

At the time, almost all Tin Pan Alley and Broadway songs had two parts.

2009, Tighe E. Zimmers, Tin Pan Alley Girl: A Biography of Ann Ronell, McFarland, →ISBN, page 11:

(metonymic, music) The songwriting and publishing industry which was built around the songs produced in Tin Pan Alley; the style of popular music produced by this industry.


Peking

Abraham Ortelius
Atlas Maior
Chinese Imperial Post
De Bello Tartarico Historia
Francis Xavier
Joan Blaeu
Mandarin (late imperial lingua franca)
Martino Martini
Novus Atlas Sinensis
Peter Heylyn
Postal Romanization
Theatrum Orbis Terrarum

c. 1655 romanization of the Nanking court dialect Mandarin pronunciation of Chinese 北京 (Běijīng), reinforced by Postal Romanization from before the modern palatalization of /k/ to /tɕ/. The early Portuguese and Jesuits such as Francis Xavier used the spelling Paquim; Abraham Ortelius used C. Paquin for his 1572 Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, the first modern atlas; Italian Jesuit Martino Martini used Peking in his 1654 Latin De Bello Tartarico Historia and 1655 Novus Atlas Sinensis, which were quickly translated into English and later used by Joan Blaeu for his 1665 Atlas Maior. Peter Heylyn's Cosmographie changed its spelling from Paquin in the 1652 edition to Peking in the 1658 edition, but both Pekin and Peking were used interchangeably in English until the Chinese Imperial Post adopted Peking as its official transcription in the 1890s.

Pachin (alternative)
Paquin (alternative)
Pekin (alternative)
Pequin (alternative)

(metonymic) The government of the People's Republic of China; the central leadership of the Chinese Communist Party.


City

(UK) The City of London, the historic core of London where the Roman settlement of Londinium was established.


Pentagon

The Vietnamese people inspired youth of all nationalities […] by demonstrating that the determination of a people to fight for their sovereignty and right to self-determination was an unconquerable force, even in the face of Pentagon might.

2006 August 24, Leslie Feinberg, “Many histories converged at Stonewall”, in Workers World:

(metonymic) The United States Department of Defense.

بَنْتَاغُون

headquarters of the United States Department of Defense


Vilnius

From Lithuanian Vi̇̀lnius, after the Vilnia River, from vilnis (“wave”).

Owner David Yeh says his Little-One bar -- a homophone to Lithuania's Mandarin name "Litaowan" -- started getting more attention last year after Vilnius became the first EU government to donate vaccines.

2022 March 9, “'Lithuania mania' sweeps Taiwan as China spat sizzles”, in France 24, archived from the original on 2022-03-09:


Yard

(figurative, metonymic) The Metropolitan Police Service


Downing Street

Named for its founder, Sir George Downing.

(metonymic, by extension) The British government.


Fleet Street

From the (now underground) River Fleet, over which much of Fleet Street runs; see fleet (“arm of the sea; stream”) for more.

"They will say that you are an infernal liar and a scientific charlatan, exactly as you and others said of me." "In the face of photographs?" "Faked, Summerlee! Clumsily faked!" "In the face of specimens?" "Ah, there we may have them! Malone and his filthy Fleet Street crew may be all yelping our praises yet."

1912, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Lost World […], London; New York, N.Y.: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC:

Whenever I feel really depressed about the stinkingness of politics, I take a dive into Fleet Street and see what stinkingness really is.

1981, Richard Howard Stafford Crossman, Janet P. Morgan, The Backbench Diaries of Richard Crossman, page 141:

We will know soon enough whether Cameron's was a masterly piece of nerve keeping, or the fatal blunder that broke the union of 1707. In 2012, Salmond gave some listeners the impression that devo max is what he really wanted. Whatever the outcome, Fleet Street's introspective pundits will say: "I told you so", and make dire predictions for the future, which are likely to be off the mark.

2014 September 8, Michael White, “Roll up, roll up! The Amazing Salmond will show a Scotland you won't believe”, in The Guardian:

It was there—after she fired most of the staff—that Fleet Street began to paint [Anna Wintour] as an ice queen.

2023 September 23, Lauren Indvik, “God is in the details”, in FT Weekend, Life & Arts, page 3:

(metonymic, collective) English journalism or journalists as a group.


Old Bailey

Originally "The Bailey", a street running outside the western wall of medieval London; from the word bailey, a Middle English term for the outermost wall or court of a fortification. The courthouse built nearby in the 16th century, alongside old Newgate Prison, took its name from the street.

The Central Criminal Court in this street; the Crown Court in the City of London.

(by extension) The English legal system.


Whitehall

en-proper noun

Whitehall (countable and uncountable, plural Whitehalls)

From Middle English whit (“white”) + halgh (“corner, nook; hall”).

Britain's securocracy - Whitehall spymasters, backed up by government lawyers, engaged in the increasingly thankless task of preserving state secrets - are faced with an intriguing conundrum. What do they do when the bulwark they have been relying on for so long to protect their secrets crumbles before their eyes?

2000 July 27, Richard Norton-Taylor, “Analysis: The secret's out”, in the Guardian:

It notes: "The Welsh Government's view is that genuine 'levelling up' cannot simply mean a sprinkling of new, ad hoc rail projects decided in Whitehall, it has to be part of a strategic approach to promoting growth in all parts of the UK."

2020 December 2, Philip Haigh, “When will Wales's wish for rail improvements come true?”, in Rail, page 32:

(UK politics, by extension, metonymic) The British government or civil service


puss

en-noun

puss (countable and uncountable, plural pusses)

Probably from Middle Low German pūs, pūskatte or Dutch poes (“puss, cat”, slang for “vulva”), ultimately from a common Germanic word for cat, perhaps ultimately imitative of a sound made to get its attention (compare Arabic بسة (bissa)).
Akin to West Frisian poes, Low German Puus, Puuskatte, Danish pus, dialectal Swedish kattepus, Norwegian pus.
Found also in several other European, North African and Asian languages; compare Romanian pisică, Persian پیشی (piši), Tamil பூசை (pūcai), Tagalog pusa
and Sardinian pisittu.

onomatopoeic

imitative

So don't know! So, what are you gonna do? Sell your birthright for a little bit of puss?

1986, Tim Kazurinsky, Denise DeClue, About Last Night, spoken by Bernie (Jim Belushi):

(uncountable, vulgar, slang, metonymic) Sex with a woman.


cunny

en-noun

cunny (countable and uncountable, plural cunnies)

cunnies (plural)
cute and funny (alternative euphemistic)

(countable, fandom slang, chiefly anime and manga) The vulva or vagina of a child or childlike character (loli).

(uncountable, metonymic) Lolicon-themed media, especially when erotic (hentai).


steaming

steaming (countable and uncountable, plural steamings)

Two 4-4-0s were steaming through the scenic foothills, giving rides to tourists.

The response to firing is remarkable, and though the 280 lb. pressure seems more in the nature of a reserve for emergencies than a continuous working figure, even with the present-day apology for coal it seldom fell below 250 lb., and could always be brought up to blowing-off point with little difficulty. To this liveliness of steaming the thermic syphons are doubtless the chief contributory.

1947 January and February, Cecil J. Allen, “British Locomotive Practice and Performance”, in Railway Magazine, page 39:

The perfect steaming and beautiful mechanical condition of the Pacific were immediately apparent.

1961 February, 'Balmore', “Driving and firing modern French steam locomotives - Part One”, in Trains Illustrated, page 109:

The raising of steam by a steam locomotive etc; the maintenance of a head of steam during operation; (metonymic) operation under load.


public relations

Since the early twentieth century. The term gained popularity as a euphemism for propaganda after that originally neutral term acquired a negative connotation during the political upheavals of the early twentieth century.

to get bad public relations

to have things happen that deteriorate the public image

(by extension, metonymic) The favorability of the public image of a person or organization.


catarrh

catarrh (countable and uncountable, plural catarrhs)

From Middle English catarre, from Medieval Latin catarrus, from Late Latin catarrhus, from Ancient Greek κατάρροος (katárrhoos), which is derived from καταρρέω (katarrhéō, “I flow down”), which is composed of κατά (katá, “down”) and ῥέω (rhéō, “I flow”).

en:inflammation of any mucosa
en:cold or coldlike disease entity

(medicine) Inflammation of a mucous membrane.

(loosely, metonymic) Rhinitis or rhinosinusitis; cold or coldlike illness; common cold.


Katrina

Is coronavirus Donald Trump’s Katrina?

2020 March 8, Chris Cillizza, “Is coronavirus Donald Trump’s Katrina?”, in CNN, archived from the original on 2020-03-09:

(US, metonymic) A large-scale disaster, especially one with negative political consequences.


alphabet soup

alphabet soup (countable and uncountable, plural alphabet soups)

too many three-letter agencies, constituting an alphabet soup

(figuratively, metonymic) A quantity of people or organizations that are referred to by acronyms.


anesthesia

anesthesia (countable and uncountable, plural anesthesias)

anesthesias (plural)
anaesthesia (alternative UK)
anæsthesia (alternative obsolete)

/ˌæn.əsˈθi.ʒə/

Sense of “insensibility” attested since 1679, from New Latin anaesthēsia, from Ancient Greek ἀναισθησία (anaisthēsía, “without sensation”), from ἀν- (an-, “not”) and αἴσθησις (aísthēsis, “sensation”). By surface analysis, an- + -esthesia.
Sense of “state induced by an agent” attested since 1846.

der

(loosely, metonymic, often proscribed) A medication that provides the service of temporarily blocking sensation.


hateful

en-adj

hateful (comparative hatefuller or more hateful, superlative hatefullest or most hateful)

hatefuller (comparative)
more hateful (comparative)
hatefullest (superlative)
most hateful (superlative)
hatefull (alternative obsolete)

From Middle English hateful. By surface analysis, hate + -ful.


treasure chest

They acted the part of a sponge for the Royal Treasury, they gathered up all the floating money of the country, to be squeezed from time to time into the king’s treasure-chest […]

1892, Joseph Jacobs, “Notes on the Jews of England under the Angevin Kings”, in The Jewish Quarterly Review, volume 4, page 634:

The visitors pour upward of $60,000 into the state’s treasure chest.

1977, Richard Hyatt, The Carters of Plains, page 103:

When Anglo-Saxon coins left England for Scandinavia they could, hypothetically, have been withdrawn from a royal treasure-chest replenished from tolls and taxes collected nationwide.

2006, D. M. Metcalf, “Inflows of Anglo-Saxon and German coins into the Northern lands c. 997–1024: discerning the patterns”, in Barrie Cook, Gareth Williams, editors, Coinage and History in the North Sea World, c. AD 500–1250, →ISBN, page 364:

(metonymic) A treasury, especially a state or royal treasury.


fuel injection

He replaced the carburetor with fuel injection.

(metonymic) The equipment to achieve this delivery: a fuel injection system.


rhinitis

Near-synonyms: rhinosinusitis; coryza; catarrh

(medicine, loosely, metonymic, disease entity) cold; common cold.


Silicon Valley

en-prop

Silicon Valley (countable and uncountable, plural Silicon Valleys)

Silicon Valleys (plural)
Silicone Valley (alternative misspelling)

Don Hoefler
Electronic News
Santa Clara Valley

From Silicon Valley USA, the title of a series of articles appearing in 1971 in Electronic News by the journalist Don Hoefler, from silicon, an important element in semiconductor manufacturing + valley from Santa Clara Valley, the area where many of these industries are located.

(metonymic) The tech industry, especially the American tech industry specifically.


City of London

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Rho9998-City of London.wav

financial institution
financial institution

(metonymic) British financial institutions or financial markets as a whole; (by extension) British big-business interests.


Established in the United Kingdom as the first emergency service number in the world, initially chosen because of its suitability at a time of rotary-dial telephones.

nine nine nine (alternative)
triple nine (alternative)

(UK, Ireland, Hong Kong, Singapore, colloquial, metonymic) Emergency services; emergency service personnel.


coronavirus

en-noun

coronavirus (countable and uncountable, plural coronaviruses)

coronaviruses (plural)
corona virus (alternative)
corona-virus (alternative)

→ Samoan: koronavairusi

→ Tokelauan: kolonavailuhi

/kəˈɹəʊnəˌvaɪɹəs/

/kəˈɹoʊnəˌvaɪɹəs/

Middle East respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus

From corona (“crown-like circle of light appearing around the sun”) + virus. Corona is derived from Latin corōna (“garland, wreath; crown”), from Ancient Greek κορώνη (korṓnē, “something curved; curved stern of a ship; end, point, tip”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to bend, turn”). The name refers to the characteristic appearance of its virions by electron microscopy, which have a fringe of surface projections creating an image reminiscent of a solar corona. Compare the former genus name Coronavirus.

der

(metonymic) An illness caused by a coronavirus.

COVID-19, the disease caused by the specific coronavirus SARS-CoV-2.


Wall Street

From wall + street. The term is the name of a street in Manhattan, New York City, New York, U.S.A., where the palisade of New Amsterdam was once located. The street is known for the many major U.S. financial institutions located there.

The causes of income stagnation are varied and lack the political simplicity of calls to bring down the deficit or avert another Wall Street meltdown.

2012 October 23, David Leonhardt, “Standard of living is in the shadows as election issue”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2022-12-11:

(originally US, metonymic) American financial institutions or financial markets as a whole; (by extension) big-business interests.


hookworm

en-noun

hookworm (countable and uncountable, plural hookworms)

a case of hookworm

en:disease caused by Ancylostoma, Necator, or Uncinaria

(metonymic, uncountable) Infection with one of these parasites.


Cardiff

From Middle Welsh Caerdyf, equivalent to Welsh caer (“fort”) + Taf (“(River) Taff”) = fortified city on the River Taff. Compare Welsh Caerdydd.


Scotland Yard

From the address, originally at Great Scotland Yard off Whitehall, then at New Scotland Yard on the Embankment, and (currently) at New Scotland Yard in Westminster.


the pen is mightier than the sword

En-au-the pen is mightier than the sword.ogg

This phrasing due to Bulwer-Lytton, 1839.
The sentiment is traditional, and has many antecedents; see Wikipedia.

If the pen is mightier than the sword in American history, it is more likely the pen of a novelist than the typewriter of a reporter — Harriet Beecher Stowe stimulating antislavery sentiment or Upton Sinclair enlisting citizens in outrage against the food-processing industry.

1982, Michael Schudson, The Power of News, Harvard University Press, →ISBN, page 142:

If my teachers had not told me that the pen is mightier than the sword, if my parents had not told me that I have to respect books, I would not have developed that respect for knowledge.

2011, Qazi Nasir Uddin, Ph.D., The Other Side, Author House, page 108

(idiomatic, metonymic) More influence and power can be usurped by writing than by fighting.

ဓားသွားထက် ကလောင်သွားထက်

more power can be usurped by writing than fighting

i glóssa kókala den échei ma kókala tsakízei

η γλώσσα κόκαλα δεν έχει μα κόκαλα τσακίζει

что напи́сано перо́м, не вы́рубишь и топоро́м (što napísano peróm, ne výrubišʹ i toporóm, literally “what's written by pen can't be cut by axe”)


West End

(by extension) The English theatre industry


Broadway

From broad + way. The Old English words "brad weg" have been used to name wide roads and associated settlements for over a thousand years. Documented examples include Broadway, Somerset and Broadway, Worcestershire, England, which are listed in the Domesday Book census of 1086AD as "Bradewie" and "Bradeweia" respectively.
Sense of “government of Manitoba” is from the address of the Manitoba Legislative Building, on Broadway in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

“King Homer” follows the story of King Kong closely, with Mr. Burns taking the freakishly over-sized King Homer from his native Africa, where he lives proud as a simian god, to the United States, where he is an initially impressive but ultimately rather limited Broadway attraction.

2012 April 29, Nathan Rabin, “TV: Review: THE SIMPSONS (CLASSIC): “Treehouse of Horror III” (season 4, episode 5; originally aired 10/29/1992)”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name):

(metonymic) The American theater industry.

Angry city councillors lashed out against both Broadway and Ottawa on Wednesday, claiming the Doer government and the Harper Conservatives are spending millions on infrastructure projects Winnipeg doesn't want and not enough on road repairs the city needs.

2009 June 25, “Verbal vent at city hall: Councillors attack province, feds on their infrastructure priorities”, in Winnipeg Free Press:

(Manitoba, metonymic) The government of Manitoba (from the Legislative Building's address, on Broadway).


Canterbury

From Middle English Caunterbury, Canterburi, from Old English Cantwara burg.


Vichy

From French Vichy, from Occitan Vichèi, phonetically evolved from the Latin place name Vippiacus, itself named after an agricultural field belonging to a farmer named Vippius. An alternate theory attributes the name to the Latin vicus calidus, meaning "warm settlement."

A town in Allier department, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France; the capital of Vichy France during World War II.

(historical, figurative, metonymic) Vichy France; the Vichy French government.


Nashville

A number of places in the United States:


Annapolis

Originally Anne Arundel’s Towne, in honor of the English noblewoman Anne Arundell (1615/1616–1649), after whom the city’s county (Anne Arundel County) was also named; the namesake was changed to honor Princess Anne of Denmark and Norway, the heir to the throne who became Queen Anne of Great Britain (1665–1714); from Anna (Latinate form of Anne) + -polis (“city”).

suffix

(metonymic) USNA (“United States Naval Academy”), located in the above city.


Houston

en-proper noun

Houston (countable and uncountable, plural Houstons)

Houstons (plural)
Hoston (alternative)
Houstoun (alternative)
Hughesdon (alternative)

Originally from a place near Glasgow, from the Middle English equivalent of "Hugh's town". Analyzable as Hugh + -s- + -ton

Houston, we've had a problem here.

(metonymic) The Johnson Space Center, the NASA Mission Control complex located in Houston, Texas.


double helix

en-noun

double helix (plural double helixes or double helices)

double helixes (plural)
double helices (plural)

If I had been married earlier in life, I wouldn't have seen the double helix. I would have been taking care of the kids on Saturday.

2007 January, “WHAT I'VE LEARNED: James Watson”, in Esquire, volume 147, number 1, archived from the original on 2007-01-25:


Bonn

(metonymic, historical after 1999) The (West) German government.


dirty laundry

Place your dirty clothes in the dirty laundry.

(metonymic) A clothes hamper or other container in which soiled laundry is placed.

likapyykki

a clothes hamper or other container used to place unclean or soiled laundry


Strasbourg

/ˈstɹæzbɜːɡ/

/ˈstɹæsbɜːɡ/

/ˈstɹɑːsbɝːɡ/

From French Strasbourg, from Middle High German Strāzburc. Compare modern German Straßburg, equivalent to Straße (“street, road”) + Burg (“borough, fortified town, castle”).

The capital city of Bas-Rhin department, France; the capital city of the region of Grand Est; located in the historic region of Alsace, near the border with Germany and at various historical points a part of Germany.

(metonymic, law) the European Court of Human Rights.


Pretoria

/pɹəˈtɔːɹi.ə/

Named after Andries Pretorius (1798–1853).

(metonymic) the South African government


gavel

Origin obscure. Possibly an alteration of dialectal cavel, a variant of kevel (“a stone mason's axe with a flat face, a cleat or bollard”), from Middle English kevel (“a mason's hammer”), from Old Norse kefli (“a piece of wood, stick, cylinder, mangle”). Cognate with Norwegian kjevle (“rolling pin”).

der

(metonymic, chiefly US) The beginning or end of legal proceedings.

(metonymic, chiefly US) The legal system as a whole.


tabling

(metonymic) Representing a company or organization (at an exposition, fair, etc.), usually at a booth or display.


marginal cost

break-even point
break-even point#English

(metonymic) Synonym of break-even point.


analgesia

en-noun

analgesia (countable and uncountable, plural analgesias)

analgesias (plural)
antalgesia (alternative)

/ˌæn.əlˈd͡ʒiː.ʒə/

From New Latin analgēsia, from Ancient Greek ἀναλγησίᾱ (analgēsíā, “want of feeling, insensibility”), from ἀνάλγητος (análgētos), from ἀν- (an-, “not”) + ἀλγέω (algéō, “feel bodily pain, suffer”) + -τος (-tos, adjectival suffix).

der

apply an analgesia

She was able to take analgesia orally.

Most physical distress yields to some analgesia—not so depression.

1988 December 19, William Styron, “Why Primo Levi Need Not Have Died”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

(loosely, metonymic, often proscribed) A medication that performs this action: one that relieves pain.


White House

From the Executive Mansion ("house") of the United States of America having been painted white, giving its appearance of a white house; having been painted to cover up the damage from the War of 1812 when the British burned the mansion down.

Withuis

the official residence of the President of the United States of America

The White House announced its support for the new law.

U.S. President Joe Biden held a joint call Friday with both Niinisto and Andersson where, according to a White House statement, he “underscored his support for NATO’s Open Door policy and for the right of Finland and Sweden to decide their own future, foreign policy and security arrangements.”

2022 May 14, Jari Tanner, “Putin warns Finland NATO membership would harm relations”, in AP News, archived from the original on 2022-05-14:

(US, metonymic) The US presidency and its administration.


root canal

(dentistry, metonymic) A surgical operation on a root canal (endodontic therapy), typically filling it with gutta-percha.


Twin Towers

Ever since the Twin Towers, we all know that heroes come in uniforms of all kinds.

2009, Dan Pietsch, No Comfort, Idyllwild, California: Cabin Fever Publishing, →ISBN, page 77:


Kremlin

The Kremlin announced plans to increase funding for museums and the arts.

Over the course of the war in Ukraine, the Kremlin has drawn several “red lines” – with ostentatious references to Russia’s huge strategic nuclear arsenal – only to seemingly do nothing when these lines are crossed by Ukraine or its Western backers.

2024 September 19, Fred Weir, “Why Putin’s nuclear saber-rattling on Ukraine sounds different this time”, in The Christian Science Monitor:

(metonymic) The Russian or Soviet government.


Kantei

Overcoming Japan’s demographic crisis has proved insurmountable for occupants of the Kantei – the prime minister’s office – long before Kishida moved in last autumn.

2023 January 24, Justin McCurry, “Japan PM’s solution to dire birthrate has already been rejected by young”, in The Guardian:


Buckingham Palace

(metonymic) The British monarch or royal family.


Niagara

/naɪˈæɡ(ə)ɹə/

From an Iroquoian language; compare Mohawk ohnyá:kara' (“neck of land”). The name of the tribe which resided in the area was recorded on early maps as Onguiarahronon or Niagagarega.


coryza

en-noun

coryza (countable and uncountable, plural coryzas or coryzae or coryzæ)

coryzas (plural)
coryzae (plural)
coryzæ (plural)

/kəˈɹɑɪ̯.zə/

Borrowed from Latin corȳza, from Ancient Greek κόρυζα (kóruza, “nasal mucus”).

der

(medicine, loosely, metonymic) Rhinitis or rhinosinusitis; cold or coldlike illness; common cold.


aisle

aisles (plural)
isle (alternative obsolete)

From Middle English ele, from Middle French aisle (“wing”) (Modern French aile), from Latin āla.

You ask her if she loves you, she answers, "I do" / Your heart starts glowing inside / And then you will know she is just for you / While each step, draws you closer to the aisle

The path of a wedding procession in a church or other venue; (by extension, metonymic) marriage.


hindquarter

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-hindquarter.wav

(metonymic, derogatory, usually in the plural) Human behind, butt.


city hall

city halls (plural)
city chambers (alternative)

/ˈsɪtɪ ˌhɔːl/

You can't fight city hall.

(figuratively, metonymic) The city government; government in general.


en-noun

2WD (countable and uncountable, plural 2WDs)

(often metonymic) A two-wheel drive vehicle.

Initialism of two-wheel drive.
A two-wheel drive vehicle.


mitzvah

mitzvah (plural mitzvahs or mitzvot or mitzvoth or mitzvos)

mitzvahs (plural)
mitzvot (plural)
mitzvoth (plural)
mitzvos (plural)

Borrowed from Hebrew מצווה (mitsvá, “commandment”).

bor+

Glenview Mansion is an elegant 1926 home included on the National Register of Historic Places. Located in the 153-acre Rockville Civic Center Park, it is the perfect location for weddings, private parties, mitzvahs, conferences, and many other special occasions. Every rental includes a customized set-up to support the unique needs of your event.

2016 August 10, “Glenview Mansion”, in City of Rockville, Maryland - Official Website, archived from the original on 2016-08-17:

(event planning industry, metonymic, usually only with the plural mitzvahs) A Jewish celebration, but particularly a clipping of bar mitzvah and/or bat mitzvah.

event planning industry; usually only with the plural mitzvahs; event planning industry; usually only with the plural mitzvahs


soil mechanics

The plan to build a dam just downriver from Fooville was foiled by unsatisfactory soil mechanics.

(metonymic) The mechanical behavior and performance of a soil.


racks

The issue already hit the racks. We can't edit it.

(metonymic) publication, distribution (of a magazine)


Wikipedia

Wikipedias (plural)
wikipedia (alternative)
Wikipaedia (alternative nonstandard)

Etymology tree
Proto-Polynesian *witi
Hawaiian wiki
Hawaiian wikiwikider.
English wikiblend.
Proto-Indo-European *h₁en-
Proto-Indo-European *h₁en-
Proto-Indo-European *h₁én
Ancient Greek ἐν (en)
Ancient Greek ἐν- (en-)
Proto-Indo-European *kʷel-
Proto-Indo-European *kʷékʷlos
Ancient Greek κύκλος (kúklos)
Proto-Indo-European *-yósder.
Ancient Greek -ιος (-ios)
Ancient Greek ἐγκύκλῐος (enkúklĭos)
Proto-Indo-European *peh₂w-der.
Proto-Hellenic *pā́wits
Ancient Greek παῖς (paîs)
Ancient Greek -εύς (-eús)
Ancient Greek -εύω (-eúō)
Ancient Greek παιδεύω (paideúō)
Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂
Proto-Indo-European *-i-eh₂
Ancient Greek -ία (-ía)
Ancient Greek παιδείᾱ (paideíā)
Ancient Greek ἐγκύκλιος παιδείᾱ (enkúklios paideíā)bor.
New Latin encyclopaedīabor.
English encyclopediablend.
English Wikipedia
Blend of wiki + encyclopedia, coined by Larry Sanger in 2001.

etymon

In August 2009, Wikipedia announced that it planned a move that many saw as a step away from its freewheeling ethos of anyone can edit.

Wikipedia mounted a 24-hour protest starting at midnight by converting their English page to a shadowy black background and warning readers that "the U.S. Congress is considering legislation that could fatally damage the free and open Internet."

(metonymic) The community that develops Wikipedia.


Vegas

(metonymic) Gambling, especially sports betting.


printing press

en-noun

printing press (plural printing presses)

International Printing Museum
Johannes Gutenberg
printing press

printing house

(metonymic) Synonym of printing house (“an institutional or commercial publisher”).


Rawalpindi

Joint Staff Headquarters (Pakistan)
Pakistan Armed Forces
Rawalpindi

Borrowed from Urdu راولپنڈی (rāvalpinḍī), from Western Panjabi راولپنڈی (rāvalpinḍī), from راول (rāval) and پنڈی (pinḍī), diminutive of پنڈ (pinḍ, “village”). The metonymical sense is from the Joint Staff Headquarters, the headquarters of the Pakistan Armed Forces located in that city.

bor+

“It is a welcome first step. [We] hope it will get Rawalpindi (Pakistan’s military) thinking,” a senior official told The Hindu, although the government issued no formal reaction to the development.

2018 January 5, Suhasini Haidar, “U.S. move against Pakistan ‘welcome first step’: India”, in The Hindu:


oilpatch

oilpatches (plural)
oil patch (alternative)
oil-patch (alternative)

Like many men of that era and region, he wandered into the oilpatch and worked as a roustabout for a while.

"Texas Oil Patch Songs": [...] Willet [...] sings a dozen of his own songs having to do with oil workers [...]

1959 November 16, The Billboard, page 50:

Fracturing the formation in the lingo of the oil patch is to perform a frac job.

2005, Martin S. Raymond, William L. Leffler, Oil & Gas Production in Nontechnical Language:

"Alberta won't plug oilpatch"

(informal) An oil and gas producing region; (metonymic) the oil and gas industry.


Kyiv

→ Russian: Ку́ев (Kújev)

Transliteration of Ukrainian Ки́їв (Kýjiv), from Old East Slavic Кꙑевъ (Kyjevŭ), traditionally said to derive from the name of city's legendary founder, Kyi. Other proposals derive it from Proto-Slavic *kyjь (“stick, club, hammer”) (compare to Ukrainian кий (kyj)). See also at the article about Old East Slavic Кꙑевъ (Kyjevŭ).

der

Kiev (alternative)
Kyïv (alternative)
Kyjiv (alternative)
Kyyiv (alternative)
Kiou (alternative)
Kiov (alternative)
Kiow (alternative)
Kiew (alternative)
Kiof (alternative)
Kioff (alternative)
Kief (alternative)
Kieff (alternative)
Kiovia (alternative)
Kiowia (alternative)

“Ukraine’s future is within the EU,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on Twitter after the decision, describing it as a “unique and historical moment” in Kyiv’s relations with the bloc.

2022 June 23, Emily Rauhala, Karina Tsui, “E.U. has backed candidate status for Ukraine. Here’s what that means.”, in The Washington Post, archived from the original on 2022-06-23, Europe:

After Vladimir Putin announced the annexation of four Ukrainian provinces last week, Kyiv said it was applying to join NATO, and would not negotiate with Russia as long as Putin is president.

2022 October 4, “Kremlin welcomes Elon Musk proposal for Ukraine settlement denounced by Kyiv”, in Kevin Liffey, editor, Reuters, archived from the original on 2022-10-04, Europe:


tank park

In the carnage of that first summer the Red Army had lost its entire tank park of nearly twenty thousand.

1965, Alan Clark, Barbarossa: The Russian-German Conflict, 1941-45,, Harper Perennial, published 1985, →ISBN, page 189:

(military, metonymic) The tank inventory of a country or army.


side valve

Near-synonym: L-head (most side valves are L-heads; precisely hyponymous)

This engine has side valves.

This engine is a side valve model.

This engine is a side valve.

internal combustion engine
internal combustion engine

(automotive) A type of valve in an internal combustion engine, and thus also (metonymic) the type of valvetrain design, the type of engine that uses it, or an instance of such an engine; this design has the inlet and exhaust valves in the cylinder block beside the piston. The cylinder head is then a simple dome extending across the valves and piston.


overhead valve

This engine has overhead valves.

This engine is an overhead valve model.

This engine is an overhead valve.

(automotive) A type of valve in an internal combustion engine, and thus also (metonymic) the type of valvetrain design, the type of engine that uses it, or an instance of such an engine; this design has the inlet and exhaust valves in the cylinder head (and therefore above the piston). The camshaft can be beside the pistons (with pushrods and rockers operating the valves) or above the valves, with the latter usually referred to as overhead cam.


overhead cam

This engine has an overhead cam.

This engine is an overhead cam model.

This engine is an overhead cam.

(automotive) A type of cam (and camshaft) in an internal combustion engine, and thus also (metonymic) the type of valvetrain design, the type of engine that uses it, or an instance of such an engine; this design has the inlet and exhaust valves in the cylinder head and has the camshaft(s) up above the valves too.


West Point

(metonymic) USMA (“United States Military Academy”) (U.S. Army service academy), in West Point, NY.


Capitol Hill

Let me put it this way: The girl in question was no novice to Washington nor to the ways of Capitol Hill.

1975, Ralph de Toledano, Hit & Run: The Rise--And Fall?--Of Ralph Nader, page 120:

At the same time, the failure of conservatives to invest in Capitol Hill lobbying that could be coordinated with their grass-roots efforts represents a strategic misallocation of resources.

2000, Jeffrey M. Berry, The New Liberalism: The Rising Power of Citizen Groups, page 102:

The Ninety-fourth Congress would be emphatically Democratic, and Ford's base of support on Capitol Hill would be narrower and weaker.

2005, Yanek Mieczkowski, Gerald Ford and the Challenges of the 1970s, page 62:

I cannot count how many letters I received from Capitol Hill in the 1990s outlining one scheme or another to spend more or tax less

2007, Alan Greenspan, The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New World, page 233:

A political reality of Capitol Hill is that the party in control has always taken care of its own and, as the minority sees it, gives them "the shaft."

2007, John W. Dean, Broken Government: How Republican Rule Destroyed the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Branches, page 30:


seropositivity

en-noun

seropositivity (countable and uncountable, plural seropositivities)

From seropositive + -ity, or sero- + positivity.

At first, the prophylaxis budgeting efforts were triaged to the areas with the highest seropositivity.

(loosely, metonymic) Seropositivity prevalence rate: synonym of seroprevalence.


kigurumi

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-kigurumi.wav

(metonymic) The anime-style mask used in these costumes.


by sail

It took many weeks to cross the Atlantic by sail.


by steam

This line once took passengers by steam to the frontier.

A nostalgic journey by steam makes even a business trip an excursion.


screw cap

screw caps (plural)
screwcap (alternative)

Corks remain prevalent, but nowadays the wine industry also offers plenty of screw caps, too, for occasions that warrant them or customers who prefer them.

When you buy the wine tonight, pick up some screw caps in addition to whichever corked bottles you buy.

en:closure style or container with threaded cap

(metonymic) The style of closure that has such a cap; a container that has such a cap.


pocket protector

pocket protector (plural pocket protectors)

It was a pocket-protector paradise, its culture defined by the HP way: paternal, collaborative, entrepreneurial, community minded and inconspicuous.

My dad is head of the math department at UCLA. Yes, that is where all the pocket protectors go to meet other pocket protectors.

2012, Annabel Monaghan, A Girl Named Digit, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, →ISBN, page 5:

The pocket protectors were clearly jubilant. Magic could hear some celebrating in the background of the transmission.

2024 August 20, M.P. Woodward, Tom Clancy Shadow State, Hachette UK, →ISBN:

(US, slang, metonymic) A white-collar technical worker such as a scientist or engineer, especially in military and space applications; a nerd or someone with a nerdy job.


Warsaw Pact

(metonymic, historical) The Warsaw Treaty Organization that was established by the above treaty; a strategic alliance comparable and opposed to NATO.

Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance


hashtag

→ German: Hashtag

→ Japanese: ハッシュタグ (hasshutagu)

→ Polish: hashtag

→ Russian: хеште́г (xɛštɛ́g)

→ Ukrainian: геште́ґ (heštég)

From earlier hash tag, from hash (sign) + tag. The hash sign # was initially proposed as tag hash by Chris Messina to create groups on Twitter, modeled after the IRC channel prefix. First published use as hash tag by Stowe Boyd in 2007.

I sound like a shitty mother and wife. Or at the very least an inadequate wife and ungrateful mother–which is in stark contrast to the image I try to portray on Instagram. Hashtag happy life. Hashtag beautiful family. Hashtag blessed.

2016, Emily Giffin, First Comes Love: A Novel, New York City: Ballantine Books, →ISBN, page 40:

You're perpetually stoned, aren't you? Hashtag four twenty four seven.

2018, John Allison, By Night, volume 1, Los Angeles, CA: Boom! Box, →ISBN, page n.p.:

The Occam’s razor explanation is that he’s just hashtag-blessed with the kind of lustrous lashes that many people spend a lot of money (and rack up a lot of Sephora Beauty Insider points) trying to get.

2024 July 31, Heather Schwedel, Is J.D. Vance Wearing Eyeliner?:

(Internet, metonymic, informal) The hash sign itself, when used as part of a hashtag.


four-wheel drive

four-wheel drive (countable and uncountable, plural four-wheel drives)

(metonymic, often) A vehicle with this arrangement.


boots on the ground

First appears c. 1980 in the US. Attributed to the United States General Volney F. Warner, as quoted in the Christian Science Monitor (April 11, 1980) in reference to the Iranian hostage crisis

The Pentagon may say we have enough, but that's not what I'm hearing from the boots on the ground.

(military, metonymic) The ground forces actually fighting in a war or conflict, rather than troops not engaged or other military action such as air strikes.

So often boots on the ground is the American Way.

2012, Georgia McDade, Outside the Cave II, page 30:

At the same time, when options are considered, political parties and the media are interested in knowing whether boots on the ground is an option put on the table.

2015, Helene Dieck, The Influence of Public Opinion on Post-Cold War U.S. Military Interventions:

The military policy of using ground forces.


Mother Russia

Calque of Russian Ма́тушка Росси́я (Mátuška Rossíja) or Росси́я-Ма́тушка (Rossíja-Mátuška).

clq

Ма́тушка Росси́я

We did not understand what it was all about; but we were defending Mother Russia.

1920, Malcolm Waters Davis, Open Gates to Russia, page 44:

In the thirties and forties, they were the Marxists talkin' about spreading Mother Russia's legs around the world; now it's sing along with the black man.

1970, Wally Ferris, Across 110th, page 103:

Collective daydreaming shut down when we boarded the Soviet-made airliner in Korea. Next stop Mother Russia.

2005, Paul Carter, Don't Tell Mum I Work on the Rigs, Crows Nest: Allen and Unwin, page 165:


10 Downing Street

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-10 Downing Street.wav

[…] he declared from early in his life that he intended to be viceroy of India, as a natural stepping-stone on his way to 10 Downing Street.

2001, Trevor Owen Lloyd, Empire: the history of the British Empire, →ISBN, page 138:

(UK politics, by extension, metonymic) The title or office of the Prime Minister.

[…] explicitly clear, in the way that 10 Downing Street has made it clear in the case of city academies, that it is perfectly legitimate to put people in the House of Lords […]

2006, Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Public Administration Select Committee, Propriety and Honours: Interim Findings; Fourth Report of Session 2005-06, volume 29, →ISBN, page 23:

(by extension, metonymic) The government of the United Kingdom.


tingkat

en-noun

tingkat (usually uncountable, plural tingkats)

[ˈt˭ɪŋ˧k˭ät˦]

(metonymic, uncountable) Home-cooked meals from a home delivery and catering service.


Bandung

(metonymic, politics) The first Asian-African Conference, also known as the Bandung Conference


1600 Pennsylvania Avenue

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.wav

The street address of the White House in Washington, D.C., the official residence of the President of the United States.

(colloquial, metonymic) The current President and the closest members of his administration.


Holyrood

From Middle English Holy Rood, Holyrode, holy-rode, holy roode, hali rode, halgorode, equivalent to holy + rood (“crucifix, cross”).
The town in Newfoundland is named after a location near Crewkerne, Somerset.

But Matheson has indicated that the Scottish Government will not be responding to the consultation because transport policy in Scotland is a matter for ministers at Holyrood and not at Westminster.

2020 December 16, “Network News: Scotland set to snub Johnson's Union Connectivity Review”, in RAIL, page 21:

Yousaf is almost certain to be confirmed as Scotland’s next first minister in a nominal vote at Holyrood on Tuesday but now has to bridge those divides by bringing the SNP’s warring wings together.

2023 March 27, Severin Carrell, Libby Brooks, “Humza Yousaf elected leader of Scottish National party”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

(UK politics, by extension, metonymic) The Scottish Parliament.


Rising Sun

Sixty years after the end of World War II, the thinning ranks of American ex-POWs have received neither compensation for their slave labor under the Rising Sun nor an apology from Japan.

2006, John Glusman, chapter 26, in Conduct Under Fire: Four American Doctors and Their Fight for Life as Prisoners of the Japanese, 1941–1945, London: Penguin Books, →ISBN, pages 464–5:

(history, metonymic) Imperial Japanese rule.


Starbucks

Starbucks (countable and uncountable, plural Starbuckses or Starbucks)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-Starbucks.wav

From Starbuck (surname) + -s. The chain of coffee shops is named after Starbuck, a character in Herman Melville's novel Moby-Dick. Melville named the character in honor of the Starbuck family, a prominent whaling family based in Nantucket, Massachusetts. The surname itself derives from the community of Starbeck in North Yorkshire, England.

I swear, if I had been drinking my Starbucks today it would have gone up my nose.

2009, Cheyenne McCray, Demons Not Included: A Night Tracker Novel, page 163:

One part-time sociologist made an even more damning indictment: “Calling yourself a coffee nerd while drinking Starbucks is like calling yourself a beer nerd while drinking Budweiser.”

2009, Bryant Simon, Everything but the Coffee: Learning about America from Starbucks, University of California Press, →ISBN, page 56:

I read it straight through while I drank three Starbucks.

2010, Timothy, “How My Life Changed”, in Kevin Leman, Have a New You by Friday: How to Accept Yourself, Boost Your Confidence & Change Your Life in 5 Days, Revell, →ISBN, page 73:

“Good, have they got coffee?” Lorraine nodded. “Yes, they’ve been in since about eight and brought Starbucks.”

2015, Valerie Goldsilk, Sins of Our Sisters, Whiskey Creek Press, →ISBN:

US Weekly’s regular photographic feature, “Stars: They’re Just Like Us!” which features celebrities engaged in such mundanities as pumping their own gas or drinking Starbucks, is a direct visual demonstration of this condescending simulated intimacy.

2017, Karen Adkins, Gossip, Epistemology, and Power: Knowledge Underground, Palgrave Macmillan, →ISBN, page 239:


9-1-1
Federal Communication Commission
National Emergency Number Association
United States

The official form of the service's name in regulations and materials from the United States National Emergency Number Association and Federal Communication Commission.


9-1-1 (countable and uncountable, plural 9-1-1s)


St James's Palace

(informal) The St James's Palace Stakes.


by rail

Cotton was increasingly shipped by rail.


Kew

From Middle English Cayho, a compound consisting of Old French kai (related to modern quay) + Middle English ho, howe, hoh, hogh (“promontory, cliff, spur of land”), from Old English hōh (“promontory”), see hoe.


Tabor

From Biblical Hebrew תָּבוֹר (Tāḇôr), of uncertain origin.

the light of Tabor

(Christianity, metonymic) The Transfiguration of Jesus


covenstead

From coven + stead; first attested in 1969.

For the last year, the entire covenstead had noticed an increase in the number of outsiders on their properties.

1995, Silver RavenWolf, Beneath a Mountain Moon, published 2005, page 104:

In connection with these principles the Dianic Covenstead had a very effective series of exercises and techniques for regaining kinship and attunement with nature.

2006, Margot Adler, Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshippers, and Other Pagans in America, page 128:

It was easy to say they'd all get along fine—join other covensteads or live free like most everybody else, but the truth was that joining a covenstead was no easy task, and most wouldn't know what to do with themselves without a witch to serve.

2009, Diana Pharaoh Francis, Bitter Night: A Horngate Witches Book, page 53:

(Wicca, metonymic) A Wiccan congregation.


safe pair of hands

safe pair of hands (plural safe pairs of hands)

the veteran shot-stopper has proved to be a safe, capable pair of hands over the years

2010 Eric MacKinnon "I'll bounce back insists Livi keeper Tony Bullock after debut to forget" (West Lothian Courier) 29 July 2010

(metonymic) A player who has this ability.


kitchen sink

The noun is derived from kitchen + sink. Sense 2.1 (“miscellaneous item or miscellany”) is probably from everything but the kitchen sink.
The adjective is derived from the noun. Sense 1 (“of or pertaining to a realist style of painting characterized by scenes of dull or untidy domestic interiors of urban working-class people”) was coined by the British art critic David Sylvester (1924–2001) in a December 1954 article entitled “The Kitchen Sink”: see the quotation.
The verb is a back-formation from kitchen-sinking (noun), which is derived from the noun.

back-formation

(metonymic) In chained or tied to the kitchen sink, etc.: domestic chores or housework, especially when regarded as menial and tedious.


Redmond

(colloquial, metonymic) Microsoft, a technology company headquartered in Redmond, Washington.


hammermill

(metonymic) A building containing such a machine; a place of business where such milling is done.


Davos

First attested as Tavaus, from Romansch tavau (“behind”), referring to the valley in which it lies, from Latin de- (“from, of”) + post (“behind”).

forum de Davos

annual meeting hosted by the World Economic Forum

(metonymic) An annual meeting of business leaders, major politicians, economists, and other celebrities hosted by the World Economic Forum in the town of Davos, Switzerland at the end of January.


red ball

* ("high-profile high-priority" sense) From a routing system on the Santa Fe Railroad in the early 1900s. Fast freight trains which were to receive priority routing were marked with placards depicting a red disc, and were called "red ball" trains.

Or are the red-ball and white-ball games diverging to the extent that it is possible to envisage a future where they are, to all intents and purposes, different sports?

2017 January 28, Jonathan Liew, “To cling together or drift apart? Red and white-ball cricket facing a divided future”, in The Daily Telegraph, London:

limited overs cricket
limited overs cricket

(cricket, journalism, metonymic, uncountable) first-class cricket, as distinct from limited overs cricket (or "white ball")


K Street

From the alphabetic naming of streets when the road grid of Washington was laid down.
* (politics): After K Street in Washington, D.C.

District of Columbia
District of Columbia#English

A street in Washington, District of Columbia, United States.


brass hat

brass hats (plural)
brasshat (alternative)

From the military brass insignia on a service hat.

"American brass hats make no secret that they regard outer space as a potential theater of military operations," it said.

1982, Countdown begins for Space Shuttle, The New York Times

He raised his first storm in January 1967 when, as leader of the "Save the Argylls" campaign, he claimed the brass hats had driven the regiment's commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Colin "Mad Mitch" Mitchell, into resignation.

2006, Andrew Roth, Obituary: Lord Monro of Langholm, The Guardian

This being Libya, there were conflicting signals yesterday – an army brass hat captured here, a counter-attack by Gaddafi forces there […]

2011, Andrew Roth, Gaddafi faces endgame as he bribes civilians to fight for him, The Independent

[…] with particularly young Thais—including 3.3 million first-time voters—backing the upstart party’s bold pledges to weaken the political role of brass hats and amend the nation’s strict royal defamation law […]

2023 May 15, Charlie Campbell, “The Voting in Thailand’s Election Is Finished, But the Politicking Is Just Beginning”, in Time:

(military, slang, metonymic) A high-ranking officer. Commander.


Trianon

/ˈtɹiːəˌnɒn/

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-Trianon.wav

From French Trianon, the name of a hamlet that formerly occupied the site on which the Grand Trianon would be built.

(metonymic, historical) The Treaty of Trianon, a peace treaty signed in the Grand Trianon on 4 June 1920, which formally ended World War I between most of the Allies and the Kingdom of Hungary, leaving Hungary as a landlocked state with less than one-third of its prewar area.


red chamber

He hopes his life story – of the illiterate ex-hockey coach turned Conservative senator – can inspire others. Jacques Demers . . . is slated for a seat in the red chamber, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced today.

2009 August 27, “Former NHL coach Demers headed to Senate”, in The Star, Toronto, Canada, retrieved 2016-04-20:

Harper announced Friday he will not appoint senators to a red chamber that already has 22 vacancies as long as the government can continue passing legislation.

2015 July 24, Jason Fekete, “Stephen Harper says he will not appoint any more senators to ‘unaccountable’ upper house”, in National Post, Canada, retrieved 2016-04-20:

Seven new senators will soon take their seats in the Red Chamber, appointed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

2016 March 18, “How might an independent Senate work?”, in Macleans, Canada, retrieved 2016-04-20:

(Canada, politics, informal, sometimes capitalized) The assembly hall in which the Senate of Canada convenes; (metonymic) the Senate of Canada itself.


HDB

(Singapore, metonymic) Synonym of HDB block; a public housing building or apartment block built by the Housing and Development Board.


Beacon Hill

Winchester approved the suggestion. Beacon Hill passed the enabling legislation, and the town voters ratified it.

1978 November 2, Joanne Reiss, “Rules and Regulations Governing Town Meeting”, in The Winchester Star, volume 98, number 11, Winchester, MA: Century Publications, →ISSN, special section, page 1:

In 1965, when Beacon Hill passed the anti-segregation Racial Imbalance Law and thereby gave the Boston School committee warning of the shape of things to come, Robert Dentler and Alex Rodriguez were still in New York.

1982, Barry MacDonald et al., Bread and Dreams, Norwich, England: University of East Anglia, →ISBN, page 20:

Already in 2009, the Massachusetts Family Institute had run radio ads warning mothers that they may no longer want to let their young daughters use public restrooms because "Beacon Hill is about to make it legal for men to use women's bathrooms."

2022, Kristen Schilt, Laurel Westbrook, “Bathroom Battlegrounds”, in Jodi O'Brien, editor, The Production of Reality, SAGE Publications, →ISBN, page 398:

An area of Boston, Massachusetts, United States.

(metonymic) The Massachusetts state legislature and government.


Savile Row

→? Japanese: 背広 (sebiro)

Burlington Estate
Dorothy Boyle, Countess of Burlington

Originally named Savile Street, it was built between 1731 and 1735 as part of the development of the Burlington Estate and named after Dorothy Boyle, Countess of Burlington (née Savile; 1699–1758).

a Savile Row suit

And, thus, this phenomenally successful company can just possibly get by without worrying about my taste, or whether I actually like it; or, quite probably, if they win the planning decision, what Savile Row thinks of them.

2012 March 11, Euan Ferguson, “Abercrombie & Fitch with its 'crappy clothes' threatens staid Savile Row”, in The Observer:

(metonymic, fashion) The tailoring companies located on Savile Row and neighbouring streets.


Mouse

The surname is sometimes an Americanized spelling of German Maus.

At Disney, on the other hand, there was only one landowner and one government; public and private were fused. […] Spawned by the Mouse's arrival, I-Drive (as it is known locally) runs parallel to I-4, lying partly in Orlando and partly[…]

2001 January 1, Richard E. Foglesong, Married to the Mouse: Walt Disney World and Orlando, Yale University Press, →ISBN, page 93:

They are cut off from their regular jobs to see how the Mouse operates. Eisner told the Harvard Business Review.
Synergy happens at Disney because it should. Our products scream out for synergy.

2005, Ralph E. Hanson, Mass Communication: Living in a Media World:

[…] take eventually eked up to $33 million worldwide, but not before Walt Disney Studios declared the whole experiment a disappointment. […] But when the Mouse cut bait, MAGI was forced to close its LA office and sell off Synthavision.

2013, Tom Sito, Moving Innovation: A History of Computer Animation, MIT Press, →ISBN, page 165:

This has led to the public believing that every animated film is made by the Mouse or, at least, is family-friendly entertainment. (A similar situation: Many people refer to all 3D animated films as “Pixar” films.) The cause dates back to Walt Disney's early days as an animator.

2017 August 11, Whitney Grace, Lotte Reiniger: Pioneer of Film Animation, McFarland, →ISBN:

(US, metonymic, uncountable, with "the") The Walt Disney Company.


Chekist

Chekists (plural)
Tchekist (alternative)

From Russian чеки́ст (čekíst) from Чека́ (Čeká) + -ист (-ist).

(by extension, metonymic) A national security official of the KGB, FSB or any of the security services of the Soviet Union or Russian Federation.


Colorado Springs

(metonymic) USAFA (“U.S. Air Force Academy”) (USAF service academy)


Foggy Bottom

Perhaps in reference to the smoke from industrial facilities.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton talked boldly about smart power projection, but by the time she left Foggy Bottom, she was still stuck deploying the same meager, smart power tools that she inherited.

2019 October 7, Chris Murphy, “How to Make a Progressive Foreign Policy Actually Work”, in The Atlantic:

(US politics, metonymic) The United States Department of State, whose headquarters are nearby.


Government House

(by extension, metonymic) The title or office of any of the above.


Red Star

Red Star over Europe: The Bolsheviks seized power firmly convinced that socialist revolution was imminent in advanced western countries. These, they believed, would come to the aid of backward Russia.
Red Star over Asia: As the prospects of revolution dimmed in the west, Lenin looked eastwards to the backward countries colonised by the great powers. Here the struggle for independence might be combined with the fight for socialism.

1978, Geoffrey Barraclough, editor, The Times Atlas of World History, page 258:

(metonymic) Socialism or communism itself.


white ball

Kohli says that his white-ball batting is essentially an extension of his Test batting.

2017 January 28, Jonathan Liew, “To cling together or drift apart? Red and white-ball cricket facing a divided future”, in The Daily Telegraph, London:

Adil Rashid has put his ambitions for a Test return on hold and negotiated a new white-ball deal at Yorkshire after losing some of his appetite for the first-class game. ... “I’ve made the decision to just concentrate on white ball, something which makes me very happy and gives me the best chance of improving my cricket,” said Rashid.

2018 February 15, Ali Martin, Vithushan Ehantharajah, “Adil Rashid opts out of first-class cricket for 2018 season”, in The Guardian, London:

(cricket, metonymic) limited overs cricket, as distinct from first-class cricket


Stormont

The proposal requires Stormont to approve the special arrangements for Northern Ireland to remain aligned with the EU before the end of the transition period and every four years after that.

2019 October 3, Lisa O'Carroll, “What are the concerns over Stormont's role in proposed Brexit deal?”, in The Guardian:

Downing Street hopes the package, combined with parallel negotiations with the DUP over post-Brexit trading arrangements, will persuade the DUP leader, Jeffrey Donaldson, to restore Stormont after almost two years of political stasis.

2023 December 11, Rory Carroll, Ben Quinn, “Northern Irish leaders offered £2.5bn package in bid to revive Stormont”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

Northern Ireland Assembly
Northern Ireland Assembly

(metonymic, UK politics) The Northern Ireland Assembly.


Cupertino

Named after Joseph of Cupertino, from Italian Copertino.

A major difference between Apple and other companies in bringing AI to the masses is that Cupertino is more open to partnerships—such as the one it has with OpenAI. The idea is that Apple will combine its own machine learning models with generative AI technologies from partners to power features within Apple Intelligence.

2025 June 24, Anuj Bhatia, “Why both Apple and Meta are interested in buying Perplexity AI”, in Indian Express:


Abbreviation of coronavirus disease + 19 from 2019, the year the virus was discovered. Coined by the World Health Organization on February 11, 2020. Intended to avoid stigma by not referring to a place, animal, career, or group of people.

Most people infected with the COVID-19 virus will experience mild to moderate respiratory illness and recover without requiring special treatment.

2020 January 11, “Coronavirus”, in World Health Organization:

As we enter the first months of 2021, increasing numbers of reports of variants of the COVID-19 virus mark a new development in the pandemic.

2021 February 5, “Redoubling public health measures needed due to COVID-19 virus variants”, in World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe, archived from the original on 2021-02-15:

(virology, metonymic) SARS-CoV-2 (virus that causes the COVID-19 disease)


liner lock

liner locks (plural)
linerlock (alternative)
liner-lock (alternative)

(metonymic) A knife or other tool with such a lock.


frame lock

frame locks (plural)
framelock (alternative)
frame-lock (alternative)


Cable Street

Cable Street started as a straight path along which hemp ropes were twisted into ships’ cables (i.e., ropes).

Unlike Spain, Cable Street was a success and proved the turning point in the defeat of Fascism in Britain in that period.

1986, AEU, Amalgamated Engineering Union, page 30:

Third, Cable Street was a clear victory for the working-class against fascism, although its success was ensured by the united working-class campaign for better housing, which began with Paragon Mansions.

1998, Jewish Culture and History, volume I, number 1, Frank Cass in conjunction with the Parkes Centre, University of Southampton, page 96:

Cable Street happened, and thousands of ordinary folk did actually stop a fascist march from taking place in an unprecedented manner: the East End was never the same again.

1999 June 28, Harold Rosen, Are you still circumcised?: East End memories, Five Leaves, →ISBN, page 114:

(history, metonymic) The Battle of Cable Street.


ziff

Now he wanted to use electric heat, and electricity was found wanting, and he couldn't understand the difference. Surely if a thing would do all that he had made it do, it should be able to boil water—it was hard to think that "stuff" which some old "ziff" had discovered over a hundred years ago was still better for some jobs than electricity.

1936 February, “Certain Things for Certain Jobs”, in American Gas Association Monthly, volume XVIII, number 2, New York, N.Y.: American Gas Association, →OCLC, page 61; republished from Australian Gas News, n.d.:

(Australia, New Zealand, slang, dated) A beard.

(metonymic) Someone with a beard, especially an old man.


EQAO

Education Quality and Accountability Office

My son hopes that EQAO would be cancelled this year.

(metonymic, uncountable) Annual standardized testing conducted by this agency.


chainfall

Get that chainfall over here. We're gonna flip this damn thing over. We'll be here all week if we don't get better access for this grinding op.

(metonymic) A hoist of the type that provides a hanging chain: a chainfall hoist.


slipjoint

(metonymic) A knife or other tool with such a joint; usually a pocketknife.


Politburo

(metonymic) The senior leadership of the Soviet Union, or that of the People's Republic of China.


24 Sussex

Ellipsis of 24 Sussex Drive or 24 Sussex Street.

ellipsis

federal government
federal government#English

(metonymic) The Canadian Prime Minister's Office or the federal government of Canada.


Initialism of Intel Architecture, 32-bit.

initialism

(computing, usually attributive) The 32-bit version of the x86 instruction set architecture (as opposed to the original 16-bit x86 architecture or its later 64-bit extension).

(metonymic) All versions of the x86 architecture that support 32-bit computing (including those also capable of 64-bit operation).


button lock

button locks (plural)
buttonlock (alternative)


Bukit Aman

From Malay Bukit Aman (literally “Peace Hill”), which is the location of the Royal Malaysia Police's headquarters building.

bor

(Malaysia, informal, colloquial, metonymic) The Royal Malaysia Police; the police.


niggerskin

The voices had begun to circle silently and secretly and purposefully. “You're from Jap-pan pan pan niggerskin, and you made Pearl Harbor where we got you. Rat-ta-tat-tat!”

1976, Asian American Women, Asian American Women, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 39:

So are many of the quiet, orderly scenes in the school's halls. Children come back from recess on the run, pushing and shoving. One child three days in a row yells, “Niggerskins, niggerskins,” at another who is foreign-born.

1981, The Journalism Research Fellows Report: What Makes an Effective School?, Institute for Educational Leadership, →OCLC, page 91:

1999 September 17, nitro, “to all niggerskins,queerskins,and jewskins”, in alt.skinheads (Usenet):

(slang, derogatory, offensive, ethnic slur, metonymic) A black person.


Zhongnanhai

/ˌd͡ʒʊŋ.nɑnˈhaɪ/

The atonal Hanyu Pinyin romanization of the Mandarin pronunciation of Chinese 中南海 (Zhōngnánhǎi, “Central South Sea”), a compound of the names 中海 (zhōnghǎi, “Central Sea”) + 南海 (Nánhǎi, “South Sea; Nanhai”), two lakes in central Beijing just west of the Forbidden City.

Zhong Nan Hai (alternative)
Chungnanhai (alternative)
Chung-nan-hai (alternative)
Chung Nan Hai (alternative)

On May 15 Zhongnanhai received reports on the student movement in fourteen provinces.[…]
Twenty foreign press reports of May 15 were summarized for Zhongnanhai.

2001, “May 6-16: Hunger Strike”, in The Tiananmen Papers, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, pages 172–173:

Although it may be premature to take the passing of “peaceful rise” as a turning point, it does appear that it is getting increasingly difficult for Zhongnanhai to pronounce a policy with a catchy label and then expect the whole policy and scholarly communities to follow (although many scholars will just follow it for various reasons), especially if the policy really matters. The good old days when the Politburo could set a policy and expect everyone just to fall into line seem to be gone. Today, it seems that Zhongnanhai needs some acquiescence from society in order to proceed with its priority policy package.

2006, Shiping Tang, “Projecting China's Foreign Policy: Determining Factors and Scenarios”, in Jae Ho Chung, editor, Charting China's Future: Political, Social, and International Dimensions, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, China / Politics, page 136:

Zhongnanhai must be directly connected with the people, and we should always keep the people in our thoughts.

2018, Xi Jinping, The Governance of China, volume II, Beijing: Foreign Languages Press, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 208:

(metonymic) The government of the People's Republic of China; the central leadership of the Chinese Communist Party.


Sand Hill Road

Bryce Roberts said, “It has to be a way of disrupting Sand Hill Road”—where a number of the Valley’s top venture firms reside.

2016 October 3, Tad Friend, quoting Bryce Roberts, “Sam Altman’s Manifest Destiny”, in The New Yorker:

Such numbers aren’t everything to a candidate running for the president of the entire country and not just Sand Hill Road, especially at a point in the campaign when many donors are hedging their bets by backing multiple candidates.

2019 July 30, Julia Carrie Wong, “Young, Ivy League and data-driven: why venture capitalists love Pete Buttigieg”, in The Guardian:

(metonymic) The Californian venture capital and tech industry.


Wilhelmstrasse

Frederick William I of Prussia
Wilhelmstrasse

Borrowed from German Wilhelmstraße, from the name of Prussian King Frederick William I (Friedrich Wilhelm I.) + Straße (“street”).

The immediate effect, however, was that all the ingenious calculations of the Wilhelmstrasse came clattering to the ground like a house of cards.

1911, The Fortnightly Review, volume 96, page 638:

As von Neurath once told an Austrian diplomat: “It was the view of the Wilhelmstrasse that as soon as the Reich held Austria, Hungary would eat out of its hand.”

1956, Carlile Aylmer Macartney, October Fifteenth: A History of Modern Hungary, 1929–1945, volume 1, page 139:

The Wilhelmstrasse was faced with a serious dilemma over the Greek question, for no easy solution could be found that would satisfy both Athens and Germany’s allies.

1974, George B. Leon, Greece and the Great Powers, 1914–1917, page 334:

(metonymic, historical after 1945) The German government or Foreign Office.


Warshington

"Senators live in Warshington," Maurice Levy contributed the information. "I been there.["]

1914, Booth Tarkington, Asa Don Dickinson, Penrod:

At a campaign rally in Ft. Dodge later that same day, he noted, "I may be just a simple country boy from Tikrit, but I know a thing or two about how Bush and them big shot fellers in Warshington, D.C. operate. They make all kinda fancy promises and big talk, and pretty soon you're out of a job."

2003 December 3, David Burge, “US Forces Capture New Dem Frontrunner”, in Iowahawk, archived from the original on 2022-08-16:

Maybe if Bush would get the military out of Iraq he could do something about the violence in Warshington D.C.

2006 June 13, “Mission Accomplished Tour '06”, in alt.politics.elections (Usenet):

[T]hey's risen as a community and gotten a petition to send to Warshington.

2010, Roger Lee Scout, Letters from the Hills:

Those folks in Warshington and those politicians know nothin' 'bout farmin'.

Maybe it's because the rest of the country's politicians go back to their constituents and tell them how evil "Warshington" is, and that mindset seeps into the confidence of the city's athletes.

2016 May 11, Beau Dure, “For the cursed Washington Capitals, another season ends in heartache”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 2022-11-29:

So, all you "Warshington Warlords," look in the mirror. I believe you are the main inspiration for our endless stream of mass shootings.

2022 June 10, Jacqueline Brook, “Letter: 'Warshington Warlords' serve as examples for mass shooters”, in Brattleboro Reformer, archived from the original on 2022-06-15:

(slang, rare, derogatory) Washington, D.C., or (metonymic) the US government, seen as the origin and epicenter of American warmongering.


Government Hill

Following the relocation of Central Government Offices from Government Hill in Central, the 1,000-square-metre site became the focal point of protests against the national education curriculum and the government’s denial of a free-to-air licence to broadcaster HKTV.

2015 September 1, Ryan Ho Kilpatrick, “Gov’t fortifies Civic Square ahead of Occupy anniversary”, in Hong Kong Free Press, archived from the original on 2023-10-22, Hong Kong:

The west wing of “Government Hill” was proposed to be demolished to give way to high-rise office buildings.The protesters thought that no matter how dull it was, the “Government Hill” had witnessed a piece of Hong Kong history after the war and should be preserved totally.

2016, Charlie Q. L. Xue, “Modernism Coming to Town—Government Low-Cost Housing and Public Buildings”, in Hong Kong Architecture 1945-2015: From Colonial to Global, Springer, →DOI, →ISBN, →LCCN, page 45:

Although it appears to be a self-contained enclave in the central business district, Government Hill has not been totally cocooned from change.[…]
If the new CGO blocks had been typical high-rise, they would have destroyed the character of Government Hill. A popular feature of the CGO compound was accessibility.

2016, Ken Nicolson, Landscapes Lost and Found: Appreciating Hong Kong’s Heritage Cultural Landscapes, Hong Kong University Press, →ISBN, page 95:

During the consultation period, former Secretary for Works Michael Wright and former Chief Secretary David Akers-Jones advised the government to conserve the Government Hill as a whole and not to demolish the West Wing.

2018, Pui-yin Ho, Making Hong Kong, Edward Elgar Publishing, →ISBN:

(metonymic) The Former Central Government Offices of the Government of Hong Kong.


IFSC

(metonymic) The Irish financial services industry.


karung guni

en-noun

karung guni (plural karung guni or karung gunis)

karung guni (plural)
karung gunis (plural)
karang guni (alternative)

/ˈkɑːɹəŋ ˌɡuːni/

From Malay karung guni (“gunny sack”); guni is derived from Sanskrit गोणी (goṇī). Doublet of gunny.

karung guni, newspapers, old clothes, broken radios, TV sets — Shout of a karung guni announcing their arrival

karung guni, pò-chóa, kū saⁿ-khò͘, pháiⁿ lê-liô, tiān-sī-ki

karung guni，報紙，舊衫褲，歹黎撩，電視機

karung guni，报纸，旧衫裤，歹黎撩，电视机

[…] Madam Wong Ah Hua, 76, said the karung guni man stopped making his rounds in her estate a few months ago.

1994 January 12, Jennifer Tan, The New Paper, Singapore: Singapore Press Holdings Limited, page 6:

The karung guni uncle below my block has been asked to move … By the very people he was making life easy for.

2004 November 8, Andrew Wood, Today, Singapore: Mediacorp Press, →OCLC, page 16:

(Singapore, Malaysia, metonymic or attributively) A traditional scrap dealer or rag-and-bone man who visits residential zones to collect unwanted items.


sock and buskin

Named from two ancient symbols of comedy and tragedy. In ancient Greek theatre, actors in tragic roles wore a boot called a buskin, while those in comedic roles wore a thin-soled "sock" or soccus.

(theater, metonymic) The comedy and tragedy masks.


stakebody

(metonymic) A truck, trailer, or wagon with such a body.


dyshemoglobinemia

dyshemoglobinemia (countable and uncountable, plural dyshemoglobinemias)

A possible dyshemoglobinemia should be suspected when discordance exists between pulse oximetry readings and physical examination findings.

2008, Anne Hladik, Kecha Lynshue, “Dyshemoglobinemias and pulse oximetry: a therapeutic challenge”, in Journal of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, volume 30, number 11, →DOI, →PMID, pages 850-852:

(medicine, metonymic, countable) Any of the various disorders or diseases that comprise this feature.


Malacañang

From Spanish Malacañán, from Tagalog mamalakayahan, from mamalakaya+han, ultimately from lakaya. A common folk etymology is it was derived from Tagalog may lakan diyan. The final -g was added to the name during the American colonial era (1898-1946).

(Philippines, Philippine politics, metonymic) the Philippine presidency and its administration; the Philippine government


super soaker

super soakers (plural)
supersoaker (alternative)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-super soaker.wav

Genericized trademark from the Super Soaker brand name, a powerful water pistol that uses manually pressurised air to propel water.

(sex, slang, metonymic) One who can ejaculate intensively.


Lambeth Palace

(metonymic) The archbishopric of Canterbury.


r/woooosh

From r/woooosh, a subreddit (discussion forum) on the American social news aggregation and discussion website Reddit in which Redditors post about Internet users who misinterpreted sarcastic statements as earnest, i.e. the joke went over their head. The subreddit name is thus taken from the onomatopoeia whoosh, representing the sound of a joke ostensibly flying over one's head. On Reddit, subreddits can be converted into hyperlinks by typing out their name in full, preceded by r/.

r/woosh (alternative)
r/whoosh (alternative)

my friend you need some lessons in sarcasm
r/woooosh

They're laughing at you not getting the joke man. r/woooosh

2019 February 17, @sheldon_daily, Twitter:

I'm sorry but r/woooosh

Hopefully you GET it's a JOKE cuz r/woooosh

r/woooosh never been on twitter before?

(Internet slang, metonymic) Synonym of whoosh.


object head

(fiction, metonymic) A fictional character, typically humanoid or anthropomorphic, with an object for a head.


print newspaper

print newspaper (plural print newspapers)

(metonymic) Newspapers which are or were produced solely or primarily in printed form.

(retronym, frequently plural, sometimes followed by words such as "industry") The historical newspaper industry, in toto, prior to the widespread adoption of online publishing.

online publishing
online publishing#English


Reno divorce

(metonymic) An easily-obtained divorce; a divorce with relatively few prerequisites, such as a short period of residency in the jurisdiction.


Tanjung Rambutan

Borrowed from Malay Tanjung Rambutan. Sense 3 refers to the notorious reputation of the psychiatric hospital located there as associated with people with mental illnesses.

(Malaysia, informal, colloquial, metonymic, offensive) (used to refer to mental illness)


Wisma Putra

From Malay Wisma Putra (literally “Building of the Prince”), which was the former location of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' headquarters building.

bor

(Malaysia, informal, colloquial, metonymic) the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Malaysia).


Thomas Jefferson

en-noun

Thomas Jefferson (plural Thomas Jeffersons)

Metonym from the portrait of Thomas Jefferson featured on them.

I was able to get it out of the clerk that this Franks guy—he’s supposed to be a legit writer who’s on the road a lot—but after I greased her palm with a few Thomas Jeffersons she tells me he don’t ever pick up his mail there.

1987 May, James N. Frey, chapter 9, in USSA: A Novel, New York, N.Y.: Zebra Books, →ISBN, page 134:

Well, I just tipped mine two dollars a day for three days, in nice, crisp Thomas Jeffersons.

2000 January 31, Doug Wickstrom, “Tipping the maids”, in rec.arts.sf.fandom (Usenet), archived from the original on 2025-06-22:

I'll wager a Thomas Jefferson that there will be a 5euro coin on the Continent before there is an 18cent coin in fly-over-country.

2003 October 19, Kenneth Sloan, “Change for a five”, in rec.games.chess.politics (Usenet), archived from the original on 2025-06-22:

“I’ve never said this before,” I started off with a chuckle, handing him the bill, “but here’s a Thomas Jefferson for your troubles.” […] “I gave him a Thomas Jefferson,” I reminded her with a laugh, only to admit, “Until today, I had no idea Thomas Jefferson was on the two.” I chuckled again and complained, “I wish we still had the two dollar bill in our time—they’re so handy.”

2022 April 18, Douglas J. McGregor, “Part Five: 1941”, in Roadtrip 41, Bloomington, Ind.: iUniverse, →ISBN, section 2:

A United States two-dollar bill featuring Thomas Jefferson.

After I first saw the old man I kept watching for those buffalo nickels, but they’re all Thomas Jeffersons now.

1993 June, Hortense Calisher, “Blind Eye, Wrong Foot”, in Laura Furman, editor, American Short Fiction, volume 3, number 10, Austin, Tex.: University of Texas Press, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 43:

For modern-era citizens now dependent on debit cards and no longer familiar with coin values: Cheez-Its requires one Franklin Roosevelt and two George Washingtons. (Hold onto your Thomas Jeffersons for drinks, later.)

2012, Doug Brendel, “A Primer for Ye Olde Vending Tradition”, in Only in Ipswich 2013, →ISBN, page 38:

If I had a nickel for every time I made the mistake of telling someone I was sick—and they said disbelievingly, “But you look fine!”—I’d be rolling in shiny little Thomas Jeffersons.

2021, Chloe Liese, “Rooney”, in With You Forever (Bergman Brothers; 4), London: Penguin Books, published 2023, →ISBN:

A United States nickel (five-cent coin) featuring Thomas Jefferson.

They stopped minting the Washington dollar coins as soon as they starting minting John Adams coins. Similarly, the John Adams are no longer in productions - and Thomas Jeffersons will give way to James Madison very soon.

2007 September 9, Jim Seymour, “Coin scam in the open?”, in rec.collecting.coins (Usenet), archived from the original on 2025-06-22:

Now the mint is really pushing the gold Presidential dollar coins that started up last year hoping that people will collect the full set of presidents (I do) - I always get them in change from the office soda machine and at the post office stamp machine. In fact I have three Thomas Jeffersons jingling in my pocket as I write this.

2008 August 12, Paul Dietenberger, “OT: 2$ Bill”, in rec.antiques.radio+phono (Usenet), archived from the original on 2025-06-22:

Included in my nascent collection of eight presidential dollar coins are two Thomas Jeffersons and one Andrew Jackson, neither of whom should need an introduction.

2014, Gerald Karey, “Do You Have Change for a Sacagawea?”, in Unhinged: Reflections, Opinions, Humor, Reminiscences, an Occasional Rant, Reportage—a Random Chronicle of Our Times, Amherst, Mass.: Small Batch Books, →ISBN, section 15 (A Baker’s Dozen), page 373:

A United States dollar coin featuring Thomas Jefferson.


comedy and tragedy

comedy and tragedy (plural comedy and tragedies)

(theater, metonymic) The sock and buskin.