Rico Suave

"No Rico Suaves for me." He sank his thumbs into his armpits to simulate wearing overalls. "I'm only into one-hundred-percent Boy-Next-Door crackers."

2005, E. Lynn Harris, Freedom In This Village: Twenty-Five Years of Black Gay Men's Writing, page 387:

The show follows Lawrence Jameson, a regular Rico Suave, and Freddy Benson, a small-time swindler who tugs at ladies' heart.

December 2007, Indianapolis Monthly, "Show Stealers", pp. 194, ISSN 0899-0328

He tried to turn on the Rico Suave charm.

2008, http://books.google.ca/books?id=ueSMeohdBmYC&pg=PA80&dq=%22rico+suave%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=1zSzULa1F5HK0AGqwoGADg&redir_esc=y#v=snippet&q=%22rico%20suave%22&f=false, The King of Erotica 2: The Crown, →ISBN:

2009, http://books.google.ca/books?id=5wsE8g6iFpsC&pg=PT90&dq=%22rico+suave%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=1zSzULa1F5HK0AGqwoGADg&redir_esc=y Asley & JaQuavis, "The Tale of Murda Mamas: The Cartel 2", →ISBN
That Rico Suave-ass nigga don't know how to keep a bitch like Miamor.

2009, http://books.google.ca/books?id=c9F0mwfs5jgC&pg=PA181&dq=%22rico+suave%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=1zSzULa1F5HK0AGqwoGADg&redir_esc=y#v=snippet&q=%22rico%20suave%22&f=false Reba Toney, "The Rating Game: The Foolproof Formula for Finding Your Perfect Soul Mate", pp. 181 →ISBN
If you've been invited to a friend's birthday, and you show up only to find three couples, two stragglers, and Rico Suave hitting on the hot waitress, lower your expectations of meeting someone, and try to have a great time anyway.

2010, http://books.google.ca/books?id=izCe2g-4QQ0C&pg=PA10&dq=%22rico+suave%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=1zSzULa1F5HK0AGqwoGADg&redir_esc=y#v=snippet&q=%22rico%20suave%22&f=false Michelle Dupress, "Attract the Love You Want", pp.10, →ISBN
He thinks he is Rico Suave and you know him to be a Don Juan.

And he felt a cloying kinship with his father, his uncles, his teachers, and his mentors at the same time he was feeling a closer bond with the homeboys, the G-Dawgs, the Rico Suaves.

2011, Stanley E. Terrell, Brickettes: Tales and Poems from New Ark, page 57:

(US, slang) A snappily dressed, cool, confident Latino lady's man.


dog bone wrench

en-noun

dog bone wrench (plural dog bone wrenches)

[dɔɡ boʊn ɹɛnt͡ʃ̩̩]

(US) A traditional double-ended bicycle wrench with a selection of usually 10 sizes—five on each end—arranged in a ball form.


call time

en-verb

call time (third-person singular simple present calls time, present participle calling time, simple past and past participle called time)

calls time (present singular third-person)
calling time (participle present)
called time (participle past)
called time (past)

The teacher called time, and there were a few groans. (Some children pleaded for more time, another just said it was really hard, and a few others agreed that this was really cool.)

2011, Linda Schwartz Green, Diane Casale-Giannola, 40 Active Learning Strategies for the Inclusive Classroom, Grades K–5, Corwin Press, →ISBN, page 104:

(US, education) To indicate that an activity, especially the taking of a test, is complete.


everwhere

From ever + where. Formed similarly to the older words each, every and German irgendwo.

Everwhere he hid it, he hid it good.


everwhere

Some dialects and informal speakers shorten every to ever; see ever for more.

Everwhere you look these days, you see ads.


adjustable wrench

en-noun

adjustable wrench (plural adjustable wrenches)

adjustable spanner
adjustable spanner#English


vly

Attested chiefly as vly, rarely as vlaie or fly. From a dialectal form of Middle Dutch valeye, which meant "valley" in standard Dutch; a semantic shift to meaning "swamp" occurred either in Middle Dutch or independently in the speech of both the Dutch colonists of America and the Dutch colonists of South Africa (producing vlei).

(US, chiefly New York, now chiefly in place names) A small swampy or marshy area, especially near a stream.


crunchie

From crunchy. Use to refer to infantrymen in Vietnam is from their "crunching" through the jungle brush. Use to refer to white Afrikaners is perhaps from their supposed tendency to eat crunchy food.

crunchies

dry cat food in the form of small pellets

To the subjective mind of the combat crunchie and cannon cocker, executing with his legs, sweat, and often his life, the grand designs […]

2016, Micheal Clodfelter, Mad Minutes and Vietnam Months: A Soldier’s Memoir, →ISBN:

(US Vietnam era military slang, usually in the plural) An infantry soldier, a grunt.


Ren fair

Ren fairs (plural)
ren fair (alternative)
Ren Fair (alternative)

"Where you headed?" / "A Ren fair in San Antonio."

2009, Delilah Devlin, Texas Men, New York, N.Y.: Aphrodisia, →ISBN, page 247:

But the Attila Billy Joel, he's the one who goes to ren fairs, had his last sexual experience in the parking lot of a community college, and wouldn't be caught dead singing a song like "She's Always a Woman."

2016, Eric Spitznagel, Old Records Never Die: One Man's Quest for His Vinyl and His Past, New York, N.Y.: Plume Books, →ISBN, page 142:

"Everywhere else has a ren fair but here, so why doesn't Newfoundland have a ren fair? We have a huge nerd population. So something should have happened a long time ago."

2022 March 23, Elizabeth Whitten, quoting Phil Swift, “Mount Pearl gets royal with first renaissance festival”, in CBC News, archived from the original on 2023-04-19:

The Moscow couple have been longtime Ren Fair enthusiasts. Noble has lived in Moscow since 1984 and has only missed two Ren Fairs in the past 39 years. This year, the couple will have the distinction of being royalty during the event's 50th anniversary.

2023 May 5, Anthony Kuipers, “Moscow Renaissance Fair vets ascend to royalty”, in The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, W.A.: Review Publishing Corporation, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-05-10:

Renaissance fair
Renaissance fair#English

(chiefly US, informal) Clipping of Renaissance fair.


salt horse

salt horse (countable and uncountable, plural salt horses)

From the fact that horse meat was considered especially unappetizing and rarely eaten, but that the meat had been so heavily salted and dried that it could just be horse meat passed off as beef.

(uncountable, US, obsolete, sailor's slang) salt beef


see the elephant

en-verb

see the elephant (third-person singular simple present sees the elephant, present participle seeing the elephant, simple past saw the elephant, past participle seen the elephant)

sees the elephant (present singular third-person)
seeing the elephant (participle present)
saw the elephant (past)
seen the elephant (participle past)

(US, obsolete, slang) To witness something unexpected and awe-inspiring.

"[W]hy he's a natural born carakter. He is the best hand at a yarn in all west country, and will whip more cats, tell more lies, and eat more pork, than any fellow in Texas. […] [H]e's rare, jist the chap, and no mistake. He's seen the elephant, I imagine, a little more nor twice, I expect."

1846, The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction, page 338:

(US, obsolete, slang) To be up to the latest moves; to be knowing and worldly.

en:see combat, witness or participate in battle

(US, American Civil War, slang) To witness or participate in a battle.


Butternut

After the color of the Confederate uniform.

Yankees took to calling the Borderlanders “butternuts”—a reference to the color of their crude homespun clothes.

2011, Colin Woodard, chapter 17, in American nations, New York: Penguin, →ISBN:

(US, 19th century) Southern settlers of the Ohio river basin, who used dye from the butternut tree to colour their home-made clothing

The Illinois troops delivered a volley that sent the butternuts scampering back across the field.

1958, Shelby Foote, The Civil War: A Narrative. Vol. 1: Fort Sumter to Perryville.:

(US, obsolete) A Confederate Southerner, or somebody who supported southern rights and slavery


Copperhead

After the dangerous copperhead snake, to which propagandists of the Republican Party compared Democrats interested in appeasement.

(US, historical, slang) A northerner who sympathized with the South or wanted to end hostilities during the American Civil War.

(US, historical, derogatory) Any member of the Democratic party.


hickoryite

(US, rare, colloquial) Jasper of the color of hickory bark.


hickry

Pronunciation spelling
pronunciation spelling

(US, archaic) Pronunciation spelling of hickory.


COV

Commonwealth of Virginia
Commonwealth of Virginia#English

(US) Initialism of Commonwealth of Virginia.


show one's butt

show one's butt (third-person singular simple present shows one's butt, present participle showing one's butt, simple past showed one's butt, past participle shown one's butt or (US) showed one's butt)

shows one's butt (present singular third-person)
showing one's butt (participle present)
showed one's butt (past)
shown one's butt (participle past)
showed one's butt (US participle past)

They've been showing their butts (misbehaving), and so you know they haven't been out.

As of tonight those Federal goons in there showing their butts aren't law enforcement officers any more. They're the criminals now.

2005, H. A. Covington, A Mighty Fortress, →ISBN, page 152:

Granddaddy Jaybird always did something to, as Dad said when he thought I wasn't listening, “show his butt,” and today would be no exception.

2008, Robert McCammon, Boys' Life, →ISBN, page 65:

Las' night he tried ta show his butt by standin' up ta his ole man. I don't reckon he'll try that again anytime soon.

2009, Barry Reed, The Innocent Pirate, →ISBN, page 267:

He really showed his butt when he screeched in anger and frustration at finding it empty. He proceeded to rip the hell out of the bamboo, pulling it out of the ground with his beak and talons.

2010, Laura Lacey Satterly, Survival 2033, →ISBN, page 65:

He caused us to be late getting on the road because he was playing the “poor, pitiful, no-one understands me” card. It was around this time I learned a new expression from his family. He was showing his butt.

2012, Tracie Crawford, I Changed My Mind, →ISBN, page 76:

(Canada, US, slang, vulgar, idiomatic) To misbehave or act defiantly.


teatard

You teatard birthers are delightfully funny.

2010 November 24, JLS, “Re: Closing-in: Supremes Confer On No Birth Certificate Eligibility Crisis”, in alt.politics (Usenet):

As if we needed further evidence that the teatard "austerity" "plan" was a stupid idea.

2011 February 28, Neoconis_Ignoramus [username], “Teatard "plan" would cost 700,000 jobs, cut gdp growth”, in alt.fan.rush-limbaugh (Usenet):

You must be a teatard moping over FOUR MORE YEARS! <SNICKER!!!!!!!>

2012 November 28, ChasNemo [username], “Re: WATCH KARL ROVES HEAD EXPLOAD! I really, really enjoyed that! Thanks for sharing!! It would be great to see similar footage of other bloated heads exploding (Rush Limbaugh, etc.!!!”, in alt.radio.talk.dr-laura (Usenet):

(US, slang, derogatory) A supporter of the Tea Party movement.


Holiday

Holiday 2014

(US) The holiday season or Christmas season, especially when paired with a year.


Free-Stater

From free state + -er (supporter) or + -er (demonym suffix).

(US, historical) One of the antislavery settlers in Kansas Territory in the 1850s.


note shaver

(US, slang, dated) One who buys banknotes at a discount greater than the legal rate of interest.


libertard

If enough people aren't doing the above then the money spent on taxes is indeed wasted or even counterproductive and it's easy to see how many would become libertards or Randroids who, like Lincoln, would prefer to take their despotism straight, "unalloyed by the base metal of hypocrisy."

2005 June 18, Bret Cahill, “Taxes Aren't the Only Price of Liberty”, in humanities.philosophy.objectivism (Usenet), message-ID <1119109059.458575.236000@g47g2000cwa.googlegroups.com>:

(US, slang, derogatory) Synonym of libtard (“a stupid libertarian”).


right to work

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-right to work.wav

(US, public policy, law) The prohibition of union security agreements or closed shops; the prohibition of the requirement that those who take on work in a unionised shop join the union or pay it for representing them.


open shop

open shop (third-person singular simple present opens shop, present participle opening shop, simple past and past participle opened shop)

opens shop (present singular third-person)
opening shop (participle present)
opened shop (participle past)
opened shop (past)

Rosenman left Sandollar to run Brillstein-Grey’s movie division for two years. He then opened shop as an indie producer, developing such films as the Beacon Communications comedy “Family Man,”.

1999 March 25, Michael Fleming, “Rosenman and Baum reteam”, in Variety:

(US, India) To begin work or operations.


comeouter

(US, dated) Alternative form of come-outer


DEERS

In order to receive such care, however, all Armed Forces personnel must enroll their family members in the DEERS (Defense Enrollment Reporting System) program. Check your Personnel Office or, on larger posts, the DEERS Office for appropriate forms and actions.

1996, Kenneth W. Estes, Handbook for Marine NCOs, 4th edition, page 119:

The ACTUR program is a component of the Defense Eligibility and Enrollment Reporting System (DEERS) program, which is used to establish eligibility for DoD services.[…]The database is linked through ACTUR and DEERS.

2004, National Cancer Registrars Association, Cancer Registry Management: Principles & Practice, 2nd edition, page 341:

(US) Defense Enrollment and Eligibility Reporting System.


honeyfuggle

honeyfuggle (third-person singular simple present honeyfuggles, present participle honeyfuggling, simple past and past participle honeyfuggled)

honeyfuggles (present singular third-person)
honeyfuggling (participle present)
honeyfuggled (participle past)
honeyfuggled (past)
honeyfugle (alternative)


Indian hemp

en-noun

Indian hemp (usually uncountable, plural Indian hemps)

Apocynum cannabinum
Apocynum cannabinum#Translingual

(US) A poisonous plant, Apocynum cannabinum, that American Indians used to make rope and string.


nutting truck

/ˈnʌtɪŋ ˌtɹʌk/

[ˈnʌɾɪŋ ˌtɹʌk]

So named because they were originally manufactured by the Nutting Truck Company, founded by Elijah Nutting.

The slip read: "I asked Charles Hall to push a nutting truck from the dumping table area to the paper case area."

1973, in a Government Employee Relations Report (in the issues 484-509; page 1-461), page 49

When I tried to show him how thin the pieces were and that I had made good progress, he just picked up his clip board and motioned for me to get a big nutting truck and to follow him.

2006, Ken Culbreth, The Railway Mail Clerk and the Highway Post Office, →ISBN, page 123:

She looked at the stacks of flats already sitting on the nutting truck.

2012, Sandy Kay, Awakening Hearts, →ISBN, page 89:

(US, United States Postal Service terminology) A flat cart with four wheels, one in the center or corner of each side, upon which trays of mail may be stacked for transport.


eat someone's lunch

en-verb

eat someone's lunch (third-person singular simple present eats someone's lunch, present participle eating someone's lunch, simple past ate someone's lunch, past participle eaten someone's lunch)

eats someone's lunch (present singular third-person)
eating someone's lunch (participle present)
ate someone's lunch (past)
eaten someone's lunch (participle past)

Possibly from the idea of a stronger or quicker person snatching away and eating another person’s lunch before they can consume it.

So in a classic it-ain't-broke-so-let's-fix-it-anyway move, some of our managers and salespeople began complaining that it wasn't written for Windows. […] If we didn't rewrite for Windows, they insisted, our competitors would eat our lunch!

2006 October 2, “A Disastrous ‘Upgrade’: My Boss Insisted that Creating a Windows Version of Our DOS App would Ensure Our Future”, in Steve Fox, editor, InfoWorld, volume 28, number 40, San Francisco, Calif.: InfoWorld Publishing Co., International Data Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 52, column 1:

"I would also suggest to my free enterprise colleagues—especially conservatives here—whether you think it's all a bunch of hooey [i.e., climate change], what we've talked about in this committee, the Chinese don’t," the South Carolina Republican [Bob Inglis] said in his opening remarks. "And they plan on eating our lunch in this next century."

2010 November 18, Kate Sheppard, “Outgoing GOPer Slams Climate Denying Colleagues”, in Mother Jones, San Francisco, Calif.: Foundation for National Progress, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-08-18:

It seemed inevitable: Slither was going to eat our lunch unless we upped our game and out-Slithered Slither. But here's the thing, The Slither Corporation doesn't actually exist. It's our fictive nemesis, our imaginary bad guys. Rather than battling a poorly performing company, we went up against our worst enemy—the company that we knew could put us out of business (if it really existed).

2011, Josh Linkner, “Gaining the Keys to a Creative Mind and Culture”, in Disciplined Dreaming: A Proven System to Drive Breakthrough Creativity, San Francisco, Calif.: Jossey-Bass, Wiley, →ISBN, step 2 (Prepare), page 102:

Today, thanks in large part to [Elon] Musk's pace-setting, auto companies from VW to Nissan are jostling to invest billions in electric vehicles. Their about-face is driven less by altruism than by a dawning realization that Musk is eating their lunch.

2021 December 13, Molly Ball, Jeffrey Kluger, Alejandro de la Garza, “Time 2021 Person of the Year: Elon Musk”, in Time, New York, N.Y.: Time Inc., →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2024-05-14:

Platforms such as TikTok and Instagram are, indeed, eating traditional comedy’s lunch lately when it comes to funny characters.

2023 September 27, Spencer Kornhaber, “The Weirdos Living Inside Our Phones”, in The Atlantic, Washington, D.C.: The Atlantic Monthly Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-12-30:

(idiomatic, chiefly US, slang) To best or defeat someone thoroughly; to make short work of.


absentee vote

(US) A vote cast by a voter by mail because of absence from the precinct during the election, typically military members.


hard candy

en-noun

hard candy (countable and uncountable, plural hard candies)

(US) A candy prepared from one or more syrups boiled to a temperature of 160°C (320°F), thereafter becoming stiff and brittle at room temperature.


crazysauce

(US, slang) Something that is bewildering or exciting.


lamesauce

(Canada, US, slang, derogatory) Something that is undesirable or detrimental.


lamesauce

(Canada, US, slang, derogatory) An expression of frustration or disappointment.


Dutch disease

Coined by The Economist magazine in 1977, to describe the situation in the Netherlands where a natural resources find of a large natural gas field caused the Dutch guilder to rise in valuation, depressing exports and causing the manufacturing sector to decline, that occurred after 1959.


sofky

There was another pot in the fireplace too, a big one, a two-gallon pot, and it was filled with a mess that looked like hominy. Rooster tasted it with a spoon and said it was an Indian dish called sofky.

(US) A soup or stew made of hominy, cornmeal and bits of meat.


statutory authority

statutory authority (plural statutory authorities)

(US, law) Legislation authorizing the existence and activity of a government agency.

(US, law) The powers assigned to a government agency by legislation.


legal-size

(US) Of paper: in sheets measuring 8.5 × 14 inches (215.9 × 355.6 mm).


MCTFS

Marine Corps Total Force System
w:Marine Corps Total Force System

(military, US) Initialism of Marine Corps Total Force System.


DFAS

w:Defense Finance and Accounting Service

(military, US) Initialism of Defense Finance and Accounting Service.


DIMHRS

w:Defense Integrated Military Human Resources System

(military, US) Initialism of Defense Integrated Military Human Resources System.


OQR

Officer Qualification Record
w:Officer Qualification Record

(military, US) Initialism of Officer Qualification Record.


(military, US) Abbreviation of DD Form 214.


NDAA

National Defense Authorization Act
w:National Defense Authorization Act

(military, US) Initialism of National Defense Authorization Act.


FAFSA

w:Free Application for Federal Student Aid

(government, US) Acronym of Free Application for Federal Student Aid.


BUPERS

Bureau of Naval Personnel
w:Bureau of Naval Personnel

(military, US) Initialism of Bureau of Naval Personnel.


MAGTF

Marine Air-Ground Task Force
w:Marine Air-Ground Task Force

(military, US) Initialism of Marine Air-Ground Task Force.


EFV

EFV (countable and uncountable, plural EFVs)

Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle
w:Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle

(military, US) Initialism of Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle.


NROTC

Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps
w:Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps

(military, US) Initialism of Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps.


NHHC

Naval History & Heritage Command
w:Naval History & Heritage Command

(military, US) Initialism of Naval History & Heritage Command.


BSM

(military, US) Initialism of Bronze Star Medal.


DFC

Distinguished Flying Cross
w:Distinguished Flying Cross

(US, military) Initialism of Distinguished Flying Cross.


MARSOC

w:Marine Corps Special Operations Command

(military, US) Acronym of Marine Corps Special Operations Command.


CNIC

Commander, Navy Installations Command
w:Commander, Navy Installations Command

(military, US) Initialism of Commander, Navy Installations Command.


OCHR

(military, US) Initialism of Office of Civilian Human Resources.


AUTEC

w:Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center

(military, US) Initialism of Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center.


BUMED

Bureau of Medicine and Surgery
w:Bureau of Medicine and Surgery

(military, US) Acronym of Bureau of Medicine and Surgery.


DEVGRU

w:United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group

(military, US) Abbreviation of United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group.


CMC

CMC (countable and uncountable, plural CMCs)

Commandant of the Marine Corps
w:Commandant of the Marine Corps

(military, US) Initialism of Commandant of the Marine Corps.

command master chief petty officer
w:command master chief petty officer

(military, US) Initialism of command master chief petty officer.


MCPON

w:Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy

(military, US) Initialism of Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy.


USNA

United States Naval Academy
w:United States Naval Academy

(military, US) Initialism of United States Naval Academy.


CNO

“You know, I really didn't have much to do with Vietnam. In the summer of 1964, I went to work for the assistant CNO for submarine warfare, Op 02. But that summer, Op 03—that's surface warfare—was developing new ASW strategies.”

1996, William Martin, Annapolis, New York: Tom Doherty Associates, published 2010, →ISBN, page 761:

Chief of Naval Operations
w:Chief of Naval Operations

(US, military) Initialism of Chief of Naval Operations.


LOA

(military, US) Initialism of letter of appreciation.


AAFES

Army and Air Force Exchange Service
w:Army and Air Force Exchange Service

(military, US) Acronym of Army and Air Force Exchange Service.


ALBM

air-launched ballistic missile
w:air-launched ballistic missile

(military, US) Initialism of air-launched ballistic missile.


SgtMaj

(military, US) Acronym of sergeant major.


SMA

SMA (countable and uncountable, plural SMAs)

sergeant Major of the Army
w:sergeant Major of the Army

(military, US) Initialism of sergeant Major of the Army.


SgtMajMarCor

Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps
w:Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps

(military, US) Abbreviation of Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps.


SMMC

(military, US) Initialism of Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps.


CQB

(military, US) Initialism of close-quarters battle.


OBUA

(military, US) Initialism of operations in built-up areas.


MOOTW

Military operations other than war
w:Military operations other than war

(military, US) Initialism of Military operations other than war.


RAPIDS

w:Real-Time Automated Personnel Identification System

(military, US) Acronym of Real-Time Automated Personnel Identification System.


DMDC

Defense Manpower Data Center
w:Defense Manpower Data Center

(military, US) Initialism of Defense Manpower Data Center.


DLA

Defense Logistics Agency
w:Defense Logistics Agency

(military, US) Initialism of Defense Logistics Agency.


OSD

Office of the Secretary of Defense
w:Office of the Secretary of Defense

(military, US) Initialism of Office of the Secretary of Defense.


WHS

Washington Headquarters Services
w:Washington Headquarters Services

(military, US) Initialism of Washington Headquarters Services.


NGIA

(military, US) Initialism of National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.


PFT

He could be the worst marine ever—he could be fat and nasty, and I could be running a perfect PFT.

2010, Laura Browder, Sascha Pflaeging, When Janey Comes Marching Home: Portraits of Women Combat Veterans, University of North Carolina Press, →ISBN, page 137:

physical fitness test
w:physical fitness test

(military, US) Initialism of physical fitness test.


VBIED

improvised explosive device
improvised explosive device#English

(military, US) Initialism of vehicle-borne improvised explosive device.


UUV

Unmanned Underwater Vehicle
w:Unmanned Underwater Vehicle

(military, US) Initialism of Unmanned Underwater Vehicle.


LtCol

LtCols (plural)
LTCOL (alternative)
Lt.Col. (alternative)
Lt. Col. (alternative)

Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant Colonel#English

(military, US, abbreviation) Lieutenant Colonel.


CVN

Initialism for Cruiser Voler Nuclear. See French voler (“to fly”).

(military, US) nuclear-powered aircraft carrier


ISTAR

target acquisition
target acquisition#English

(military, US) Acronym of intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance.


NAVMC

Marine Corps
w:United States Marine Corps

(military, US) Initialism of Navy and Marine Corps.


RCCPDS

(military, US) Initialism of Reserve Components Common Personnel Data System.


ACCPDS

(military, US) Initialism of Active Component Common Personnel Data System.


JPAS

(military, US) Initialism of Joint Personnel Adjudication System.


HMMWV

(military, US) Abbreviation of high mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicle.


RFJ

Rewards for Justice
w:Rewards for Justice

(government, US) Initialism of Rewards for Justice.


USPIS

w:United States Postal Inspection Service

(government, US) Initialism of United States Postal Inspection Service.


DTIC

Defense Technical Information Center
w:Defense Technical Information Center

(military, US) Initialism of Defense Technical Information Center.


ASTIA

w:Armed Services Technical Information Agency

(military, US) Initialism of Armed Services Technical Information Agency.


NTIS

w:National Technical Information Service

(government, US) Initialism of National Technical Information Service.


QDR

(military, US) Initialism of Quadrennial Defense Review.


LMTV

Light Medium Tactical Vehicle
w:Light Medium Tactical Vehicle

(military, US) Initialism of Light Medium Tactical Vehicle.


FMTV

Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles
w:Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles

(military, US) Initialism of Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles.


CSIB

Combat Service Identification Badge
w:Combat Service Identification Badge

(military, US) Initialism of Combat Service Identification Badge.


ACU

Army Combat Uniform
w:Army Combat Uniform

(military, US) Initialism of Army Combat Uniform.

Assault Craft Unit
Assault Craft Unit#English

(military, nautical, US) Initialism of Assault Craft Unit.


DCU

Desert Camouflage Uniform
w:Desert Camouflage Uniform

(military, US) Initialism of Desert Camouflage Uniform.


NECC

Navy Expeditionary Combat Command
w:Navy Expeditionary Combat Command

(military, US) Initialism of Navy Expeditionary Combat Command.


SCWS

w:Seabee combat warfare specialist insignia

(military, US) Initialism of Seabee combat warfare specialist.


EIB

EIB (countable and uncountable, plural EIBs)

Expert Infantryman Badge
w:Expert Infantryman Badge

(military, US, countable) Initialism of Expert Infantryman Badge.


SINCGARS

w:Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System

(military, US) Initialism of Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System.


CNR

(military, US) Initialism of Combat-net radio.


JTRS

Joint Tactical Radio System
w:Joint Tactical Radio System

(military, US) Initialism of Joint Tactical Radio System.


ACMC

w:Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps

(military, US) Initialism of Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps.


HSM

Humanitarian Service Medal
w:Humanitarian Service Medal

(military, US) Initialism of Humanitarian Service Medal.


GWOT

In the 2008 presidential election, although both candidates were caught within the GWOT discourse trap, there was an attempt by the Democrats to contest the content of the GWOT by arguing that Afghanistan was the central front in the war on terror, rather than Iraq.

2013, Jeffrey H. Michaels, The Discourse Trap and the US Military […] , Palgrave Macmillan, →ISBN:

(military, US) Initialism of Global War on Terrorism.


AFSM

Armed Forces Service Medal
w:Armed Forces Service Medal

(military, US) Initialism of Armed Forces Service Medal.


NMCC

National Military Command Center
w:National Military Command Center

(military, US) Initialism of National Military Command Center.


flip the script

en-verb

flip the script (third-person singular simple present flips the script, present participle flipping the script, simple past and past participle flipped the script)

flips the script (present singular third-person)
flipping the script (participle present)
flipped the script (participle past)
flipped the script (past)

Some people walk with a panther or strike a buffalo stance that makes you wanna dance. Other people flip the script on the day of the jackal that'll make you cackle.

2003, Deborah Gregory, The Cheetah Girls: Livin' Large!, page 405:

But sometimes she'd flip the script and come out with some tight shit on, turning that magnetic strength up to full power.

2008, Brian Peterson, Move Over, Girl: A Novel, page 63:

We need to flip the script and start showing that same level of compassion and love toward each other, and perhaps we will then gain respect and control over our communities.

2010, Inkwell, Children in the Belly of the Beast: Breeding Ground for Social Pathology, page 148:

And we're not talking about me. We're talking about you. What's with you Kings? You're always trying to flip the script on me.

2011, Adrianne Byrd, King's Promise, page 94:

I know there are exceptions, and I’m not trying to flip the script and reveal the reactionary face of Hollywood, though it’s true that in the years of the Production Code (from the mid-’30s until the late ’60s), Hollywood upheld a fairly conservative vision of American life.

2022 June 2, A. O. Scott, “Are the Movies Liberal?”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

(Canada, US, informal) To reverse a situation, especially by doing something unexpected.


AFRM

(military, US) Initialism of Armed Forced Reserve Medal.


SMCR

Selected Marine Corps Reserve
w:Selected Marine Corps Reserve

(military, US) Initialism of Selected Marine Corps Reserve.


OIF

Operation Iraqi Freedom
w:Operation Iraqi Freedom

(military, US) Initialism of Operation Iraqi Freedom.


OEF

Operation Enduring Freedom
w:Operation Enduring Freedom

(military, US) Initialism of Operation Enduring Freedom.


MEU

marine expeditionary unit
w:marine expeditionary unit

(military, US) Acronym of marine expeditionary unit.


FMF

(US, military) Initialism of Fleet Marine Force.

w:United States Foreign Military Financing

(US, military) Initialism of Foreign Military Financing.


SIOP

(military, US) Acronym of Single Integrated Operational Plan.


MSC

Military Sealift Command
w:Military Sealift Command

(military, US) Initialism of Military Sealift Command: an organization that controls the replenishment and military transport ships of the United States Navy.


MOLLE

(military, US, initialism) Modular Lightweight Load-carrying Equipment.


PALS

Pouch Attachment Ladder System
w:Pouch Attachment Ladder System

(military, US) Initialism of Pouch Attachment Ladder System.


LCE

Load-Carrying Equipment
w:Load-Carrying Equipment

(military, US) Initialism of Load-Carrying Equipment.


IIFS

Individual Integrated Fighting System
w:Individual Integrated Fighting System

(military, US) Initialism of Individual Integrated Fighting System.


you gals

Hey you gals! How you doin'?

You gals headin' down to the beach?

(idiomatic, colloquial, chiefly Canada, US, Australia, New Zealand) You (plural).

the list of other second-person pronouns in you


CANEX

Canadian Forces Exchange System
w:Canadian Forces Exchange System

(military, US) Abbreviation of Canadian Forces Exchange System.


MCCS

(military, US) Initialism of Marine Corps Community Services.

(military, US, humorous) Initialism of Marine Corps crime syndicate.


DoDEA

w:Department of Defense Education Activity

(military, US) Acronym of Department of Defense Education Activity.


MSIC

Missile and Space Intelligence Center
w:Missile and Space Intelligence Center

(military, US) Initialism of Missile and Space Intelligence Center.


(military, US, initialism) Command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance


PASGT

w:Personnel Armor System for Ground Troops

(military, US) Initialism of Personnel Armor System for Ground Troops.


MICH

(military, US, initialism) Modular Integrated Communications Helmet.


MARPAT

en-noun

MARPAT (countable and uncountable, plural MARPATs)

(military, US, abbreviation) Marine pattern (a form of camouflage).


ACMH

Army Center of Military History
w:Army Center of Military History

(military, US) Initialism of Army Center of Military History.


NVD

Night Vision Device
w:Night Vision Device

(military, US) Initialism of Night Vision Device.


MSTAR

w:Man-portable Surveillance and Target Acquisition Radar

(military, US) Initialism of Man-portable Surveillance and Target Acquisition Radar.


ALICE

(military, US, initialism) All-purpose Lightweight Individual Carrying Equipment.


master gunnery sergeant

master gunnery sergeant (plural master gunnery sergeants)

non-commissioned officer
non-commissioned officer

(military, US) A non-commissioned officer of rank E-9 in the United States Marine Corps, ranking above a master sergeant/first sergeant and below a warrant officer. It is equal in grade to sergeant major


ANGLICO

Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company
w:Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company

(military, US) Acronym of Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company.


BAH

Basic Allowance for Housing
w:Basic Allowance for Housing

(military, US) Initialism of Basic Allowance for Housing.


BAS

B.A.S. (alternative)
B. A. S. (alternative)

(military, US) Initialism of basic allowance for subsistence.


DLPT

Defense Language Proficiency Tests
w:Defense Language Proficiency Tests

(military, US) Initialism of Defense Language Proficiency Tests.


DLAB

Defense Language Aptitude Battery
w:Defense Language Aptitude Battery

(military, US) Initialism of Defense Language Aptitude Battery.


DLI

Defense Language Institute
w:Defense Language Institute

(military, US) Initialism of Defense Language Institute.


MGIB

(military, US) Initialism of Montgomery GI Bill.


MPRC

Military Personnel Records Center
w:Military Personnel Records Center

(military, US) Initialism of Military Personnel Records Center.


NARA

w:National Archives and Records Administration

(government, US) Initialism of National Archives and Records Administration.


TSP

Thrift Savings Plan
w:Thrift Savings Plan

(US government) Initialism of Thrift Savings Plan.


FERS

(government, US, initialism) Federal Employees Retirement System.


CSRS

Civil Service Retirement System
w:Civil Service Retirement System

(government, US) Initialism of Civil Service Retirement System.


MIHA

(military, US) Acronym of move in housing allowance.


BESS

Basic Enlisted Submarine School
w:Basic Enlisted Submarine School

(military, US) Initialism of Basic Enlisted Submarine School.


BFTT

Battle Force Tactical Training
w:Battle Force Tactical Training

(military, US) Initialism of Battle Force Tactical Training.


CNATT

w:Center For Naval Aviation Technical Training

(military, US) Initialism of Center For Naval Aviation Technical Training.


MANTA

(military, US) Acronym of multiaxis no-tail aircraft.


next to last

Go ahead and rest. We board the plane next to last.

This is the next-to-last night of my vacation.

(particularly US) Penultimate, one before the end of a series, placed immediately before the end in a sequence.


Free Exercise Clause

free-exercise clause (alternative)
free exercise clause (alternative)

The free-exercise clause tells us that that religion is especially favored and the establishment clause tells us that it is especially feared (the state should avoid entanglement with that stuff).

2011 October 17, Stanley Fish, “Is Religion Above the Law?”, in The New York Times:

(US, law) A clause in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, stating Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.


Ginnie Mae

Girls' names containing the letters GNMA of the abbreviation in sequence. Compare Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac.

(US) Government National Mortgage Association


roadtest

roadtests (plural)
road test (alternative)


apple bee

apple bees (plural)
apple-bee (alternative)

(US) A social gathering of farmers to help gather in the apple harvest, or process the fruit.


1-h TL FM

(US, meteorology) Initialism of one-hour timelag fuel moisture.


Deer gun

(US, historical) a basic pistol intended for distribution to South Vietnamese guerrillas as a weapon against North Vietnamese soldiers.


BMV

Bureau of Motor Vehicles
w:Department of Motor Vehicles

(US) Initialism of Bureau of Motor Vehicles, the equivalent to a Department of Motor Vehicles for the states of Indiana, Ohio, and Maine.


rub up

en-verb

rub up (third-person singular simple present rubs up, present participle rubbing up, simple past and past participle rubbed up)

rubs up (present singular third-person)
rubbing up (participle present)
rubbed up (participle past)
rubbed up (past)

There was a lot of yelling and gesticulating, and a few blows were passed. A couple of guards got rubbed up a little.

1952, Chester Himes, chapter 11, in Cast the First Stone,, New York, N.Y.: Signet, page 107:

(transitive, US, slang) To assault (someone).


roorbach

roorbachs (plural)
roorback (alternative)

Originated in the election canvass of 1844, when such a forgery was published, to the detriment of James K. Polk, purporting to be an extract from the Travels of Baron Roorbach.

(US, dated) A defamatory forgery or falsehood published for purposes of political intrigue.


dialysable

en-adj

dialysable (comparative more dialysable, superlative most dialysable)

more dialysable (comparative)
most dialysable (superlative)


split-tail

I have encountered officers who believe a woman got a better assignment or somehow "got over" because of her sex. It's a shock to their egos that some "split-tail"—yes, I've had that original thrown my way—could possibly be more talented.

1992, United States Naval Institute Proceedings, volume 118, page 23:

(US, military, slang, possibly offensive) A woman.


old soldier

(US, slang) The butt of a smoked cigar, or an empty bottle of liquor.


sea pike

(US) A large food fish (Centropomus undecimalis) found on both coasts of America; the robalo.


harbor gasket

(US, nautical) A line or band used to lash a furled sail when in port.


hurry-up wagon

(archaic, US, colloquial) A rapid-response vehicle, possibly a kind of ambulance, or paddy wagon


La-

der

French la (“the”, feminine definite article)

La- + Keisha → Lakeisha

La- + Toya → Latoya

La- + Tanya → Latanya

(US, African-American Vernacular, anthroponymy) Used in African-American female given names.


cassie

en-noun

cassie (countable and uncountable, plural cassies)

Vachellia farnesiana
Vachellia farnesiana#Translingual

(US) A thorny shrub with fragrant yellow flowers, Vachellia farnesiana; the needle bush.


light-horseman

light-horsemen (plural)
lighthorseman (alternative)

From light (“not heavy”, adjective) + horseman (noun).

affix

(US, obsolete) A West Indian fish, Chaetodipterus faber, with a high dorsal fin and brilliant colours.


savanilla

(US, dialect, chiefly Texas, dated) A fish (Atlantic tarpon, Megalops atlanticus).


duck hawk

duck hawks (plural)
duck-hawk (alternative)

Falco peregrinus
Falco peregrinus#Translingual

(US, Canada) peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus)


sofkee

(US, dialectal) Grits (a dish of ground hominy).


double sawbuck

The number 20 is written XX in Roman numerals; this resembles two of the sawbucks used for cutting wood.

I got five double sawbucks out of my wallet and dropped them in front of him.

1953, Raymond Chandler, The Long Goodbye, Penguin, published 2010, page 14:

(US, slang) Twenty dollars; a twenty-dollar bill.

(US, slang) A twenty-year prison sentence.


seven-level

seven-levels (plural)
seven level (alternative)

Shortened from a longer, bureaucratic US military designation (an Air Force Specialty Code), where '7' was code for "Craftsman".

I asked how they were doing and they said they couldn't figure out the T.O. and were waiting for a seven level to explain it to them. I went back to my truck and told maintenance control we'd need a seven level radio man.

1966, The MAC FLYER, volume 13, number 5, Directorate of Safety, Headquarters Military Airlift Command, page 29:

Follow-on training would take place after completion of the basic apprentice or craftsman courses. Three-level students would attend ATHRS training, and select 7-level students (approximately 49 per year) would attend AFBDS training.

2003, Air Force Logistics Management Agency, Year in Review, 2003, DIANE Publishing, page 169:

The Civil Engineer (CE) Readiness Flight Officer and seven-level Craftsman courses provide flight leaders and mid-level NCOs with the background and the technical information that is necessary for effective management of the CE Readiness Flight and contingency response operations.

2003, Department of Defense Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Defense Program Annual Report to Congress 2003, DIANE Publishing, page 107:

While I was assigned to the parachute shop, although I was in charge and was the senior NCO in charge of two other SSgt's and seven airmen, I was still only a five level and could not be promoted to TSgt without making a seven level.

2005, Richard R. Simmons, A Long Hard Ride, AuthorHouse, page 116:

(military, US) A person who has qualified for "Craftsman" level of skill in the United States Air Force, with more training than "Journeyman" (five-level), but less than a "Superintendent" (nine-level)


insurrecto

From Spanish insurrecto, from Latin īnsurrectus.

(US) a rebel, especially in Cuba or the Philippines during American military involvement there around the start of the 20th century


French fits

‘We've got a file on what we call the barred window boys, Doctor. Places where you can't jump out of when the French fits take over.’

1953, Raymond Chandler, The Long Goodbye, Penguin, published 2010, page 144:

‘I was having the French fits coming out of it.’

1940, Raymond Chandler, Farewell, My Lovely, Penguin, published 1949, page 148:


scope dope

(military, slang, US) An officer responsible for radar.


fry sauce

(US) A condiment for french fries, usually one part ketchup to two parts mayonnaise.


get used

en-verb

get used (third-person singular simple present gets used, present participle getting used, simple past got used, past participle (UK) got used or (US) gotten used)

gets used (present singular third-person)
getting used (participle present)
got used (past)
got used (UK participle past)
gotten used (US participle past)

This sponge gets used to clean cars.

(colloquial, US) Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see get, used.


Juvember

All of this work will take from now to Juvember!

(US, informal) A fictional month of the year, used as sarcasm or a joke to mean that something will never happen or never take place.


still-hunt

still-hunt (third-person singular simple present still-hunts, present participle still-hunting, simple past and past participle still-hunted)

still-hunts (present singular third-person)
still-hunting (participle present)
still-hunted (participle past)
still-hunted (past)

(US) To hunt for game in a quiet and cautious manner, or under cover; to stalk.


yass

Yass. I never got above the rank of shavetail. We were the dogfaces who gave ’em hell at Chateau Thierry.

1962, Joseph Commings, “The X Street Murders”, in The Mammoth Book of Perfect Crimes & Impossible Mysteries, published 2006:

Pronunciation spelling
pronunciation spelling

(US, dialectal, Scotland) Pronunciation spelling of yes.


(US, military, historical) Fokker A-2 air ambulance that did not see production.


A-II

For movies with a U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops rating of A-II, show only pre-selected scenes.

2009, Alan J. Talley, Christian Morality and Justice Catechist Guide:

(US, film) Rated for adults and adolescents only.


whuffo

[Alabaster:] Shhh, Uncle Pogo! We is lookin' for the Easter Bunny.
[Pogo:] Whuffo you shushin' me? I isn't doin' nothin' but breathin'!

1952, Walt Kelly, Pogo, 6 April 1952 strip

(US, colloquial, chiefly Southern US) Pronunciation spelling of what for.


jump the line

jump the line (third-person singular simple present jumps the line, present participle jumping the line, simple past and past participle jumped the line)

jumps the line (present singular third-person)
jumping the line (participle present)
jumped the line (participle past)
jumped the line (past)

(US) To skip to the head of a queue without waiting for one's turn.


little old

little ol' (alternative)
little ole (alternative)
li'l' old (alternative)
li'l' ol' (alternative)
li'l' ole (alternative)
li'l old (alternative)
li'l ol' (alternative)
li'l ole (alternative)
lil old (alternative)
lil ol' (alternative)
lil ole (alternative)

Well aren't you just a little old sweetheart?

A: I love your dress! B: What, this little old thing?

How about a little old game of pool?

You brought the best little old news you'll ever tote. Secretario, if you never promulgate worse news than that, you'll boost your circulation a thousand a day.

1909, Rowland Thomas, The Little Gods, page 280:

They found afterward to their regret that he was the finest little old poker player that ever struck the village and he carried away a suitcase of yellow-backed bills.

1915 August 14, Roy K. Moulton, “On the Spur of the Moment: Appearances”, in The Day (New London), page 9:

[Pogo:] I'm takin' care of this li'l' ol' backward child.

1949 May 16, Walt Kelly, Pogo (comic strip):

We Texans have always bragged about having the best little old this and the best little old that.

1976, Richard West, “The Best of Texas”, in Texas Monthly, volume 4, number 7, page 103:

Well, you nice people, I'm going to let you in on a secret and show you why this kitchen knife is the best little ole product you can get.

1992, Henry I. Christ, Building Power in Reading, page 131:

Christine Roberts Presley: Elvis was the best little ol' thing. He was so polite.

1995, Rose Clayton, editor, Elvis Up Close: In the Words of Those Who Knew Him Best, page 13:

While still marveling over the magnificent overtime victory his team had over St. John's Sunday, Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski turned immediately to worrying about what was ahead. […] Duke plays a little old game against North Carolina tonight.

1999, “College Basketball: Men's Roundup; Jarvis Keeps His Focus on Tough Road Ahead”, in New York Times:

Last time I seen you, you was a little old girl / I had a crush now we grown and we still so thorough

2010, J. Cole, Friday Night Lights (mixtape), "You Got It" lyrics

(US, Southern US, idiomatic, informal) Emphatically, affectionately, or humorously little; ordinary or harmless (especially when trying to downplay the importance of something).

pikku

little - emphatically, affectionately, or humorously


some old

some ol' (alternative)
some ole (alternative)

Don't worry, I'll find some old way to do it.

But I don't want you to promise anything – you're a decent old sort, and you'd be sure to make it up to me some old way or other.

I ain't got but one old rusty dime. / …
Oh, I'll have a new dollar some old day,
And I'll throw this old rusty dime away.

1930s, "Chilly Winds" (U.S. folk song), collected in John A. Lomax et al., Our Singing Country (1941), p. 294

I've been workin' out in the rain
Tied to the dirty old ball and chain
Oh dear mother I'll come home some old day

1936 (recorded 1957), Foggy Mountain Boys (Flatt and Scruggs, as "Certain and Stacey"), on Foggy Mountain Jamboree, "Some Old Day" lyrics

So why don't someone here just spike his drink
Why don't you do him in some old way
Supposed to be a funeral

1970, Gram Parsons in The Flying Burrito Brothers, "$1000 Wedding" lyrics

[The con man] will get good folks
 Because they will just try to help folks in some ole way!

2011, Wilbur Thornton, Intoxicating Winds, page 519:

(US, idiomatic, informal) Some, some unspecified or yet-undetermined one (especially for emphasis).


AABD

(US) Initialism of aid to the aged, blind and disabled.


SFY

(US, finance) Initialism of state fiscal year.


chargemaster

The patient faced bankruptcy because she couldn't pay off the hundreds of thousands of dollars accrued from her hospital bill, including a price from the chargemaster for a single acetaminophen pill at ten times the cost for the same pill over-the-counter at a pharmacy.

Much ink has been spilt bemoaning that incomprehensible foundation of hospital cost accounting and prices, the redoubtable chargemaster.

2007, James C. Robinson, “Price Transparency Begins at Home”, in Frontiers of Health Services Management, volume 23, number 3, American College of Healthcare Executives, archived from the original on 2013-05-21, pages 25–28:

The higher the chargemaster markup over cost, the greater the potential for profit.

2008, T. Neil Davis, Mired in the Health Care Morass, Ester Republic Press, →ISBN, page 66:

What a hospital is actually paid by an MCO, Medicare, or Medicaid is rarely even close to what is listed on the chargemaster. In fact, only the uninsured are subject to those charges.

2009, Peter Kongstvedt, Managed Care: What It Is and How It Works, Jones & Bartlett Publishers, →ISBN, page 212:

Of particular importance, other than in Maryland, hospitals are generally free to charge whatever they want in their chargemaster.

2012, Peter Reid Kongstvedt, Essentials of Managed Health Care, Jones & Bartlett Learning, →ISBN, pages 114–115:

California is a unique state in that all hospitals are required to submit a copy of their chargemasters, which the state then posts online for all consumers and patients to see.

2012 July 16, Bob Herman, “Report: Surgery Prices Vary Wildly at California Hospitals”, in Becker's Hospital Review, ASC Communications, retrieved 2013-03-04:

However, I quickly found that although every hospital has a chargemaster, officials treat it as if it were an eccentric uncle living in the attic. Whenever I asked, they deflected all conversation away from it. They even argued that it is irrelevant. I soon found that they have good reason to hope that outsiders pay no attention to the chargemaster or the process that produces it. For there seems to be no process, no rationale, behind the core document that is the basis for hundreds of billions of dollars in health care bills.

2013 February 20, Steven Brill, “Bitter Pill: Why Medical Bills Are Killing Us”, in Time, Time Warner, archived from the original on 2013-02-26:

(US, healthcare) A comprehensive list maintained by a hospital of prices of goods and services it will bill to its patients and their respective health insurers.


junk drawer

junk drawers (plural)
junkdrawer (alternative)

With a ⁵/₈-inch sandpaper disk cutter, if you happen to have one in the junk drawer, or with a brass or steel tube of the same size sharpened to an edge at one end, four wheels suitable for the engine mandrel may be cut from each eraser.

1912, William D. Tracy, “Notes on Practice”, in The Journal of the Allied Societies, volume 7, page 376:

We all know that the junk drawer doesn't really contain junk. We know junk when we see it, and that gets tossed pretty fast. It's the odds and ends that had a limited purpose once, are still functional, and one day may come in handy, but for now . . .

1997, Allegra Bennett, Renovating Woman, page 239:

There's nothing wrong with having a junk drawer. Where else can you store those odds and ends you need from time to time. But some of what ends up in the junk drawer really is junk, such as unfixable items, pens that don't work, expired coupons, and a piece to a game you sold at a garage sale five years ago.

2002, Donna Smallin, Organizing plain & simple, page 54:

Crammed with twist ties and stray screws, the standard junk drawer is a sanctuary for items we hoard out of practicality or affection or the nagging fear that "this may come in handy someday".

2005 Jun, M. Diane McCormick, “A Place for Everything”, in Old-House Journal, volume 33, number 3, page 33:

I think of the junk drawer in my kitchen and the collection of artifacts it holds that tell many tales of family, friends, and events that form the “stuff” of my life.

2013, Margaret Macintyre Latta, Curricular Conversations: Play is the (Missing) Thing, page 24:

(US) A drawer designated for the storage of various miscellaneous, small, useful items of little value.

kitchen drawer

drawer with miscellaneous low-value contents


heavens to Betsy

Of unknown origins. Speculated to be a euphemism for hell's bells, but there is not sufficient evidence to support this. Attested from 1857.

"Heavens to Betsy!" he exclaims, clapping his hand to his throat, "I've cut my head off!"

1857 May 1, Frederick W. Saunders, “The Serenade: A Tale of Revenge”, in Ballou's Dollar Monthly Magazine, volume v, number 5, Boston, MA, page 419:

Then there's New Age entrepreneur Deepak Chopra, who, in bis 1989 book Quantum Healing, promises a pathway to curing cancer, reversing aging, and, heavens to Betsy, even immortality.

2023, Robert M. Sapolsky, Determined: A Science of Life Without Free Will, New York: Penguin, →ISBN:

(chiefly US, dated) Good gracious; good heavens.


OSRD

(US, sciences) Initialism of Office of Scientific Research and Development.


antiwarehousing

(US, of a law) Compelling building owners to rent vacant buildings to tenants rather than holding them back for other purposes.


cecitis

(pathology, US) Alternative form of caecitis


give someone Hail Columbia

give<,,gave,given> someone Hail Columbia

give someone Hail Columbia (third-person singular simple present gives someone Hail Columbia, present participle giving someone Hail Columbia, simple past gave someone Hail Columbia, past participle given someone Hail Columbia)

gives someone Hail Columbia (present singular third-person)
giving someone Hail Columbia (participle present)
gave someone Hail Columbia (past)
given someone Hail Columbia (participle past)

The teacher gave her students Hail Columbia over their poor test scores.

If mother finds out I broke the window, she'll give me Hail Columbia for sure!

(US, idiomatic, informal, transitive) To scold someone severely.


buckwheat coal

en-noun

buckwheat coal (usually uncountable, plural buckwheat coals)


buckwheat cake

There's buckwheat cakes and Injun batter,
Makes you fat or a little fatter;

(chiefly US) A pancake made using buckwheat flour.


antisaloon

en-adj

antisaloon (comparative more antisaloon, superlative most antisaloon)

more antisaloon (comparative)
most antisaloon (superlative)

(US) Opposing saloons (as places where alcohol is sold and drunk).


hootchy-kootchy

hootchy-kootchies (plural)
hoochie-coochie (alternative)
hoochy-coochy (alternative)
hoochy-koochy (alternative)
hootchie-cootchie (alternative)

Unknown. Attested from the 1890s. Compare kouta kouta dance, a similar belly dance also attested from the 1890s. Possibly influenced by forms such as honky-tonk (from 1880s), hula-hula (from 1820s), or hurdy-gurdy (from 1740s). Later forms coochie, cooch appear to derive from hootchy-kootchy.

The shows claimed legitimacy as depictions of Middle Eastern and Asian cultures that were still regarded as savage[…] But these dances never were authentic rituals or ethnographic displays; instead they became known as “hootchy-kootchy” or “cooch” dances designed to please and excite male patrons.

2012, Lauren Rabinovitz, Electric Dreamland: Amusement Parks, Movies, and American Modernity, page 46:

(US) A kind of erotic dance similar to a belly dance, formerly performed at carnivals.


buttmuncher

(Canada, US, somewhat vulgar, slang, humorous) Term of abuse


Mexifornia

He spent a few months with me in Mexifornia[…]

1975, Alfred Bester, The computer connection, page 11:

This was demonstrated by references to California as Mexifornia, complaints about hearing Spanish in stores and restaurants, and seeing, "so few white people in Wal-Mart" (CP6).

2008, Jennifer Ingraham Bryant, Vigilance on the Border, page 95:

the millions of illegal alien barbarians in Mexifornia

2005, Samuel Heath, The American Poet: Weedpatch Gazette for 2005, page 210:

(US, sometimes derogatory) California, viewed as increasingly Mexican in population and culture, especially due to illegal immigration.


bracketology

(US) The practice of predicting and analyzing sports tournament brackets.


Cadillac plan

From the Cadillac automobile, representing American luxury.

(US, informal) Any unusually expensive health insurance plan.


cheese doodle

From the name of the American cheese puff brand Cheez Doodles, produced by Wise Foods, Inc., through trademark erosion.

The rolled joint looks like a cheese doodle, which I find excessively amusing.

1997, K. J. a. Wishnia, 23 Shades of Black, PointBlank Press, published 2004, →ISBN, page 228:

A large Wisconsin family in tank tops sat at a picnic table eating boloney sandwiches and generic cheese doodles so they could afford a thousand-dollar day at Disney.

2001, Tim Dorsey, Orange Crush, HarperTorch, published 2002, →ISBN, page 359:

Here, however, it [monosodium glutamate] was in everything, including the 50-cent packets of cheese doodles. Not only did these little titbits of artificially coloured, artificially flavoured crisps turn my hands and tongue a bizarre shade of orange, they also made me hyperactive, which helped me face the tortuous six-flight ascent.

2009, Angela Gilltrap, Sunshine on Sugar Hill: Life and Love in New York, ABC Books, published 2009, →ISBN:

(US) A puffed corn snack, coated with a mixture of cheese or cheese-flavored powders.


Shitcago

/ˌʃɪtˈkɑːɡəʊ/

/ˌʃɪtˈkɑɡoʊ/

/ˌʃɪtˈkɔɡoʊ/

“You're that nosy reporter from Shitcago aren't you? Why don't you take your little dog and get your asses back where you belong.”

2012, Tom Richmond, The Favored, →ISBN, page 163:

'I seen GD in the Quarter,' another kid said. 'I told them to git back to Shitcago where they belong.'

2013, Jeff Gulvin, The Procession, Open Road Media, →ISBN:

I went to the little heap of paperbacks, found the Bible, and tried to ignore the mumbling of the other prisoners, speculating on my likely being "one a-them coon-sucking perverts from Shitcago" when we were ordered back into our cells[.]

2018, Ralph D. Fertig, A Passion for Justice: One Man’s Dedication to Civil Rights, Dorrance Publishing, →ISBN, page 91:

(US, vulgar, derogatory, offensive) Chicago.


LEP

(US, government) Initialism of limited English proficient.


quarter bathroom

en-noun

quarter bathroom (plural quarter bathrooms)

(US) A room with a toilet, but no shower or bathtub, and typically no sink; a water closet.


primarying

(US, politics) Mounting a challenge to an incumbent office-holder in a party primary.


forced-birther

[…] that we are English, for there is something peculiarly English about modern abortion, and that is why we can bravely claim to be, as the forced-birthers snarl, the abortion capital of the world, no less.

1997, The American Spectator, volume 30, page 88:

(chiefly US, Canada, politics, informal, derogatory, dysphemistic) One who desires that abortion be illegal, and thus that pregnant women be required to carry to term and give birth in all or most cases; a pro-lifer.


prehealth

(US) Any course of study taken by an undergraduate in preparation for study in healthcare.


'low

en-verb

'low (third-person singular simple present 'lows, present participle 'lowing, simple past and past participle 'lowed)

'lows (present singular third-person)
'lowing (participle present)
'lowed (participle past)
'lowed (past)

But louing well, and meaning not amisse, / He lowde him scope, without suspect of ill, / To come and goe, to vse the house as hys, / A perfect showe of very great good wyll.

1587 (edition of 1837), George Turberville, Tragical Tales: And Other Poems, page 139

[…] and so with - drew / That freedome from her lookes (least they should 'low / More then her heart might meane) as they reflect / A narrower and a carefuller aspect.

1609 (edition of 1885), Samuel Daniel, The Complete Works in Verse and Prose, page 320

It be time I got in a word, I 'low.

1900 June, Windsor Magazine, section 64:

The Stranger: They call Los Angeles the City of Angels. I didn’t find it to be that exactly. Though I'll 'low there are some nice folks there.

(US, UK, dialectal or colloquial) To allow; to acknowledge or admit.


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.

A police-involved shooting is by definition a red ball and, by definition, a red ball requires every warm body.

1991, David Simon, Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, →ISBN, →OL:

The only exception to that edict was the Eighth, the French Quarter district, since any homicide at the core of the tourist area was such a potential red ball.

2005, Eileen Dreyer, Sinners and Saints, St. Martin's Press, →ISBN, →OL:

(law enforcement, slang, US) A high-profile high-priority case which draws political or media attention.


hurrah's nest

A perfect hurrah's nest in our kitchen.

1869, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Oldtown Folks:

"What's all this hurrah's-nest for'ard?" said Dan, pointing to a wild tangle of spare oars and dory-roding, all matted together by the hand of inexperience.

1897, Rudyard Kipling, Captains Courageous:

(US, archaic, informal, idiomatic) A state of chaos and confusion.


in like Flynn

Perhaps referring to Errol Flynn, Australian actor known for womanizing, or Edward J. Flynn, successful campaign manager for Franklin D. Roosevelt.

[Robert] Gibbs is perfectly affable and even, in his way, courtly. And yet he seems to be not quite listening. Nothing touches him. This is no doubt partly because everybody understands he's in like Flynn.

2009 June 4, Michael Wolff, “The Power and the Story”, in Vanity Fair:

(slang, originally US) Having achieved a goal or gained access as desired.

Edward J. Flynn
Errol Flynn
Franklin D. Roosevelt
My Wicked, Wicked Ways
in like Flynn


buttprint

Putting a dirty buttprint on the bed probably wasn't the nicest thing to do, but it couldn't be helped.

(slang, Canada, US) The mark or impression left by buttocks having been pressed against a surface.


assprint

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

If you sat on it, your assprint was impossible to rub away.

2011, Peter Orner, Love and Shame and Love: A Novel:


REA

(US, law) Initialism of request for an equitable adjustment. In contracting with government entities in the United States, used to indicate that compensation is sought for unexpected costs arising in the fulfillment of a contract.


WOSB

(US, law) Initialism of women-owned small business, a category of businesses in the law of government contracting in the United States.


cigar store Indian

en-noun

cigar store Indian (plural cigar store Indians)

cigar store Indians (plural)
cigar-store Indian (alternative)

From the once common use of sculpted wooden Indians as a symbol for tobacco selling.

... Fenimore Cooper's Indian is a fraud. ... The cigar-store red man and the statuesque Pocahontas of the "vuelta abajo" trade as they are paraded in literature and thus pervert the public conceptions of our Indians, THEY—I want to destroy first if possible.

1888, Adolph F. Bandelier, “Letter to Thomas Janvier”, in Charles H. Lange, Carroll L. Riley, Elizabeth M. Lange, editors, The Southwestern Journals of Adolph F. Bandelier, 1889-1892, volume 4, University of New Mexico Press, published 1984, page 339:

"Do you think I'm going to stand here on one foot all night like a dodgasted cigar store Indian?"

1912 Dec, Modern Electrics, page 913, column 2:

"You had plenty of time to get under that ball, too. But you lost your nerve at the end, and stood there like a cigar store wooden Indian while it fell safe."

1914 April, Leslie W. Quirk, “The Hook Slide”, in Boys' Life, volume IV, number 2, page 3:

Still staring straight ahead, his pale eyes like wood set into his wooden face, he crosses the floor in four strides with the rigid gravity of a cigar store Indian dressed in patched overalls and endued with life from the hips down, and steps in a single stride through the opposite window and into the path again just as I come around the corner.

1930, William Faulkner, As I Lay Dying, Harrison Smith, page ?:

She sat there in the waiting room, solid Kansas/Stiff as a cigar-store indian from the Bowery/Such as one saw in " the nineties ",/First sod of bleeding Kansas/That had produced this ligneous solidness; ...

1930, Ezra Pound, “Canto XXVIII”, in A Draft of XXX Cantos, Hours Press, page ?:

(US) A sculpture, typically wooden and painted, of a Native American Indian, of the sort prominently used in tobacco stores.


fratty

en-adj

fratty (comparative frattier, superlative frattiest)

frattier (comparative)
frattiest (superlative)

I can never hear the professor because these fratty guys spend the whole class talking about partying.

Industrials is the frattiest banking group at Anderson, and that's saying something. This is probably their only free hour all week, and they're going to want to have a good time with their friends.

2019, Madeleine Henry, Breathe In, Cash Out, page 189:

Critics of the advertisement with Ms. Mulvaney had found a podcast interview from March in which Ms. Heinerscheid said that some of Bud Light’s previous advertisements had “fratty, sort of out-of-touch humor” and that the company would need to be more inclusive for its demographic to grow.

2023 April 25, Amanda Holpuch, Julie Creswell, quoting Alissa Heinerscheid, “2 Executives Are on Leave After Bud Light Promotion With Transgender Influencer”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

(US slang) Resembling or characteristic of a frat boy in behavior or appearance.


pork barrel

pork barrels (plural)
porkbarrel (alternative)
pork-barrel (alternative)

(chiefly US) A ready supply of income; one's livelihood.


rubegoldbergian

rubegoldbergian (comparative more rubegoldbergian, superlative most rubegoldbergian)

more rubegoldbergian (comparative)
most rubegoldbergian (superlative)
Rube Goldbergian (alternative)

/ɹuːbɡəʊldˈbəːɡɪən/

The machinery of government is often rubegoldbergian, with complex arrangements of devolution and special status and power-sharing and affirmative action, and the contraption is held together by a few national symbols such as a rugby team.

2011, Steven Pinker, The Better Angels of Our Nature, Penguin, published 2012, page 633:

(Canada, US) Achieving a simple objective by absurdly complicated means; overcomplicated, elaborate and impractical.


manther

Cougars and manthers (which you should have heard of by now—or you can at least intuit) are always on the hunt for the energetic, supple, and naive.

2010, Brian Griffin, The Trustafarian Handbook: A Field Guide to the Neo-Hippie Lifestyle Funded by Mom and Dad, Adams Media, published 2010, →ISBN, page 195:

(Canada, US, slang) A woman who actively seeks the casual, often sexual, companionship of younger men.


manther

“Jolo was a dick magnet but preferred manthers (older men who preyed on younger women) who spend lots of cash on her and me.”

2011, Dennis J. Stevens, Wicked Women: A Journey of Super Predators, iUniverse, published 2011, →ISBN, page 50:

All of these questions and more will be answered when Loverboy unleashes its well-oiled, classic rock canon on a sea of sweaty cougars and manthers grinding against one another to “Turn Me Loose,” April 21 at the Commodore.

2012 April 20, “Picks of the week”, in Vancouver Courier, page A37:

(Canada, US, slang) A man who actively seeks the casual, often sexual, companionship of younger women.


pedomorphy

Richard Wrangham has noted that the domestication of animals usually tames them by slowing down components of the developmental timetable to retain juvenile traits into adulthood, a process called pedomorphy or neoteny.

2011, Steven Pinker, The Better Angels of Our Nature, Penguin, published 2012, page 744:

(US) Alternative spelling of paedomorphy


rum-runner

rum-runners (plural)
rumrunner (alternative)
rum runner (alternative)

Near-synonyms: bootlegger; moonshiner, shiner

(US, Canada) An alcohol smuggler, especially from the Prohibition era.


whoop-ass

whoop-asses (plural)
whoop ass (alternative)

From English whoop (variant of whip) + ass.

(figurative, slang, US) An act of beating.

Big Sis had come out the door for some more whoop-ass, while Mr. Man was trying to hold her back.

2013, Cora L. Hairston, Faces Behind the Dust, →ISBN:

There is a squat and fuss-free simplicity about its profile, which belies the amount of 'whoop-ass' that can be delivered with a prod of the accelerator pedal.

2006 June, David Khoo, “Sleeper hit. Torque Test: Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX Wagon GT-A”, in Torque, SPH Magazines, →ISSN, page 55:

(figurative, slang, US) Strength or will to fight or compete.


marooning party

en-noun

marooning party (plural marooning parties)

It was made with different persons, and fitted out with more of accommodation and comfort; but the other, as made with my comrades, was more completely a marooning party

1806, George Pinckard, Notes on the West Indies:

(US, dated) A social excursion party that sojourns several days on the shore or in some retired place; a prolonged picnic.


that dog won't hunt

Apparently originating from the southern United States, the phrase may refer to a hunting dog that refuses to do its job.

‘If the’ ain’t no fools, the’ ain’t no fun,’ said usually in self-derision; and ‘That old dog won't hunt,’ meaning that an excuse offered will not serve. These and the numerous specimens which follow have simply been grouped by the present writer under the heading of Miscellaneous, explanations being made only when the meaning is not clearly evident.

[1939 December, Paul Brewster, “Folk ‘Sayings’ from Indiana”, in American Speech: A Quarterly of Linguistic Usage, volume XIV, [Tuscaloosa, Ala.]: Published by the University of Alabama Press for the American Dialect Society, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 266:

"Calling her house help Mr. and Mrs. just won't get it! That old dog won't hunt," Oman had confided. / "I know, but let her discover it herself," Steve had said.]

[1965, Jesse Hill Ford, The Liberation of Lord Byron Jones, Boston, Mass.: Little, Brown and Company, OCLC 291992; republished as The Liberation of L. B. Jones (Signet Novel; Y4209), New York, N.Y.: New American Library, 1967, OCLC 29459320, page 41

On the [Arthur] Goldberg proposal to stop all the bombing, [Ellsworth] Bunker "came back strong and said, 'I just can't. That dog won't hunt. We just cannot get that over, it would just blow everything.'[…]"

1970 February 7, “Rusk advocated halt of bombing: LBJ says in interview”, in Sarasota Herald-Tribune, page 3A, column 1:

If, as is more likely, Mr. [Ronald] Reagan's plan is just a ploy to win votes for renewed military aid to the C.I.A.-organized and C.I.A.-controlled contras in Nicaragua, a Congress burned once too often should be able to see right through it. Either way, as Lyndon Johnson used to say of losing propositions, "That dog won't hunt."

1987 August 6, Tom Wicker, “In the nation: That dog won't hunt”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 2015-05-24:

“Oh, what in the Sam Hill are you a-wearing? I thought I was supposed to be Twain.” “I say you are incorrect, sir. I believe we decided I would be Twain.” “Twin Twains? That dog won't hunt.” “Uh, Mr. Clemens?” “Mmhmm. That's me.” “No, I'm Twain. Switch costumes, you ignominious pretender.” “You're more stubborn than a senate mule.” “Grits, grits, grits!” “Tarnation!” “Fancy pants, big-city lawyer.” “I say you are incorrect, sir.”

2023 September 21, Grace Parra Janney, “Something Borrowed, Something Green” (9:24 from the start), in Star Trek: Lower Decks, season 4, episode 4, spoken by Brad Boimler (Jack Quaid):

(US) That idea will not work; that is an inadequate explanation or proposition.


whoop ass

en-verb

whoop ass (third-person singular simple present whoops ass, present participle whooping ass, simple past and past participle whooped ass)

whoops ass (present singular third-person)
whooping ass (participle present)
whooped ass (participle past)
whooped ass (past)

Back in the day, he turned over some tables when he found out thieves were in God's temple and that's what we're doing now, turning over some tables 'cause we found a violator of the law, and we shall whoop ass and teach him...

2015, Rhonda Cannon Jones, In the Secret Place of Brooklyn Stone, Volume 1, Publishamerica, →ISBN:

(idiomatic, slang, vulgar, US) To beat or strike.

I said "Hello Papa," and he said, "Well, I'll be darned, I'm gonna get off of this piano and whoop yo' ass."

1992 August, “Blues brethren”, in SPIN, volume 8, number 5, SPIN Media, →ISSN, page 55:

(idiomatic, slang, vulgar, US) To defeat in a fight.

Intel knew the K6-III 450 with its 256k built-in cache would whoop ass on the Pentium II series.

1999 August, Kevin S., “Intel bounces back”, in Maximum PC, volume 4, number 8, Future US, →ISSN, page 18:

I felt not like a football player, but like a man on a couch with a really good view. The players on the bench talked about whooping ass and steroid use and the cheerleaders' tits.

2006, Charlie LeDuff, US Guys: The True and Twisted Mind of the American Man, Penguin Press, →ISBN:

(idiomatic, slang, vulgar, US) To defeat or excel against (someone) in a competitive event.


turn over in one's grave

turn over in one's grave (third-person singular simple present turns over in one's grave, present participle turning over in one's grave, simple past and past participle turned over in one's grave)

turns over in one's grave (present singular third-person)
turning over in one's grave (participle present)
turned over in one's grave (participle past)
turned over in one's grave (past)

turn in one's grave
turn in one's grave#English

(US) Alternative form of turn in one's grave


ARPA

Advanced Research Projects Agency
w:Advanced Research Projects Agency

(military, US, historical) Acronym of Advanced Research Projects Agency (renamed to DARPA in 1972)


norethindrone

/nɔɹˈɛθ.ɪnˌdɹoʊn/

From nor- + ethyn(yl) + (hy)dr(oxy) + -one.

(pharmacology) US form of norethisterone.


butt dialing

I love this phone because it has GPS on it as well as the flip covers the keypad..so no more purse or butt dialing! LOL

2002 July 8, Aclavern33, “Re: Is there a great deal on any SPCS phone now for existing customer?”, in alt.cellular.sprintpcs (Usenet), retrieved 2018-10-06, message-ID <20020707220838.13072.00004393@mb-mu.aol.com>:

[I'm curious why they would include such a feature in the first place.] Butt dialing. Especially since some phones call 911 if you hold down one key on the phone for several seconds, it's easy to accidentally dial 911. On certain Nextel phones you hold down "9" for a couple of seconds and it dials 911.

2007 November 24, Gordon Burditt, “Re: Design flaw in Verizon cell phones let criminals know you are dialing 911 via audible tone.”, in alt.politics (Usenet), retrieved 2018-10-06, message-ID <13kh1sbqrvo335f@corp.supernews.com>:

The Moto-G is the only one without a fingerprint sensor, which probably means it's more vulnerable to butt-dialing, unless they have new techniques I'm not familiar with.

2016 July 8, crankypuss, “unlocked phones: Moto-G vs OnePlus 3 vs iPhone SE?”, in comp.mobile.android (Usenet), retrieved 2018-10-06, message-ID <nlnv5h$nn9$1@gioia.aioe.org>:

(Canada, US, colloquial) The action of making a call from a cellphone in one's back pocket where its buttons are being inadvertently pressed


assplant

(Canada, US, slang) An unintentional landing on one's buttocks.


assplant

assplant (third-person singular simple present assplants, present participle assplanting, simple past and past participle assplanted)

assplants (present singular third-person)
assplanting (participle present)
assplanted (participle past)
assplanted (past)

I assplanted in the parking lot.

(Canada, US, slang) To land on one's buttocks (unintentionally).


tar baby

Joel Chandler Harris
Uncle Remus
tar baby

Referring to a doll made of tar and turpentine to entrap Br'er Rabbit in one of Joel Chandler Harris's Uncle Remus stories, published in 1881, from earlier African American folklore, from earlier African (e.g. Kongo) folklore, influenced in America by similar stories from various unrelated Native American tribes, such as the Cherokee, Alabama, Koasati, and Apache. (Similar stories are found throughout the world, e.g. among the Mixtec and Zapotec.)

2006, Mitt Romney, quoted in "Romney apologizes for calling Big Dig 'tar baby'", July 31, 2006, WISTV.com
Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is apologizing for referring to the troubled Big Dig construction project as a "tar baby." / Romney made the comment during a speech at a fund-raiser with Iowa Republicans on Saturday. Romney told the crowd "The best thing politically would be to stay as far away from that tar baby as I can."

If Dees had indicated any willingness to personally pursue the case, Ed would've immediately had him appointed as a special prosecutor and turned this tar baby of a case over to him on the spot.

2001, Bobby Delaughter, Never Too Late: A Prosecutor's Story of Justice in the Medgar Evars Case, page 75:

(chiefly US) A difficult, abstract problem that worsens as one attempts to handle it; a "sticky" situation, especially one where attempts to make it better only make it worse.

tar pit

another term related to tar and to trapping or bogging down


valeyable

en-adj

valeyable (comparative more valeyable, superlative most valeyable)

more valeyable (comparative)
most valeyable (superlative)

Yes, I consider religion a valeyable thing in a nigger, when it's the genuine article, and no mistake.

1851 June – 1852 April, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom’s Cabin; or, Life among the Lowly, volume (please specify |volume=I or II), Boston, Mass.: John P[unchard] Jewett & Company; Cleveland, Oh.: Jewett, Proctor & Worthington, published 20 March 1852, →OCLC:

(US) Pronunciation spelling of valuable.


doink

en-verb

doink (third-person singular simple present doinks, present participle doinking, simple past and past participle doinked)

doinks (present singular third-person)
doinking (participle present)
doinked (participle past)
doinked (past)

You kind of want to doink him, don't you?

“I'm open to it, I-I just... I don't want it to affect our friendship.” “What friendship?” “Oh, no, we don't really like you that much. I-I wouldn't say we are friends.” “No.” “Okay, then why do you want to doink me?” [exclaims in Greek] [laughing] “This guy doesn't understand women at all.”

2023 July 20, Jake Bender & Zach Dunn, “Pride Parade” (14:07 from the start), in What We Do in the Shadows, season 5, episode 3, spoken by Colin Robinson (Mark Proksch):

(US, slang, humorous, transitive) To have sex with.


DMR

designated marksman rifle
designated marksman rifle#English

(military, US) Abbreviation of designated marksman rifle.


Buddy

(rare, chiefly US) A male given name from English.


GRAT

(US, finance) grantor-retained annuity trust


disco fries

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

(US, New Jersey, New York) Fries served with mozzarella and brown gravy, similar to poutine.


unpissed

en-adj

unpissed (comparative more unpissed, superlative most unpissed)

more unpissed (comparative)
most unpissed (superlative)

As a young child, when my Dad was angry, and he was angry most of the time, he called me Turdhead. When he was rarely happy or more accurately unpissed, he fondly called me Hardhead.

2013, Dale W Forsythe, Notch 4: Forks in the Road, page 11:


flax bow

(US, Native American culture) A large talisman consisting of an arch of woven twigs with flax cord and beads suspended beneath it.


Tornado Alley

/ˌtɔː(ɹ)ˈneɪdəʊ ˈælɪ/

From tornado + alley. Coined in 1952 by U.S. Air Force meteorologists Ernest J. Fawbush and Robert C. Miller.

(US, meteorology) A region of the United States, located in the middle of the country, where tornadoes are particularly frequent and intense.


buttbreath

buttbreaths (plural)
butt-breath (alternative)
butt breath (alternative)

From butt (“buttocks, backside”) + breath.

No, like Reverend King, buttbreath, she said.

1994, James W. Hall, Hard Aground, Dell, published 1994, →ISBN, page 130:

"Buttbreath," said Travis, catching on.

1997, Steve Gannon, A Song for the Asking, Bantam Books, published 1997, →ISBN, page 64:

“Did you see that buttbreath I pitched out into the street?”

2002, Chris Bunch, Star Risk, LTD., Prologue Books, published 2002, →ISBN:

(Canada, US, slang, vulgar, derogatory) Synonym of arsebreath.


assbreath

From ass (“buttocks, backside”) + breath.

"Listen to me, assbreath! I'm not playing at anything. […]

1981, Geoffrey Miller, The Black Glove, Viking Press, published 1981, →ISBN, page 234:

And neither do you, assbreath, he thought, but you're not in touch with that fact, I bet.

1992, Kevin Sherrill, Steel Lightning: Slash and Burn, Zebra Books, published 1992, →ISBN, page 81:

"Religion?" and I answered "Buddhist." "Them's the muddyfingers we're fightin', assbreath!" the drill instructor said.

2008 March, Michael Heller, letter to the editor, Details, volume 26, number 6:

(US, slang, often vulgar, offensive) Alternative form of arsebreath


ass-breath

Collier swatted the arm away effortlessly. “You can stop blocking the door, ass-breath.”

1998, Douglas Volk, The Morpheus Conspiracy, Elysian Detroit, published 2012, →ISBN, page 17:

“I'm trying to think of a reason why I shouldn't, ass-breath. I can't think of one, can you?”

2003, David Davis, Of Preachers and Pagans, iUniverse, published 2003, →ISBN, page 140:

“You aren't fit to dine on my intestinal refuse, ass-breath!” Peter called back cheerfully.

2012, Connie Anne McEntee, Waking for Hours, iUniverse, published 2012, →ISBN, page 139:

(US, slang, often vulgar, offensive) Alternative form of assbreath


barbituate

/ˌbɑɹˈbɪt͡ʃu.ɪt/

(US, nonstandard, possibly proscribed) Alternative form of barbiturate


MACOS

(US, UK, Australia, education) Man: A Course of Study. A controversial education programme in the 1970s.


vacay

vacays (plural)
vaca (alternative)
vaycay (alternative)
vay-cay (alternative)

Clipping of vacation, with -y to clarify pronunciation. Compare cray (“crazy”).

I don’t know if Italy is quite the right vacay spot for you, Mary Cherry. Too much pasta.

2000, Nancy E. Krulik, Popular: From the Mouths of Babes - Book #3, page 88:

She and beau Glenn were going to the Caymans for a little vacay in Aug.

2000, Alumnae Bulletin, volumes 93–94, Randolph-Macon Woman’s College Alumnae Association, page 43:


cocksmanship

Why is it that a woman always thinks that the most savage thing she can say to a man is to impugn his cocksmanship?

1976, Paddy Chayefsky, Network, spoken by Max Schumacher (William Holden):

It plays as elegant, for the most part—or at least as elegant as can be imagined when you've got Euron Greyjoy trying to rate his cocksmanship against Cersei's late husband and brother.

2019 April 14, Alex McLevy, “Winter is Here on Game of Thrones’ Final Season Premiere (Newbies)”, in The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 2020-12-18:

(US, vulgar) Male sexual ability or prowess.


CoV

Commonwealth of Virginia
Commonwealth of Virginia#English

(US) Initialism of Commonwealth of Virginia.


pucky

(slang, US, euphemistic, dated) Feces, excrement.


Manhattanhenge

Blend of Manhattan + Stonehenge. Coined by astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson in 2002, in reference to the ancient English monument built in accordance with the sun's path.

coinage

(US) A circumstance which occurs twice a year, during which the setting sun aligns with the east–west streets of the main street grid in the borough of Manhattan in New York City.


supertwister

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

(US) A tornado measuring EF4 or above on the Enhanced Fujita scale.


seatworm

(US) The pinworm or threadworm (genus Enterobius).


ecoburb

Village Homes in Davis, California and The Woodlands, Texas are ecoburbs..

(US) A type of suburban development which protects environmental functions of a site such as natural hydrology and habitat.


Vill.

(US, law and Philippines) Abbreviation of village.


MGS

Mars Global Surveyor
w:Mars Global Surveyor

(space science, US, NASA) Initialism of Mars Global Surveyor.


SIRTF

Space Infrared Telescope Facility
w:Spitzer Space Telescope

(space science, US, NASA) Initialism of Space Infrared Telescope Facility.


memorandum opinion

en-noun

memorandum opinion (plural memorandum opinions)

(law, US) A judicial opinion that does not create precedent.


Am. Sam.

(US, law) Abbreviation of American Samoa.


certified mail

(US) First class mail that provides the sender a proof of mailing and a delivery receipt.


certified check

certified check (plural certified checks)

(US) A check (cheque) for which the bank verifies that sufficient funds exist in the account to cover the check, and so certifies, at the time the check is written.


charter member

(Canada, US) An original member of an organization; a member named in an organization's charter.


community property

(US, law) Marital property that is divided equally in California and some other states, as opposed to equitable distribution, the practice in most states.


wetu

Wetus ranged in size between about 10 to 15 feet in diameter. As many as ten people lived inside.

2001, Donald M. Silver, Patricia J. Wynne, The Pilgrims, the Mayflower & more; grades 1-3, page 17:

To make a wetu, the Wampanoag set poles made from cedar saplings into the ground. They bent the poles over and covered them with cattail reeds or bark. A wetu was either circular or oval. Most wetu were about 20 to 30 feet (6 to 9 meters) […]

2003, Janet Riehecky, The Wampanoag: The People of the First Light, page 13:

Wetus were commonly about 12 feet (3.7 m) wide and 14 to 20 feet (4.3 to 6.1 m) long. Sometimes three or four families shared a single house. These wetus could be up to 100 feet (30.4 m) long and 30 feet (9.1 m) wide.

2005, Janey Levy, The Wampanoag of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, page 22:

In one corner of the village a man is emerging from a sweat-house; in the village's center a child sleeps in a wetu while a little boy on the roof hides from his dog, their only domesticated animal. A woman in mourning speaks to the sachem.

2008, Frances H. Kennedy, American Indian Places: A Historical Guidebook, page 31:

(US) A dwelling, a domed hut similar to a wigwam, used by some Native Americans in the northeastern United States, especially the Wampanoag.

hogan

used by the Navajo in the southwestern United States

wickiup

used in the southwestern and western United States


Federal Register

(US) The official journal of the federal government of the United States that contains most routine publications and public notices of government agencies.


paleoart

→ French: paléoart (calque)

→ German: Paläokunst (calque)

→ Italian: paleoarte (calque)

→ Portuguese: paleoarte (calque)

→ Spanish: paleoarte (calque)

Coined by American artist Mark Hallett in 1987, from paleo- + art.

coinage

(US) Art that depicts subjects related to paleontology.

(US) The primitive art of Paleolithic peoples.


FIPS

w:Federal Information Processing Standards

(government, US): Acronym of Federal Information Processing Standards (a government standard of the United States of America)


bust up

en-verb

bust up (third-person singular simple present busts up, present participle busting up, simple past and past participle busted up or (colloquial) bust up)

busts up (present singular third-person)
busting up (participle present)
busted up (participle past)
busted up (past)
bust up (colloquial participle past)
bust up (colloquial past)

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

The doctor told me nothing that I didn't already know; my hand was busted up pretty good. It was too early to tell how badly it had been busted up, but I was most definitely out of the tournament.

2005, Ken Shamrock, Beyond the Lion's Den: The Life, The Fights, The Techniques:

(US, informal, transitive) To physically damage or ruin; to be ruined; to go bankrupt; to end (something).

I knew, because both Alison and Penny had taught me, that busting up with someone could be miserable, but I didn't know that getting off with someone could be miserable too.

1995, Nick Hornby, High Fidelity, London: Victor Gollancz, →ISBN, page 19:

(US, informal, intransitive) To break up (end a relationship).


field corn

en-noun

field corn (usually uncountable, plural field corns)

(US) Any variety of corn (maize) grown primarily for fodder; usually, one with lower sugar content than sweet corn and harvested either to be stored dry (on the cob or off, divorced of the stover) or ensiled along with the stover.


Scotch pine

Scotch pine (countable and uncountable, plural Scotch pines)

Pinus sylvestris
Pinus sylvestris#Translingual

(US) Pinus sylvestris, an evergreen of wide distribution in Eurasia in northern or mountainous areas.


jart

Back-formation of jarts, a genericized trademark of the Jarts brand of lawn darts.


scrumtrulescent

en-adj

scrumtrulescent (comparative more scrumtrulescent, superlative most scrumtrulescent)

more scrumtrulescent (comparative)
most scrumtrulescent (superlative)

A word coined by Saturday Night Live comedian Will Ferrell when doing an impression of The Actors Studio host James Lipton, in order to describe the performance of actor Charles Nelson Reilly on the Match Game. Perhaps influenced by scrumptious and -escent.

We don't like to get political with our cakes; we just get scrumtrulescent.

2012, Liz Gutman, Jen King, The Liddabit Sweets Candy Cookbook, →ISBN:

When we were finished, Tschick pushed his empty bowl away with both hands and, in the woman's direction, said that it had been a scrumtrulescent meal.

2014, Wolfgang Herrndorf, Why We Took the Car, page 110:

Needless to say, all it took was one whiff of her Magnolia scent and I was hooked like a hhoneybee^([sic]) to a flower. She was so scrumtrulescent.

2015, Grayer Vaughan, The Vaughan Chronicles: Burning Blossom, page 35:

(slang, US, rare) Transcendent and fantastic beyond description.


fream

And it didn't matter much whether or not you owned a surfboard (though you probably did); unless you were a total fream (misfit), you went along with it to some extent.

“I don’t think so, Ingrid. This is your day and I’m a fream who ain’t cool for this bit.” / “Nonsense, you belong here as much as anybody!”

2006, Early Santee, Beloved Vagabond, →ISBN:

(US slang, 1950s–1960s) social outsider, misfit, loser, usually restricted to males


cash on the barrelhead

On the American frontier, barrels were employed as desks or tables with which to conduct transactions.

"[W]e're selling, to the highest bidder, and for cash on the barrel head. . . . Cash in hand, no checks accepted."

1938 September 1, Charles B. Parmer, “Serial Story: Photo Finish—Twelve”, in Telegraph-Herald, Iowa, US, retrieved 2013-07-23, page 11:

[I]n 1946 the U.S. exported $2,166 million worth of food. . . . Most of this ($1,354 million) was paid for, cash on the barrelhead. But $628 million was the U.S. contribution to UNRRA stocks, and $184 million went through Lend-Lease.

1947 March 31, Foreign Relations: Potent Weapon, Time

In return for support of an Iraq invasion, Turkey wanted—and got—immediate aid, cash on the barrelhead, rather than mere assurances about future help.

2003 February 25, Paul Krugman, “Threats, Promises and Lies”, in New York Times, retrieved 2013-07-22:

(US, idiomatic) Money in the form of paper currency or coins, paid immediately at the time and place of a transaction: cash only (no credit), and at the point of sale.

a tocateja (colloquial; usu. preceded by pagar)


big woop

big whoop (alternative)
no big woop (alternative)

(colloquial, US) so what? Used dismissively to discount the importance of something or the magnitude of its effects.


AUSA

assistant United States attorney
assistant United States attorney

(US, law) initialism of assistant United States attorney

assistant United States district attorney


EADA

executive ADA (alternative)
executive A.D.A. (alternative)
executive A. D. A. (alternative)

executive assistant district attorney#English

(US, law) Initialism of executive assistant district attorney.


basic cable

(US) A tier of pay television which has neither the broad audience of terrestrial channels nor the cachet of premium channels.


globaloney

/ˌɡləʊbəˈləʊni/

Blend of global + baloney. Coined in 1943 by Clare Boothe Luce to disparage Vice President Henry A. Wallace's recommendation that airlines of the world be given free access to US airports.

But much of what Mr. Wallace calls his global thinking is, no matter how you slice it, still “globaloney”.

1943, Clare Boothe Luce, Congressional Record, volume 89, page 761:

We must beware of any form of ‘globaloney’.

1950, Joseph S. Davis, “Population and Resources: Discussion of Papers by Frank W. Notestein and P. V. Cardon”, in Journal of the American Statistical Association, volume 45, number 251, page 346:

–an outlook characterised by one senior State Department official as “messianic globaloney”

1988, Fraser J. Harbutt, The Iron Curtain: Churchill, America and the Origins of the Cold War, Oxford University Press, page 142:

Wendell Willkie's One World (1942), the epitome of “globaloney”, had sold a four million copies.

1995, William L. Oneill, A Democracy at War: America's Fight at Home and Abroad in World War II, Harvard University Press, page 197:

The cheap labor threat is a common element of globaloney arguments today.

2006, Michael Veseth, Globaloney: Unraveling The Myths Of Globalization, Rowman & Littlefield, page 19:

Our forefathers, who created this country, rejected, totus porcus, the nonsense we spout today about egalitarianism and globaloney.

2007, Patrick Buchanan, Jamestown as It Never Was, RealClearPolitics:

In fact, this is all a bunch of “globaloney” says Pankaj Ghemawat, professor of strategic management and Anselmo Rubiralta Chair of Global Strategy at IESE Business School at the University of Navarra in Barcelona, in his new book World 3.0: Global Prosperity and How to Achieve It (Harvard Business Review Press, 2011).

2011, Michael Shermer, “Globaloney: Why the World Is Not Flat...Yet”, in Scientific American:

And policies rooted in overestimating globalization — “globaloney” — could harm the people they purport to protect.

2017, Pankaj Ghemawat, Steven A. Altman, “Is America enriching the world at its own expense? That’s globaloney.”, in Washington Post:

(chiefly US) Absurd or nonsensical ideas or talk on global issues.


100 meters

US standard spelling of 100 metres. (a sporting race event)


center of symmetry

en-noun

center of symmetry (plural centers of symmetry)

centre of symmetry
centre of symmetry#English


center of buoyancy

center of buoyancy (plural centers of buoyancy)

centre of buoyancy
centre of buoyancy#English

US standard spelling of centre of buoyancy.


center of effort

center of effort (plural centers of effort)

centre of effort
centre of effort#English

US standard spelling of centre of effort.


BLUF

(chiefly US military) Acronym of bottom line up front: used to indicate a set of conclusions and recommendations at the beginning of some text, in order to facilitate rapid decision-making.


quacky

en-adj

quacky (comparative quackier, superlative quackiest)

quackier (comparative)
quackiest (superlative)

1859, The Cultivator, Volume 7, 3rd Series, page 54,
After the first hoeing of a quacky crop, it is often well to go over it lightly in the middle of a hot day, just skimming the surface of the soil, and cutting off the young grass.

Always work quacky land when it is driest.

1890, Ontario Legislative Assembly, Sessional Papers - Legislature of the Province of Ontario, volume 1, page 14:

1914, New York (State) Department of Agriculture, Annual Report, Volume 1, Part 2, page 544,
When would you advise plowing sandy soil that is quacky for beans?

(US, of land or a crop) Infested with quackgrass.


one's ass is grass

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-one's ass is grass.wav

So if you're white and work for the system, watch your step. Whether you be a system cop, a control judge, or a crooked lawyer, your ass is grass.

1994, Mark S. Hamm, American Skinheads: The Criminology and Control of Hate Crime, page 209:

"His ass is grass," Rodney stated convincingly. Rodney Gates was a deadly individual who had no qualms about killing, so his statement caused no one to blink an eye.

2005, Renay Jackson, Peanut's Revenge, page 21:

(US, slang) One is doomed (used as a threat).