of counsel

(US, law) Used as the title of an attorney who has a relationship with a law firm or other organization, but is not an associate or a partner.


ornge

Pronunciation spelling
pronunciation spelling

(Canada, US, very rare) Pronunciation spelling of orange.


comfterble

en-adj

comfterble (comparative more comfterble, superlative most comfterble)

more comfterble (comparative)
most comfterble (superlative)
comftorble (alternative)


planting strip

(US) The grassy area between the sidewalk and the street.

list at tree lawn

strip of land between street and sidewalk


Whitman's sampler

en-noun

Whitman's sampler (plural Whitman's samplers)

Whitman's samplers (plural)
Whitman sampler (alternative)
Whitman Sampler (alternative)
Whitman's Sampler (alternative)

From the brand name of a popular assortment of boxed chocolates marketed in the US. The company was named after its founder, Stephen Whitman of Philadelphia.

So here we go, offering a Whitman's Sampler of local talent, just a hint of the multitude of hopeful artists working their way toward the spotlight.

2005 March 18, Richard Harrington, “Lend Them Your Ears: Breaking Stories From the Music Scene”, in Washington Post, retrieved 2014-07-08:

In a June 13 court filing, plaintiffs cite the memo as one of "a Whitman's Sampler" of V&E papers showing that the firm "was present at the creation, active throughout and still in on [Enron's] fraudulent scheme when it finally collapsed."

2006 July 9, “Talk Show”, in Businessweek, retrieved 2014-07-08:

Witness just this Whitman's Sampler of sweet author treats: The first female secretary of state (Madeleine Albright). A perennial best-seller and an Oprah pick (Sue Miller). A winner of the Nobel Peace Prize (Muhammad Yunus). Three local black poets (Colleen J. McElroy, Gloria Burgess, Lauri Conner). A humor writer for "Saturday Night Live" and The New Yorker, turned best-selling debut novelist (Patricia Marx).

2008 January 17, John Marshall, “From poets to politicians, a great week for author readings”, in Seattle Post-Intelligencer, retrieved 2014-07-08:

Dozens of investors have filed lawsuits seeking redress from the rating agencies, contending that the companies bear responsibility for investors’ losses, under a Whitman’s sampler of theories.

2009 July 18, David Segal, “A Matter of Opinion?”, in New York Times, retrieved 2014-07-08:


cinder dick

(US, slang, derogatory) A member of the railroad police.


fetticus

Earliest sown or planted — round beet, peas, forcing carrot, lettuce, radish, early cabbage, peppergrass, mustard, spinach, kohlrabi, turnip, scallion, early potato, fetticus.

1945, Maurice Grenville Kains, Five acres and independence: a practical guide to the selection and management of the small farm:

Valerianella locusta
Valerianella locusta#Translingual

(US) corn salad or mâche, Valerianella locusta, a plant whose leaves are used in salads.


hippie punching

(slang, US, politics) Criticism of the political left, especially when used to position oneself as a moderate.


book of business

book of business (plural books of business)

(US, law) A lawyer's collection of clients.


TERF

TERF (countable and uncountable, plural TERFs)

A MAWTS qualified TERF instructor is required for all TERF instructional sorties.

1980, United States Marine Corps, Aviation training and readiness manual:

[…] Typical TERF altitudes for Navy and Marine Corps helicopters include low level (approximately 100 ft AGL), contour (50 ft AGL), and nap of the earth (NOE) (less than 50 ft AGL). A depiction of typical TERF modes in presented in Figure 3.

2003 October 12-16, The 22nd Digital Avionics Systems Conference : Proceedings : Indianapolis, IN, volume 2

(US military) Abbreviation of terrain flight (“flight close to the ground, to avoid enemy detection or fire”).


salescritter

Times sure change — there are now enough word processors on the market to defy the intellect and memory of the typical salescritter […]

(US, derogatory, slang, rare) A salesperson.


wheel bug

(US) Any assassin bug of the genus Arilus, large true bugs with wheel-shaped pronotal armor.


dogfennel

dogfennels (plural)
dog fennel (alternative)
dog-fennel (alternative)
dog's fennel (alternative)

From Middle English dogfynell; equivalent to dog + fennel.

“I aint been teasing him.” Luster said. “He was playing with that bottle full of dogfennel and all of a sudden he started up bellering.”

1929, William Faulkner, The Sound and the Fury:

(chiefly Canada, US) Any of various similar American plants, especially Eupatorium capillifolium, a perennial plant.


warrant canary

warrant canary (plural warrant canaries)

However, it may be possible, via a warrant canary or a similar technique, for a CA to communicate the existence of a secret court order to the Internet community.

2012 July 9, Markus Jakobsson, editors, The Death of the Internet, Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, page 159:

Warrant canaries are legal tricks employed by conscientious organisations to get around the fact that certain demands from the US government cannot be disclosed publicly.

2014 May 30, Alex Hern, “Encryption software TrueCrypt closes doors in odd circumstances”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

A warrant canary is a defense against the gag orders that come with National Security Letters and other secret subpoenas. With a warrant canary, the site would some sort of message posted saying, for example, “we have not received a secret subpoena as of July 24, 2014.”

2014 July 25, Jacob Long, “Exclusive: Private Internet Access talks warrants, canaries, transparency”, in Geeksided, archived from the original on 2014-08-03:

(US) A public notice that a service provider has not received a secret government subpoena for their customers' data that they would be prohibited from saying they had received.


bed check

bed checks (plural)
bed-check (alternative)

Pro football training camp means different things to different people. . . . [T]he printed schedule runs from wake-up call at 7 A.M. to bed check at 11 P.M.

1982 August 1, Frank Litsky, “Giants' Camp Stirs Variety of Emotions”, in New York Times, retrieved 2014-07-27:

His military career was marked by . . . a report which read: "Individual is unable to conform to military rules and regulations. Misses bed check: sleeps while supposed to be working."

2010 August 8, Ed Vulliamy, “Jimi Hendrix: 'You never told me he was that good'”, in The Guardian, UK, retrieved 2014-07-27:

The FBI said surveillance footage from a camera near the Metropolitan Correction Center shows Kenneth Conley and Joseph Banks getting into a cab at about 2:45 a.m. Thursday — about two hours after guards were supposed to do a bed check.

2012 December 20, “FBI offers $50K reward in Chicago jail escape”, in USA Today, retrieved 2014-07-27:

(chiefly US) In a dormitory, as in the military or at a children's campground or in a boarding school, an inspection after bedtime by authorities to ensure that everyone is present and in his or her bed.


dress shirt

dress shirts (plural)
dress-shirt (alternative)

(US) A collared shirt with buttons worn as part of a formal, business or business casual outfit.


lavender scare

Lavender is considered a feminine colour, and some male homosexuals act in a feminine manner.

(historical, US, politics, sexuality, LGBTQ, slang) The fear and persecution of homosexuals in the 1950s in the United States.


asshattish

en-adj

asshattish (comparative more asshattish, superlative most asshattish)

more asshattish (comparative)
most asshattish (superlative)

Since *this* breakup was even more public than the last *and* he's been especially asshattish about it, […]

2006 May 10, Rob Jensen, “Re: PREDICTIONS...”, in alt.tv.gilmore-girls (Usenet):

This way, others can peruse the site at their leisure (which is much more convenient than waiting for the random unattributed post from you) and you can appear slightly less asshattish. Win-win!

2010 January 5, Dunbar, “Re: Wal-Mart -- Why not be a bitch for dinner tonight?”, in rec.arts.tv (Usenet):

Btw, I read the Marco Polo assignment, and while I'm just tickled gay he was able to meet Kublai Khan, I found him otherwise unfocused and asshattish.

2013, Aiken Avery, The Disaster Tourist, unnumbered page:

(Canada, US, slang, vulgar, derogatory) Like an asshat; obnoxiously foolish, rude, etc.


make meat

en-verb

make meat (third-person singular simple present makes meat, present participle making meat, simple past and past participle made meat)

makes meat (present singular third-person)
making meat (participle present)
made meat (participle past)
made meat (past)

(colloquial, US, especially Western US) To cure meat in the open air.


curb service

Ernest H. Carter was fined $550 for drunken driving after he pulled into a brightly illuminated suburban police station, tooted his horn, told a cop he was there for curb service, ordered coffee and a hamburger.

1958 July 21, “Miscellany”, in Time, retrieved 2014-08-01:

Despite a reported police crackdown, young men selling illegal fireworks were providing their usual Fourth of July curb service to passing motorists yesterday.

1987 July 4, William E. Geist, “About New York: July 3d Languor”, in New York Times, retrieved 2014-08-01:

The U.S. Postal Service says "curb service" will also be available tomorrow night so that taxpayers can drive up to the post office and hand the forms, in stamped envelopes, to postal employees.

2005 April 14, Bruce C.T. Wright, “Four Post Offices Will Close Late for Tax Filers”, in Washington Post, retrieved 2014-08-01:

(chiefly US, somewhat dated, sometimes hyphenated when used attributively) An exchange, such as ordering and delivery of fast food, which occurs when a worker comes outside to interact with a customer who remains within his or her stopped vehicle.

George Barry, the dump's manager, found $8,500 in negotiable securities. He delivered them to the door of the woman who had thrown them out, a kind of reverse curb service.

1985 August 2, Dudley Clendinen, “About Boston: A Garbage Dump That Is the Town Showpiece”, in New York Times, retrieved 2014-08-01:

In San Diego, they have curb service check-in. You show your eTicket and drop your bags off with a skycap.

2007 January 9, “If I use Southwest Airlines online check-in.......?”, in Yahoo Answers, retrieved 2014-08-01:

Two bulk items are allowed for curb service on the last Friday of each month only.

2013 March 18, “Trash Pickup”, in City of Velda City, Missouri, retrieved 2014-08-01:

(chiefly US) Convenient pickup of one's items, such as garbage or baggage, from the roadside; convenient delivery of items to the roadside near one's location.


kegler

Borrowed from German Kegler (“bowler, bowling player”), from Kegeln (“bowling”) + -er (“-er”).

bor+

(US, Singapore, slang) A ten-pin bowling player or enthusiast.


black moss

en-noun

black moss (usually uncountable, plural black mosses)

Bryoria fremontii
Bryoria fremontii#Translingual

(US) Bryoria fremontii (wila), a lichen eaten by First Peoples in North America.


rat pack

[…] the operation of one suspected murder gang — described by investigators as a rat pack of 20 to 30 Negro youths […]

1964, United States. Congress, Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates..., page 12346:

[…] gangs, fraternities, cliques, organizations, and "rat packs" have again begun to be reported.

1974, Herbert L. Foster, Ribbin', Jivin', and Playin' the Dozens, page 91:

(US, dated, slang) A juvenile criminal gang.


New Politics

(historical, 1950s, US, politics) The ideology of the U.S. Democratic Party during the 1950s.

(historical, 1960s, US, politics) A movement in the U.S. Democratic Party associated with the candidacies of Eugene J. McCarthy and Robert F. Kennedy and later George McGovern, which demanded an immediate withdrawal of U.S. forces from the Vietnam War.


wet feet, dry feet policy

wet feet, dry feet policy (plural not attested)

(US) A policy allowing anybody who fled Cuba and entered the United States to stay and eventually pursue residency, with the exclusion of anybody found at sea.


white flight

Attested since 1954. Note that state laws enforcing racial segregation in schools were ruled unconstitutional by the US Supreme Court in Brown v. Board of Education the same year.

Coordinate term: black flight

The [Hyde Park-Kenwood Community] Conference was formed in an attempt to stop panic-inspiring rumors and "white flight," and so to work for an integrated, peaceful community.

1954 July, Ann O'Reilly, “World Citizen Starts on His Block”, in Catholic Interracialist, volume 14, number 3, page 3:

This is illegitimate, since it is only the current bigotry in the society that causes property values to drop—as the result of white flight and the subsequent reduction in the size of the purchasing market.

1988, Richard D. Mohr, Gays/Justice: A Study of Ethics, Society, and Law, →ISBN, page 193:

Mr [Bob] Kroll grew up in a blue-collar, union family in the city centre but moved out, one more case of white flight.

2021 May 22, “What It Means to be an American”, in The Economist Magazine, volume 439, number 9246, page 7:

(US, urban studies) The large-scale migration of white people from racially mixed urban regions to more racially homogeneous suburban or exurban regions.

Brown v. Board of Education
US Supreme Court


assholey

en-adj

assholey (comparative more assholey, superlative most assholey)

more assholey (comparative)
most assholey (superlative)

(slang, vulgar, US, Canada, derogatory) obnoxiously inconsiderate or objectionable


Mormon potatoes

(US) A casserole of hash browns or cubed potatoes, cheese, and onions, in a creamy soup or sauce.


Middle America

Implicit in dismissals like Mencken’s is the notion that what happens in Middle America should stay in Middle America—that what entertains or illuminates in so-called flyover country couldn’t possibly matter elsewhere.

2018 September 26, Carson Vaughan, “'Boom Town' Explodes the Notion of ‘Flyover’ Territory”, in The Atlantic:

(US) A portion of the United States comprising rural and suburban areas, and the mindsets of these areas.


blackgrass

(US) Juncus gerardii, a salt marsh plant used for facing dikes.


Rockwellian

Rockwellian (comparative more Rockwellian, superlative most Rockwellian)

more Rockwellian (comparative)
most Rockwellian (superlative)

Lest Rockwellian nostalgia blur reality, segregation of the races was the law and my earliest recollections of its sinister consequences remain strong to this day.

2008, Robert Lewis Williams, History of the Association of Black Psychologists, page 276:

(chiefly US) Of or relating to Norman Rockwell, known for his idealistic, quaint, or sentimental portrayals of American life.


Annie Oakley

Many complimentary tickets had holes punched in them to prevent recipients from reselling them; in this way, they resembled the playing cards that sharpshooter Annie Oakley shot holes in as part of her act, and so were named after her.

The prince and princess of Belgium happened to be [...] in Detroit. Hurok sent them a pair of passes [...]. The concert was a sellout, Hurok cleared $4,000, and several days later received a polite note from the prince's equerry expressing Their Highnesses' regret at not having been able to use the Annie Oakleys.

1944 August 28, John Bainbridge, “S. Hurok”, in Life, volume 17, number 9, page 57:

(US, slang, possibly dated) A complimentary ticket, a free ticket; a comp.


hell night

(chiefly US) A night during which new members are required to undergo hazing rituals in order to be accepted into a fraternity, sorority, etc.


backshooter

It would be so easy for Jed to jerk his rifle from its sheath, lever a cartridge into the firing chamber and put a bullet right between Colter's shoulder blades. For a fleeting moment, Jed considered doing just that. But he knew he was not a backshooter and more than that, he wanted to see the truth of the murder in Colter's eyes and make him squirm before dying at the end of a rope...

2007, Jory Sherman, Abilene Gun Down, page 29:

(US) A cowboy who kills someone by shooting them in the back


Niggerville

(US, derogatory, offensive, ethnic slur) An area mainly populated by black people.


Niggertown

/ˈnɪɡəɹtaʊn/

Johnny runs out of the theatre and hitchhikes to Ossining niggertown.

1987 [1984], James Ellroy, Because the Night, New York: Avon, →ISBN, page 191:

For quotations using this term, see Citations:Niggertown.


High Dutch

Pennsylvania Dutch
Pennsylvania Dutch#Proper noun

(US) Pennsylvania Dutch, particularly the Fancy Dutch.


shortline

shortlines (plural)
short line (alternative)

(rail transport, US) An independent railroad company that operates over a relatively short distance.


out back

My car is parked out back.


reduced-fat milk

en-noun

reduced-fat milk (countable and uncountable, plural reduced-fat milks)

(US) milk from which about half of the cream has been removed


Lake Wobegon

Coined by American radio personality Garrison Keillor in 1976, from lake + woebegone, but explained as derived from an Ojibwe word with the meaning "the place where we waited all day in the rain [for you].".

coin

I put Lake Wobegon (pop. 942) on the western shore of the lake, for the beautiful sunrises. I said it took its name from an Ojibway word that means “the place where we waited all day for you in the rain,” and its slogan was “Sumus quod sumus” (We are who we are), […]

2001 August 26, Garrison Keillor, “In Search of Lake Wobegon”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

(US) A fictional place in the radio show A Prairie Home Companion, “where all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are above average”. Serves as a proxy for the American small town, particularly the American small town of the Upper Midwest.


jackwagon

Maybe we should chug on over to mamby-pamby land where maybe we can find some self confidence for you, you jackwagon!

2010, Geico Drill Sergeant Therapist (commercial):

(US, slang, derogatory) An objectionable person; a jerk; a jackass.


pisscutter

(US, military, slang, vulgar) A side cap.


shviger

As soon as she hears the news, Miriam's shviger Fay goes to visit her daughter-in-law in hospital.

2009, David Minkoff, Oy Vey: More!: The Ultimate Book of Jewish Jokes, Part 2, page 77:

‘Come back to the apartment,’ Elaine giving Horst the usual shviger evil eye, ‘we'll have coffee.’

2013, Thomas Pynchon, Bleeding Edge, Vintage, published 2014, page 96:


pigsticker

(US, dialect) A sled with a pointed front.


over medium

(US) Of an egg prepared as food, fried on both sides so as the whites are cooked, and the yolks are soft, but not runny.


debt of honor

debts of honor (plural)
debt of honour (alternative)

[T]his whole sum, and its amount doubled, was lost at the gaming-table. In his desire to repair his first losses, my father risked double stakes, and thus incurred a debt of honour he was wholly unable to pay.

1826, [Mary Shelley], chapter I, in The Last Man. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC:

"I owe this money to Sheridan; it is a debt of honor; if an accident should happen to me, he has nothing to show."

1844, Ralph Waldo Emerson, chapter 4, in Essays: Second Series:

They had commenced playing cards for amusement—at least, that was Congreve's pretext—but it had led to playing for a stake. . . .
"This is a debt of honor. Gentlemen always pay their debts of honor. It takes precedence of all other claims."

c. 1890, Horatio Alger, chapter 30, in The Tin Box:

Lady Frederick: Is it a gambling debt?
Gerald: Yes.
Lady Frederick [ironically]: What they call a debt of honour?
Gerald: I must pay it the day after to-morrow without fail.

1912, William Somerset Maugham, Lady Frederick, act I:

[H]e is opposed to the suggestion that Brazil declare a moratorium on its international debts repayments. Said he: "We must pay what we owe. It is a debt of honor for the nation."

2001 June 24, Anastasia Toufexis, “Brazil Victory for the "Great Conciliator"”, in Time, retrieved 2014-08-27:

Brought up in Quebec, Glassco latterly was able to repay to French-speaking Canada a debt of honour by creating in 1999 in Montreal a company of young actors drawn from both the English- and French-speaking communities.

2004 November 27, “Obituaries: Bill Glassco, champion of new writers in the Canadian theatre”, in Independent, UK, retrieved 2014-08-27:

The country is paying a €22bn debt of honour to the region of Groningen, where decades of extracting gas worth billions damaged about 85,000 buildings.

2023 October 10, Senay Boztas, “Frans Timmermans urges European left to unite against right’s climate backlash”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

(US, set phrase) An obligation, especially a gambling debt based on a verbal promise, which is not legally enforceable but which is considered to be secured by the debtor's moral integrity.


cheese dream

(US) An open-faced grilled cheese sandwich.


efficiency apartment

en-noun

efficiency apartment (plural efficiency apartments)


pyore

(regional, US, Ireland) Alternative form of pure


comfort room

(US, obsolete) A break room in a public building or worksite


red squad

Referring to their investigations of communism during the red scare.

(US, historical) A police intelligence unit specializing in infiltrating, conducting countermeasures, and gathering intelligence on political and social groups.


antistuffing

an antistuffing law

(US, finance, law) Preventing stuffing (the tax loophole).


bitch off

en-verb

bitch off (third-person singular simple present bitches off, present participle bitching off, simple past and past participle bitched off)

bitches off (present singular third-person)
bitching off (participle present)
bitched off (participle past)
bitched off (past)

(slang, vulgar, intransitive, US) To complain or criticise


no siree Bob

(US, colloquial) Definitely not; no way.


contempt of cop

(US, colloquial) Disrespect shown to a police officer, especially as an explanation for subsequent mistreatment by the officer.


feature back

Colton Hansel was the Spartans’ feature back and netted 38 yards on 16 carries.

2014, Linder, Jeff, "Xavier’s district debut is a dandy," Cedar Rapids Gazette, September 13, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20160311181713/http://www.thegazette.com/subject/sports/xaviers-district-debut-is-a-dandy-20140912

(US, American football) In American football, a back – usually a running back – that gets the most carries and most yardage in a game.


ethynodiol

/ˌɛθ.ɪn.oʊˈdaɪˌɔl/

(pharmacology) UK and US spelling of etynodiol.


vadding

Said to originate at MIT, with reference to the early text adventure game ADVENT, which involved cave exploration. To hide the game from system administrators, the file would be renamed to ADV or its anagram VAD. See -ing.


California king

en-noun

California king (plural California kings)

(US) A large bed measuring 72 × 84 inches (183 × 213 cm), slightly larger than a king-sized bed.


pendent jurisdiction

(US, law) The authority of a United States federal court to hear a closely related state law claim against a party already facing a federal claim.


underbutt

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

From under- + butt, by analogy with underboob.

Strengthens and slims your underbutt!

2009, Karon Karter, The Ultimate Body Shaping Bible, page 116:

Most of the time it's just like any other dressing room, and I try not to cry when I'm forced to confront my underbutt under the bluish fluorescent light the three-way mirror.

2010, Shauna Niequist, Bittersweet: Thoughts on Change, Grace, and Learning the Hard Way, page 92:

My struggle is with my underbutt. Not my butt, but my underbutt, that chunk between the butt and the legs.

2017, Beth Behrs, The Total ME-Tox: How to Ditch Your Diet, Move Your Body & Love Your Life, unnumbered page:

(Canada, US, informal) The lower part of the buttocks, especially as revealed by certain clothing such as skimpy shorts.


Irish potato

(US) A potato, distinguished from a sweet potato.


ass-licking

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


dillweed

dillweed (countable and uncountable, plural dillweeds)

Compound of dill + weed. From Old English dili (“dill”).

...they have been exchanging insults in writing: "dickhead," "dillweed," "fuzzbutt," "dorkwad," "asswipe," and so forth.

1996, Timothy Jay, What to Do When Your Students Talk Dirty, page 207:

(Canada, US, slang, derogatory) A contemptible person; a fool.


drudgerous

en-adj

drudgerous (comparative more drudgerous, superlative most drudgerous)

more drudgerous (comparative)
most drudgerous (superlative)

(US) Of or pertaining to drudgery; tedious, menial and exhausting.


eat ass

en-verb

eat ass (third-person singular simple present eats ass, present participle eating ass, simple past ate ass, past participle eaten ass)

eats ass (present singular third-person)
eating ass (participle present)
ate ass (past)
eaten ass (participle past)

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


PRNDL

From the letters marked on the gearstick, standing for park, reverse, neutral, drive, low, the gears on a standard automatic transmission.

John A. Kuecken (1980) Handbook of microprocessor applications, page 59: “You could close all the doors, place the PRNDL in Park and start the engine.”

James Schefter (1998) All Corvettes Are Red, →ISBN, page 339: “Dave Hill ordered it redone and new PRNDLs were being readied for the next drive out of Milford.”

Rick Wenman (2003) Fresh Tracks, →ISBN, page 69: “I pull the gearshift into reverse. Always do it by feel. The PRNDL on top of the steering column quit working as soon as the warranty was up.”

Noel B Searle (2011) The Visibly Invisible Man and Other Short Stories, →ISBN, page 9: “Jones settled behind the steering wheel, dutifully securing his seat belt, slipped the PRNDL into Drive and eased out of the driveway.”

(US, acronym, automotive, informal or humorous) The gearstick in a car with automatic transmission.


Muslimville

What they do in Muslimville is their business.

2000, Droid, “Re: A Proper Policy: Talk Tough.”, in uk.politics.misc (Usenet):

Wouldn't they be happier in Muslimville?

2001, BOEDICIA, “Re: What Would Happen”, in alt.politics.british (Usenet):

He should be stripped of his US citizenship, and deported back to Muslimville, post haste.

2006, Mitch, “Re: Arizona: Muslim Attacks Home Depot ...”, in alt.politics.usa (Usenet):

(US, informal) An area mainly populated by Muslims.


faunch

faunch (third-person singular simple present faunches, present participle faunching, simple past and past participle faunched)

faunches (present singular third-person)
faunching (participle present)
faunched (participle past)
faunched (past)
fauch (alternative)
fawnch (alternative)

Uncertain. Used in Midland American English and Western American English. Entered the fanspeak body of slang after writer Noel Loomis used it in a review in Pro-Phile.

Instead of the fine faunching black mare he usually rode he was on a light grey today, a little slower if it came to a run from the Indians or a buffalo stampede, but much less conspicuous against the snow.

1954, Mari Sandoz, The Buffalo Hunters, published 2008, →ISBN, page 6:

Ecstatic, they faunched and gamboled and I could hardly get them in the traces.

1986, Jerry Bumpus, Heroes and Villains, →ISBN, The Outdoorsman, page 59:

(US, equestrianism) To bite the bit, especially when restless; to champ.

But on the evening before election, a staunch Democrat who had been on one of our telephone jobs came to my door — just faunching and spluttering.

1931, Anne Ellis, Plain Anne Ellis, published 1997, →ISBN, page 151:

You won't make nothing the day I die. I'll go out fighting and faunching.

1943, John B. Sanford, The People from Heaven, published 1995, →ISBN, page 5:

Right Wingers can rant, stomp, faunch, condemn and mislead all day long and pack the laws with well archestrated^([sic]) bigotry and bias from here til doomsday.

1998 September 9, Charley L. Walker, Jr., “Don't be misled...”, in austin.general (Usenet), message-ID <6t6vjo$gj8$1@juliana.sprynet.com>:

(US, chiefly Midland American English and Western American English) To complain; to rant; to rave.

Rather than have me fidget and faunch while waiting in line (I'd neglected to bring a book) my wife sent me off to the music store with her blessing, with the promise to send our daughter Celia to fetch me when we finally got our table an hour later.

1998 June 2, Wade Hampton Miller, “There's a nice archtop for sale at Downtown Disney”, in rec.music.makers.guitar.acoustic (Usenet), message-ID <1998060219431000.PAA29427@ladder01.news.aol.com>:

Licking his fingers, Pat buckled on his white helmet and went to work. Wilkinson's relieving elevens were always faunching to go into action anyhow.

2003, Harold Keith, Forty-Seven Straight, →ISBN, page 166:

(US, chiefly Midland American English and Western American English) To worry; to be eager; to show impatience.


mommyism

I also find it impossible to accept the notion that Hitchcock, so ruthlessly committed, throughout his Hollywood career, to depicting the terrors of American mommyism, would uncritically suggest that the state to which we would like to return is Mother's enveloping, sonorous nurture.

[…] how the patriarchy created the baby clock mythology to con women into surrendering to mommyism.

identity politics
identity politics#English

(US) The state or behaviour of a mother and motherhood, especially when emphasized as one's identity in identity politics.


dumbbutt

We don't need people with ambiguous agendas telling us how to deal with problematic owners/advocates of either the mucho dumbbutt or Pollyannaish variety.

1999 February 3, JFRCHRDSN, “Pit Bulls - what are they: beasts or beauties?”, in rec.pets.dogs.breeds (Usenet):

Why is Suntimes publishing Ebert's dumbbutt political opinions?

2000 November 13, MAN...an ancient race, “TRUTH ABOUT EBERT”, in talk.politics.misc (Usenet):

2002 December 28, but i'll tell ya why this LOR business is so dumbbutt., “why LOR sucks and probably Two towers too”, in rec.arts.movies.past-films (Usenet):

(Canada, US, slang, derogatory, neologism) Stupid.


dumbbutt

(Canada, US, slang, derogatory) A stupid person; a fool.


sanctimommy

I'm late for pediatrician appointments. I can't make straight parts in my girls' hair. I forget to send them in the snow with hats, as the kind sanctimommies of the neighborhood are delighted to point out with their eyebrows raised as far as Botox will allow.

2009, Liz Gumbinner, “Type B Mom”, in Beth Feldman, editor, See Mom Run: Side-Splitting Essays from the World's Most Harried Blogging Moms, Plain White Press, →ISBN, page 140:

She even has to endure the occasional judgments from sanctimommies—women who are much, much better mothers than Kelly and who sometimes wonder aloud, "Why can't her kids swim yet?" or "Why is she drinking a glass of wine at her daughter's birthday party?" (God no!)

2010, Colin Sokolowski, The Accidental Adult: Essays and Advice for the Reluctantly Responsible and Marginally Mature, Adams Media, →ISBN, page 104:

But Waldman’s reaction spoke for any vulnerable young mother holding a bottle subjected in public to a drive-by comment from the lactation police that “breast is best,” or, who, desperate for a few consecutive hours of sleep, let her child cry for ten minutes in her crib before settling, was made to feel as though she had subjected her offspring of child abuse, by one of the Bialik-style “sanctimommies.”

2012 November 26, Allison Kaplan Sommer, “Mayim Bialik: When an attachment parent detaches from her marriage”, in Haaretz:

(Canada, US, informal, derogatory) A mother who exhibits a superior attitude and openly judges others' parenting.


(informal, US) Initialism of 1 Police Plaza, the headquarters of the New York City Police Department (NYPD).


SOPA

(US) Initialism of Stop Online Piracy Act.


HSCT

en-noun

HSCT (countable and uncountable, plural HSCTs)

(US, education, historical) Initialism of high-school competency test. (a standardized test previously used by high schools in Florida)


color of law

The plaintiff claimed that under color of law the officer had deprived him of his civil rights.

(law, US) A mere semblance of legal right; a means to do something with the apparent authority of law but actually in contravention of law.


dollar democracy

(politics, US, Canada) The influence of money on politics and on government

(economics, US, Canada) The ability of consumers to influence the economy and business decisions by their spending


pecker checker

In reference to medical tests for sexually-transmitted diseases. See pecker (“penis”).

(US, military, slang, humorous, derogatory) A medical doctor, especially a urologist.


car clout

Yesterday's pleasant weather should have brought an increase in certain felonies — purse snatches, street holdups, car clouts, convenience-store stickups, ATM rips. There was no logical reason why crime should be down […]

2006, Michael A. Graham, The Snow Angel:

From there they went over the Little River Ranger Station about a mile away to complete a car clout report. The ranger was taking information on the car clout from Pam when I walked into the ranger station.

(US, colloquial) The crime of breaking into an automobile.


consignment shop

consignment shop (plural consignment shops)

(US, Canada) A shop that sells used goods for their owners (consigners) in exchange for a portion of the proceeds.


buckwagon

buckwagons (plural)
buck-wagon (alternative)

From Afrikaans bok (“buck; goat”) and English wagon. The Oxford English Dictionary suggests a possible derivation from Middle English bouk (“belly”) or Old English buc (“buck; deer”).

...while on the remaining days of the week a two-horse buck-wagon or hack is used.

1880, B.B. Simms, “Post-Office Deficiencies § Texas”, in United States congressional serial set, page 304:

(US) A buckboard; a wagon for personal transport as well as transporting goods.


autorack

autoracks (plural)
auto rack (alternative)

Autoracks, or car carriers, were developed to carry cars. Initially the railroads just transported automobiles single file on flat bed cars, but soon realized it was a pretty inefficient use of space and that they could double, and then even triple, the number of cars by adding levels above the first row. Hobos of the modern age who happened upon autoracks had struck gold.

2011, Josh Mack, The Hobo Handbook: A Field Guide to Living by Your Own Rules:

(US) A railroad car designed for the transport of cars.


reich-wing

en-adj

reich-wing (comparative more reich-wing, superlative most reich-wing)

more reich-wing (comparative)
most reich-wing (superlative)
Reich-wing (alternative)
Reich wing (alternative)

Blend of Reich + right-wing, with the intent being to convey the view that the political right shares qualities with the Third Reich, being extreme, fascistic, etc.

I love the love and support of America; it is what sustains me through these very difficult times and the reich-wing smear campaign.

2005, Cindy Sheehan, Not One More Mother's Child, Koa Books, →ISBN, page 139:

So, you reich-wing HypoChristians might want to remove the beam from your own eye before attempting to remove the speck from your neighbor's eye.

2006 October 11, none [username], “Re: Neither Liberal Nor Hypocrisy”, in alt.society.liberalism (Usenet):

But the hidden costs of our overcompensatory hypermacho are worse, far worse, than a few politicians slimed by Reich-wing pundits or dirty-tricks campaigns.

2012, Mark Dery, I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts: Drive-By Essays on American Dread, American Dreams, University of Minnesota Press (2012) →ISBN, page 63


racially challenged

He'd assumed that on average Italians were about as dumb, lazy and street-level criminal as a certain racially challenged segment of the U.S. population, only with better cuisine and cuter noses.

2009, Michael Dibdin, End Games: An Aurelio Zen Mystery, Vintage Crime/Black Lizard, →ISBN, page 206:

Derricotte explains that being racially challenged moves one “outside of love, community” and places “that territory in another person's head that made her the thing hated".

2013, Sika Dagbovie-Mullins, Crossing Black: Mixed-Race Identity in Modern American Fiction and Culture:

"You must have quite a powerful mind for one so young and racially challenged." Ted looked up sharply at the dragon's comment. "What do you mean, racially challenged? A black kid can't be a wizard? I guess all wizards have to be white […]"

2019, Brock E. Deskins, The Portal, Crossroad Press:

(US, euphemistic) Not white, and thus facing challenges (or perceived as deficient) due to racism.

[…] almost stateless, of coming to a country which was 'racially challenged', which had a law against Chinese immigration, and which was about to intern its citizens of Japanese origin.

And he gives an account of the odd coupling of Utopian co-op developer Abraham Kazan and the anti-utopian, racially challenged Robert Moses that is alone worth the price of admission.

2010, Peter R. Eisenstadt, Rochdale Village: Robert Moses, 6,000 Families, and New York City's Great Experiment in Integrated Housing, Cornell University Press, →ISBN:

It was also implied that the racially challenged Republicans, hobbled by their party's overwhelming whiteness, somehow didn't want nonwhite Americans to share in the coming cornucopia.

2013, L. Brent Bozell, III, Tim Graham, Collusion: How the Media Stole the 2012 Election---and How to Stop Them from Doing It in 2016, Harper Collins, →ISBN, page 1:

(US, euphemistic) White, and thus facing challenges in appealing to nonwhite voters, or in functioning (due to being racist), etc.


de Havilland Law

Named after actress Olivia de Havilland, whose 1943 lawsuit against Warner Bros clarified the legal situation.

(US) California Labor Code Section 2855, a law which prevents a court from enforcing specific performance of an exclusive personal services contract beyond the term of seven calendar years from the commencement of service.


windjamming

(US, slang) Excessive talking; loquaciousness.


Grahamism

(US, historical) The dietetic system of Sylvester Graham.


LPR

en-noun

LPR (countable and uncountable, plural LPRs)

LPRs (plural)
lpr (alternative)
LP (alternative)
lp (alternative)
LPRN (alternative)
lprn (alternative)

(US, law enforcement) Abbreviation of license plate recognition.


not worth a Continental

en-adj

not worth a Continental (not comparable)

From the rapid depreciation of Continental currency, an early American money that became worthless towards the end of the American Revolutionary War.

(US, idiomatic) worthless, lacking in value, especially due to economic inflation.


Small Business Saturday

(US, marketing) The Saturday after Thanksgiving, promoted as a day for shopping at local small businesses


convention center

en-noun

convention center (plural convention centers)

convention centers (plural)
convention centre (alternative)

(US) A building or group of buildings, consisting of exhibit halls and often auditoriums, used for hosting conventions, exhibitions and other events.


Medicaid mill

(US) A fraudulent practice that charges the Medicaid system for unnecessary patient visits.


rock and rye

(US) rye whiskey sweetened with rock candy, formerly used medicinally


pus-gutted

en-adj

pus-gutted (comparative more pus-gutted, superlative most pus-gutted)

more pus-gutted (comparative)
most pus-gutted (superlative)

(US, dialect, derogatory) corpulent; obese


excuse you

By analogy with excuse me, which is used to apologize. First appears in the late twentieth century.

He raised his brows, 'Excuse me, or should I say, excuse you?'

1996, Vickie Moore, This Time Forever, page 123:

Excuse you, you're in my way.

2000, Karen McCullah Lutz, Kirsten Smith, Legally Blonde:

Finally, the girl managed to utter, “Well, excuse you,” and turned to leave. George fumbled for words. “Wait. Don't go,” he pleaded. “Please, allow me to apologize. Can I, uh... buy you a Coke, or something?”

2007, Gary Smiley, Seasons of Liberty, page 19:

(US, Canada, somewhat derogatory, often sarcastic) An indignant response to an individual who has behaved rudely or insolently and has failed to apologize.


flexdollar

The difference in value between the pre-flexible benefit plan and the core plan was returned to each participating employee as an individually determined flexdollar allowance.

1982, Pension World, volume 18, page 89:

This option allows employees to put flexible credits — the company calls them flexdollars — into the account, to be used for medical expenses not already covered. Flexdollars can be kept in the account from year to year, until needed.

1982 May, Kiplinger's Personal Finance, volume 36, number 5, page 51:

Employees will get profit-sharing amounts in the form of "flexdollars." Those who deposit the flexdollars in the company profit-sharing plan will have the amount matched dollar—for-dollar by the company.

1985, Human Resource Management News, page 202:

(US, finance, usually in the plural) An amount of money, paid by an employer to an employee, that can be spent on any of various benefits.


joss house

(UK, US, Australia, archaic) A Chinese or Japanese temple.


testilying

Blend of testifying + lying. Coined by New York City police officers, appearing in print in 1994 in the report of the Mollen Commission (see 1994 quotation).

Several officers also told us that the practice of police falsification in connection with such arrests is so common in certain precincts that it has spawned its own word: “testilying.“

[1994, Commission to Investigate Allegations of Police Corruption and the Anti-Corruption Procedures of the Police Department, Committee Report, page 36:

“Testilying,” police fabricating evidence or lying in court, is a type of police corruption.

2007, Jack R. Greene, “Courtroom testimony and ‘testilying’”, in The Encyclopedia of Police Science, volume 1, page 273:

Shadow vigilantism can also be seen in the conduct of officials within the system who feel morally justified in subverting the system because they see it as regularly and indifferently producing failures of justice.[…] It’s also apparent in police “testilying” to subvert search and seizure technicalities (and judicial toleration of it) and in prosecutorial overcharging to compensate for past perceived justice failures.

2018, Paul H. Robinson, Sarah Robinson, Shadow Vigilantes: How Distrust in the Justice System Breeds a New Kind of Lawlessness: Section III. The Subversions and Perversions of Shadow Vigilantism:

(US, law, informal, euphemistic) The act of a police officer giving false testimony (perjury).


crazy bread

From a brand name used by the Little Caesars pizza chain.

(US) Garlic bread stuffed or sprinkled with cheese.


asscunt

asscunts (plural)
arsecunt (alternative)

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

(Canada, US, derogatory or offensive, slang, vulgar) A term of abuse.


MCLU

(US) Initialism of Minnesota civil liberties union.


Iraqibacter

From Iraqi + -bacter. From Blend of Iraqi + translingual Acinetobacter due to the instances of infection of US military service personnel serving in Iraq by this bacteria.

blend

Iraqi bacter (alternative)
Iraqi Bacter (alternative)

Acinetobacter baumannii
Acinetobacter baumannii#English

(slang, pathology, military, US) Synonym of Acinetobacter baumannii


Easter Egger

From Easter egg + -er, likening the blue shells to the colourful wrapping of chocolate Easter eggs.

(US) Any chicken that possesses the gene for laying blue eggs without fully meeting any official breed description.


Selection Sunday

en-noun

Selection Sunday (plural Selection Sundays)

(US, basketball) The Sunday in March on which the teams that participate in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament are selected.

(US, American football) The Sunday in December on which the college teams that participate in major bowl games are announced.


Scout Sunday

(US) Sunday 8 February (or the closest Sunday that precedes 8 February), chosen to mark the founding of the Scouts in the United States.


bowl game

From Rose Bowl Game, played in the Rose Bowl stadium, in turn named for the bowl-shaped Yale Bowl.

(US, American football) A postseason college football competition.

Rose Bowl (stadium)
Rose Bowl Game
Yale Bowl


public transportation

public transportation (countable and uncountable, plural public transportations)

Public transport
public transport#English


will call

will call (countable and uncountable, plural will calls)

will calls (plural)
will-call (alternative)

Short for “the customer will call to collect the tickets” or similar.

I went home, I changed, I went to Walgreens and printed out a headshot of me and signed it ‘from your favorite local news reporter,’ and I sat in the parking lot for four hours until she said, ‘Hey, your passes to go backstage are at will-call’.

2023 November 6, Chris Willman, quoting Bryan West, “Gannett’s Taylor Swift Reporter, Revealed: Meet Bryan West, the First Full-Time Swiftie Journalist”, in Variety:

(US, countable) A ticket booth or window for collecting pre-ordered tickets.

(US, uncountable) A method of delivery for purchased items where the customer picks up the items at the seller's place of business, primarily in North American commerce.


pay raise

pay raises (plural)
payraise (alternative)

(US) Standard form of pay rise: an increase in salary or wages.


shark week

shark week (countable and uncountable, plural shark weeks)

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

A jocular reference to Shark Week, an annual week-long marathon of shark-related programming on Discovery Channel, which, like a menstrual period, is bloody.

There are several ways to green your Shark Week, ranging from bare-minimum "shucks, why not?" consciousness to Burning Man aggro hippie.

2008, Coco Tanaka, "Shark Week!", LA CityBeat, Volume 6, Number 36, 4 September 2008 - 10 September 2008, page 17

If you've booked a hotel room, STAIN, and it's shark week for the wife, or a certain former senator drops in (drops out?) when you have anal sex, there's always the option of bringing your own santorum- and/or menstrual-blood-coloured/stained towels from home.

2012, Dan Savage, "Hotel room clean-up", Now (Toronto), Volume 31, Number 29, 15 March 2012 - 21 March 2012, page 102

Imagine my shock at discovering what those little bins with the flaps in bathrooms were really for, or that when girls mentioned shark week they didn't mean there was a Jaws marathon on SBS.

2014, Michael Walsh, "Christening the backyard," Catalyst Magazine (RMIT University), Volume 70, Issue 2, April 2014, page 43

(informal, humorous, chiefly Canada, US) The week during which a woman menstruates.


navigable waters

(law, US) Those waters that are subject to the ebb and flow of the tide and/or are presently used, or have been used in the past, or may be susceptible for use to transport interstate or foreign commerce. A determination of navigability, once made, applies laterally over the entire surface of the waterbody, and is not extinguished by later actions or events which impede or destroy navigable capacity.


peace officer

(US, Canada, law enforcement) A civil law enforcement officer with a duty to maintain law and order, i.e., a bylaw officer, a police officer, a sheriff, etc.


onery

en-adj

onery (comparative onerier, superlative oneriest)

onerier (comparative)
oneriest (superlative)

(US, particularly Southern US) Pronunciation spelling of ornery.


dot or feather

A reference to the bindi and the feathered war bonnet. First attested in a 1993 Vanity Fair article, where it is attributed to Gita Mehta.

dots, not feathers (alternative)
red dot or feather (alternative)

Oddly, the only bons mots that this crowd can recall all have to do with India: Kenneth Jay Lane cites her “Indian? Dot or feather?” and others come up with puns about Chutney Marys and Chutney Miras or quick jokes about pujas.

1993 May, Joan Juliet Buck, “A Mehta of Style”, in Vanity Fair, page 162:

Indian subcontinent
Indian subcontinent#English

(US, offensive) Used to inquire whether a person described as "Indian" is a Native American or from the Indian subcontinent.


sanctuary city

en-noun

sanctuary city (plural sanctuary cities)

Regardless of any immediate connections Koch's directive might have had to sanctuary during the 1980s, by the time Congressional representatives were discussing the 1996 immigration reforms, New York City was coming up in policy debates as an example of a sanctuary city that should be targeted for sanctions.

2012, Randy K. Lippert, Sean Rehaag, Sanctuary Practices in International Perspective, page 227:

The president is upset with congressional leaders for slow-rolling his core campaign promise, and for failing to defund sanctuary cities in their spending bill.

2018 March 21, Elaina Plott, “Trump Vents His Anger Over Border-Wall Funding”, in The Atlantic:

Since the late 19th century, when Jane Addams established Hull-House, a social settlement that drew migrants, Chicago has seen itself as an entry point for newcomers, a sanctuary city that welcomes people from the outside.

2023 May 10, Julie Bosman, “Open-Armed Chicago Feels the Strains of a Migrant Influx”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

(US, Canada) A city that allows undocumented immigrants to live and work without being arrested and deported by local authorities.


Swamp Yankee

(US, slang) An American with English colonial ancestry from rural Rhode Island or nearby eastern Connecticut and southeastern Massachusetts.


for the Gipper

For quotations using this term, see Citations:for the Gipper.

win one for the Gipper
win one for the Gipper#English

(US, of the efforts of a team, chiefly in win one for the Gipper) In dedication to someone held in high regard.


long gray line

After the gray winter overcoats worn by Army cadets.

(informal, US) The graduates of the United States Military Academy.


Abcde

From the first five letters of the English alphabet.

(US, Philippines, uncommon) A unisex given name originating as a coinage.


ugly stick

Signifying is a way of saying the truth that hurts with a laugh, a way of capping on (shutting up) someone. Getting even talking bout people's mammas & such. It's a love/hate exercise in exorcising one's hostilities. It's a funny way of saying something negative that is obviously untrue like: "you look like you been whupped wid uh ugly stick" […]

1969 September, Carolyn M[arie] Rodgers, “Black Poetry—Where It’s At”, in John H[arold] Johnson, editor, Negro Digest, volume XVIII, number 11, Chicago, Ill.: Johnson Publishing Company, →OCLC, pages 14–15:

Another unique characteristic of signification is that it can be both light and heavy. […] An example of lightweight siggin or cappin is provided in the playful name-calling rituals, such as: "You so ugly look like you been hit by a ugly stick," and "Yo natural look like this broad on the wall" (pointing to a picture of Medusa).

1977, Geneva Smitherman, “‘The Form of Things Unknown’: Black Modes of Discourse”, in Talkin and Testifyin: The Language of Black America, Detroit, Mich.: Wayne State University Press, published 1985, →ISBN, page 120:

You know something. You look like you've been whipped with a ugly stick.

1983, William [Reynolds] Ferris, “Vision in Afro-American Folk Art: The Sculpture of James Thomas”, in William Ferris, editor, Afro-American Folk Art and Crafts (Center for the Study of Southern Culture Series), Jackson, Miss.: University Press of Mississippi, →ISBN, page 113:

Catfish must have been: a. Hit with the ugly stick. b. Run over by the ugly truck. c. Behind the door when they passed out good looks. d. Given ugly pills.

1986 February, Cliff Hauptman, “The Fishing Partner Compatibility Test”, in Field & Stream, volume XC, number 10, Los Angeles, Calif.: CBS Magazines, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 26, column 3:

[I]t occurred to me that it would make everyone's life easier if he had some incentive to behave himself. This would comprise, for instance, not muttering "He was touched by the ugly stick" in a voodoo accent when passing one of God's unfortunates in the street; […]

1997 June, Ethan Mordden, “Exorcis”, in Some Men are Lookers, New York, N.Y.: St. Martin’s Press, →ISBN, page 7:

The guy was so ugly he looked like he'd been whopped with an ugly stick.

1999 August, Tom Neale, “On Watch: Peanut Butter in Paradise: Caribbean Chartering”, in Bernadette Brennan Bernon, editor, Cruising World, Newport, R.I.: Miller Sports Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 62:

I tell you what else ought to be outlawed in our school. J.H. Henry and his hair. He looks like he has been severely beaten with the wrong end of an ugly stick.

2011, K[athaleen] D[eiser] McCrite, “The Pittiest Pit of Your Stomach”, in Cliques, Hicks, and Ugly Sticks (Confessions of April Grace; 2), Nashville, Tenn.: Tommy Nelson, Thomas Nelson, →ISBN, page 69:

No, I was scared of the superficial kind [of ugliness] vilified in playground chants: "fell from a tree and got beaten by an ugly stick on the way down." Ugliness seemed like a scarlet letter—if just one person described you as such, you'd wear the U for eternity, doomed to a life of insults, ostracization, and friendships with donkeys (Source: Shrek).

2021 October, Jen Winston, “True Life: I Masturbate Wrong”, in Greedy: Notes from a Bisexual Who Wants Too Much, New York, N.Y.: Atria Paperback, →ISBN, part I (I Want a Word for This), page 47:

(chiefly US, slang, humorous) A notional stick with which unattractive people are said to have been hit, causing them to become ugly.


Ls

I can't pick you up. I ain't got my Ls.


enhanced interrogation technique

enhanced interrogation technique (plural enhanced interrogation techniques)

enhanced interrogation techniques (plural)

Coined by the George W. Bush administration (administration of the 43rd president of the United States of America), with the antecedent German verschärfte Vernehmung (“enhanced interrogation”).

calque

(US, euphemistic, primarily plural) Torture.


shipping and handling

(US, business) The process of transporting goods from their point of origin to a customer, especially a consumer as end user; (ellipsis) a charge supposed to cover the direct and indirect costs of doing so.


Judeofascist

(chiefly US, derogatory) A proponent of Judeofascism.


mountain man

In the frost-stunted birch forests on the Siberian border, sturdy, windburned mountain men trap beaver and pan for gold.

1963, Loren Fessler, The Editors of LIFE, “An Immense and Crowded Land”, in China (LIFE World Library), New York: Time Incorporated, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 10, column 1:

(Canada, US, historical) A male trapper and explorer who lives in the wilderness.


ONI

Office of Naval Intelligence
w:Office of Naval Intelligence

(US military) Initialism of Office of Naval Intelligence.


parachute panties

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


pig pile

en-verb

pig pile (third-person singular simple present pig piles, present participle pig piling, simple past and past participle pig piled)

pig piles (present singular third-person)
pig piling (participle present)
pig piled (participle past)
pig piled (past)
pig-pile (alternative)
pigpile (alternative)

Originally as a verb, by analogy with the disorderly huddling behavior of pigs.

She made the worst speller lie down on the floor, the next worst on top of him, and so pig-piled the whole class, dressing off the upper one with a shingle.

1873 June, Ballou's Monthly Magazine, page 595:

(US colloquial, transitive) To cause a group of people to lie in a pile upon another, originally as a punishment to the victim on the bottom.

They pig-piled at the very end, and we threw ice cubes on them.

1989 June 23, The Seattle Times, page 8:

(US colloquial, ambitransitive) To jump into such a pile.

We're pig-piling in hot spots. If the entire population were to be given an acre of ground... they wouldn't occupy the state of Texas.

1957 December 11, The Chronicle, Telegram, archived from the original on 2018-07-24, page 32:

We feel that this is... an area that can give enjoyment to thousands of people without pig-piling them and without causing major ecological disturbances.

1969 August 21, House Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, Field Hearings on H.R. 10482 before the Subcommittee on Parks and Recreation, p. 70

(figurative, US colloquial, ambitransitive) To act similarly with regard to residential density: to live or cause to live in high-density settlements.


pig pile

pig piles (plural)
pig-pile (alternative)
pigpile (alternative)

Rolling in a mud-puddle, heels up in the air, amid a mound of humanity, very pertinently called a 'pig-pile'.

1880 August, Arthur's Home Magazine, page 462:

(US, colloquial) A disorderly pile of people formed by jumping upon a victim.


Slabber

(US, informal) An inhabitant of Slab City, a snowbird campsite in the Colorado Desert in southeastern California.


way to run a railroad

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-way to run a railroad.wav

From the demanding nature of running a railroad before telecommunications.

This is no way to run a railroad.

This is a hell of a way to run a railroad.

Is this any way to run a railroad?

(US) Method of managing a complex operation.

couldn't organise a piss-up in a brewery


Slavic studies

(humanities, US) A field of academic study concerned with Slavic areas, Slavic languages, literature, history, and culture.


house finch

(US) A passerine bird in the family Fringillidae, Haemorhous mexicanus


Sportianity

(US, derogatory) An evangelistic, triumphal variety of Christianity associated with American athletes.


paideia

From Ancient Greek παιδείᾱ (paideíā, “rearing of a child, education”), from παιδεύω (paideúō, “rear a child”) + -ίᾱ (-íā), from παῖς (paîs, “child”).

suffix

(US, education, frequently attributive) A pedagogical system focusing on providing children with a broad and balanced education.


Schmucksville

That maybe^([sic]) okay for some hick from Schmucksville, Tennessee. But not for you kid. You got talent.

2007, David Lee, Nothing Rhymes with Silver 2, page 222:

You finally graduated—and with honors—but unfortunately you went to Schmucks University somewhere in Schmucksville that no schmuck has ever heard of.

2009, Gregory Bergman, Jodi Miller, WTF? College, page 232:

(US, informal, derogatory) A dull and insignificant town.


airstaff

And, in general, programmers are counselling their colleagues to look beyond the usual suspects for funny additions to their airstaffs: local comedy clubs, theater groups, supermarkets, whatever!

1987 December 26, Kim Freeman, “Humor on the Airwaves: What's So Funny About Comedy Radio?”, in Billboard, page C-10:

He also credits the airstaff, which he proudly describes as among the best in the nation.

1993 August 14, Phyllis Stark, “Billboard's PD of the Week”, in Billboard, page 71:

The second most common reason for an airstaff to seek union representation is the overall treatment by the station, especially in terms of scheduling.

1996, Eric G Norberg, Radio Programming: Tactics and Strategy, page 46:

While there was a great spirit of community and cooperation between the airstaffs, the top management was willing to break wiretapping laws to get a competitive edge.

2003, Mike Olszewski, Radio Daze: Stories from the Front in Cleveland's FM Air Wars, page 64:

Seeing an opportunity in our ratings improvement, I sent Fisher and JC a memo noting that the airstaff had been having problems with two turntables for well over a week.

2007, John Gorman, The Buzzard: Inside the Glory Days of WMMS and Cleveland Rock Radio--a Memoir, page 40:

(US, broadcasting) The staff of a radio station whose voices are broadcast.


blooperball

(US) 16-inch softball: a variant of the game of softball, played with a larger, softer ball and no gloves or mitts.


Firestone layaway

en-noun

Firestone layaway (plural Firestone layaways)

Derived from the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, a manufacturer of rubber products, in reference to rubber check.

Detective LaRue showed me his gratitude by paying me off on the Firestone layaway.

1985, Mr. Beckman, Hill Street Blues television program, Season 5, Episode 9

(slang, US) The practice of issuing a check on insufficient funds.


Juanita Doe

(US, law, law enforcement) A Latina who is unknown, a Jane Doe of Latin descent.


Juan Doe

(US, law, law enforcement) A Latino male who is unknown, a John Doe of Latin descent.


auxiliary oiler

auxiliary oiler (plural auxiliary oilers)

(US, Navy) A naval oil tanker with the ability to perform underway replenishment of fuel oil or ship oil to ships of the fleet.


silver alert

Introduced in 2005 by Oklahoma state representative Fred Perry, modelled on amber alert. Silver suggests the grey hair of elderly people; compare silver fox.

(US, Canada) A public notification of a missing person, especially a senior with dementia.


Carolina style

(US) A North Carolinan style of serving hot dogs and hamburgers, involving chili, slaw, onions, and sometimes mustard.


mumbo sauce

Used as early as 1950. Formerly a registered trademark.

(US) A sweet, tangy, reddish-orange condiment found in Chinese takeout restaurants in the Washington, DC area.


wild cabbage

(US) Any plant belonging to the genus Caulanthus in the family Brassicaceae


grantmaker

(US) One who decides how to allocate grants.


motherfreaking

/ˈmʌðə(ɹ)ˌfɹiːkɪŋ/

What I find insanely wonderful about this is that technically my friend is now driving a car which is powered by the motherfreakin’ sun.

2014 May 13, Matthew Inman, “What it’s like to own a Tesla Model S - A cartoonist’s review of his magical space car”, in The Oatmeal, retrieved 2015-01-27:

(euphemistic, slang, chiefly US) An intensifier, used in the same contexts as freaking, but more intense.


motherfreaking

/ˈmʌðə(ɹ)ˌfɹiːkɪŋ/

He is one motherfreaking mean dude.

(euphemistic, slang, chiefly US) To an extreme degree.


rolling papers

(US, obsolete) Official documents permitting one to drive, (particularly) to drive a freight truck


'que

'que (countable and uncountable, plural 'ques)

There was nothing left on the plate but some 'que sauce and a bit of Wonder Bread.

1979, New West, volume 4, part 1, page 128:

Truth, Justice and the BBQ way / In a world full of Arby^([sic]) 'ques and McRibs, […]

2001, Doug Worgul, The Grand Barbecue: A Celebration of the History, Places, Personalities and Techniques of Kansas City Barbeque, →ISBN, page 71:

But for 'que it's probably better known as the Pimlico or Churchill Downs of competition barbecue.

2003, Steven Raichlen, BBQ USA: 425 Fiery Recipes from All Across America, →ISBN, page 599:

Although the blue haze you see rising from a Western skyline is often that of a barbecue pit, the quest for 'que is one that's been undertaken in the East as well as the West. In fact, some of the earliest barbecue can be traced back to the East […]

2004 September-October, American Cowboy, volume 11, number 2, page 53

But he cooked such good barbeque that one day, Albert Hartley, who's long dead now, said, "Why don't you cook up some 'que and sell it? People would come buy it if you cooked it."

2013, A History of South Carolina Barbeque, →ISBN, page 90:


'cue

'cue (countable and uncountable, plural 'cues)

Some are homes that are converted into barbecue joints and, yes, some are even part of a church. [It ...] will inspire you to do your best in whatever you do, no matter how humble, or at least inspire you to go out and get some 'cue.

2008, David Gelin, BBQ Joints, →ISBN, page 22:

One of the premier events on the BBQ cooking contest circuit. […] To actually feast on some 'cue, head to one of Memphis's many great barbecue restaurants.

2013, Four Seasons of Travel, →ISBN, page 18:

“'Cue's up!” “Ugh, none for me. I lost my appetite due to your ass-smelling yard.” “Oh, yeah. The skunk population is exploding this year.”

2021 April 18, Christy Stratton & Erin Wagoner, “Hoot 'N Haw” (0:17 from the start), in Bless the Harts, season 2, episode 18, spoken by Wayne Edwards (Ike Barinholtz):


blue corn

(Canada, US) A variety of corn with dark bluish grains.


gedunk

The word was used by U.S. Marines stationed in China in the 20s and 30s to denote candy or sweets the Marines would give to their girlfriends.

(US, military, slang) A snack; a junk food item.

(US, military, slang) A canteen or snack bar.


bull-thrower

(US, colloquial) A teller of lies or exaggerated stories.


welfare trap

Mr. Hayakawa said there was "a class of able-bodied persons who would rather collect public assistance than take jobs". . . . Cutting off food stamp benefits to these people, he said, would remove a disincentive to work, "close off one of the doors into the welfare trap."

1982 August 23, Robert Pear, “Getting tougher on work rules for food stamps”, in New York Times, retrieved 2015-11-09:

(chiefly US) A situation where the welfare system discourages people who receive government public assistance payments from entering low-paid work because such work does not produce a significant income increase.


gorming

He was a giant fellow, -— a "great gorming cutter,” Samantha Ann Millikeu called him; but if he had held up his head and straightened his broad shoulders, he would have been thought a man of splendid presence.

1894, The Atlantic Monthly, volume 73, page 771:

[…] to help satisfy the ravenous appetites of that couple of "great, gorming, greedy lubbers" that he was hiring this year.

1913, Kate Douglas Wiggin, The story of Waitstill Baxter, page 134:

"Great, gorming thing," he announced, and removed himself rapidly from its vicinity.

1937, The Atlantic Monthly, volume 159, page 638:

A streak of lack, no get-up-and-go, always late in the tide, not sprawl enough to dig his potatoes, no faculty at all, a gump, a gawk, a gowk, a goop, a great gorming lummox. How the townsmen poured it on! But he wasn't like that, I swear.

1966, The Yale Literary Magazine, volume 135, number 1, page 47:

(chiefly US, dialectal, New England) Clumsy, lumbering, stupid.


gawming

A sniff of strong ammonia could not have revived Martha's drooping spirits more effectually. “Miss him!” she repeated, “don't worry about my missin' that gawming creature. I shall be able to keep things decently clean after he's out o' the way.”

1893, Mrs. O. W. Scott, The Gilead Guards: A Story of War-times in a New England Town:

Yet Nancy's gawming son
Set free more sad and hopeless men
Than any king has done;

1916, Daniel Leavens Cady, Adam Et Ux, in Maize and Milkweed: Fifty-two Stalks

(chiefly UK, dialectal, Rutland, Leicestershire, but also US) Alternative form of gorming


gaumy

en-adj

gaumy (comparative more gaumy, superlative most gaumy)

more gaumy (comparative)
most gaumy (superlative)
gormy (alternative)

From gaum + -y, from gaum (“to smear”), which see for more.

The narrow, dark stairs are gaumy with paste, and everywhere open barrels of the mixture gave out the sickening, sour odor that is always in the nostrils of the workers.

1914, Edwin Markham, Children in Bondage: A Complete and Careful Presentation:

And Fothergil Finch, rather gaumy
With Cosmic cosmetics, was there,
But the Swami went just as the Swami,
After oiling the kinks in his hair.
I said to Hermione: "Goddess! You're graceful, you're Greek, you're a rose, […]"

1916, Don Marquis, Hermione and Her Little Group of Serious Thinkers, page 164:

Far from being gaumy with pitch, they looked rather remarkably smooth and well manicured.

1946, Jessie Scott, The Charity Ball, page 259:

(US and UK, dialects) Sticky; smeared with something sticky.


ghetto booty

en-noun

ghetto booty (countable and uncountable, plural ghetto booties)


begaum

en-verb

begaum (third-person singular simple present begaums, present participle begauming, simple past and past participle begaumed)

begaums (present singular third-person)
begauming (participle present)
begaumed (participle past)
begaumed (past)

(rare, US and UK, dialects, chiefly in the past tense) To smear (with something sticky or messy).


(law, US, Canada) Initialism of name, image, and likeness.


hate-boner

hate-boners (plural)
hate boner (alternative)
hateboner (alternative)

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

Nothing makes liberals sport a hate-boner more than the word oil.

2011 September 30, Kevin Moser, “Don't fear the pipeline, trust expert's opinion”, in Daily Nebraskan, volume 111, number 30, Lincoln: University of Nebraska, page 6:

Roxy is a pretty liberal gal, and so while rape porn is kinda tacky and gross, she doesn't have a raging feminist hate-boner for it.

2012 April 23, “Roxy Heart”, in Salient, volume 75, number 6, Victoria University of Wellington, page 23:

I voted for Obama in 2008, for much the same reason I would vote for a candidate that didn't sell his soul to a core group of slobbering maniacs with hate-boners for welfare.

2012 November 8, Josh Ruffin, “The Wasteland”, in Metro Spirit, volume 23, number 44, page 6:

(Canada, US, slang, vulgar) An intense and enthralling feeling of hatred for someone or something.


theoconservative

Only a small percentage of theoconservatives bother to live a strict Biblical lifestyle (Barna 2003), half their marriages fail, and although polls show that the theoconservative third of the population disapproves of premarital sex, surveys reveal that more than eight in ten theoconservatives engage in it (Finer 2007).

2009, Phil Zuckerman, Atheism and Secularity, page 171:

(US) A person who believes that religion should play a role in forming public policy.


thot

An acronym of that ho over there (or possibly a variant such as "thirsty hoes over there", "that ho out there", or "thirsty hoes out there"). It was popularized or possibly originated by rappers, particularly Chief Keef, in Chicago around late 2011 or early 2012.

...the appearance of the word “thot” in the whole mess shows how much it’s morphed into the same kind of word as “slut”—a catch-all way to put any woman in her place by suggesting that she’s somehow too sexual. But, of course, it’s a game women can’t win, because if you’re not obviously sexual enough to be called a “thot,” then you’re simply going to be disparaged for failing to be sexy enough.

2014 June 23, Amanda Marcotte, “Let's Put an End to 'THOT': The Misogynistic Phrase That's Sweeping the Nation”, in The Daily Beast:

That's why we're counting on you, Black Twitter, to continue the innovations in the field of slang. Never has black slang been appropriated so quickly. The other day, I heard two middle-aged white dudes calling each other thots. That word is gone.

2017 May 8, Roy Wood Jr., “State of Black Shit”, in The Daily Show:

While Kjellberg struggled to keep his eyes off their chests, he "jokingly" called women in the video “stupid Twitch thots,” a derogatory term for women that stands for “that ho [whore] over there.”

2018 May 25, Samantha Cole, “Pewdiepie^([sic]) Is Teaching His Audience that Women Are Asking For It”, in Motherboard:

(US, derogatory slang) A slut, a woman who is sexually promiscuous. (Can also be used more broadly to refer to related aspects of physical appearance and personality. Often associated with a perception of being lower-class and ugly while attempting to appear fashionable and salacious to seek attention.)


momzilla

momzillas (plural)
Momzilla (alternative)

From mom + -zilla (suffix forming nouns suggesting a monster or a thing of extremely large size or great destructiveness, from the fictional monster Godzilla).

suffix

suffix forming nouns suggesting a monster or a thing of extremely large size or great destructiveness, from the fictional monster <i class="Latn mention" lang="en">Godzilla</i>

"I've definitely got more boy energy going on right now," she [Sally Norvell] admits. "For one thing, I've got a four-year-old boy who I have to run around and play Godzilla with all day long." She chuckles. "I'm Momzilla."

[1996 November, Kurt B. Reighley, “Congo Norvell: Music to Disremember Him by”, in Scott Frampton, editor, CMJ New Music Monthly, number 39, Great Neck, N.Y.: College Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 19, column 1:

I tried to breathe, but it was too late. Momzilla had emerged. I could feel her low rumbling growl as she straightened up that last nerve. [...] Momzilla heard the children in the background promising never to be clowns again if Mommy would just come back. Momzilla took a slow deep breath, and then another. As Momzilla returned to the cage that I keep her in, I noticed how cute my little clowns were.

2002, Elisa Morgan, Carol Kuykendall, “Monster Mom: Real Moms Get Angry”, in Real Moms: Exploding the Myths of Motherhood, Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, →ISBN, part 1 (Myths about Me), page 55:

It's never too early to become a Momzilla. Momzillas are mothers whose lives are defined by their children, and more specifically, by their children's accomplishments.

2005, Judith Newman, You Make Me Feel Like an Unnatural Woman: The Diary of a New Mother, New York, N.Y.: Miramax Books, →ISBN, page 70:

It was embarrassing and stupid and yet, once bridezilla became momzilla, no power in the Universe could derail me from my mission of toddler birthday terror.

2006, Sheri Lynch, “The Surly Llama”, in Be Happy or I’ll Scream!: My Deranged Quest for the Perfect Husband, Family, and Life, New York, N.Y.: St. Martin’s Griffin, published February 2007, →ISBN, page 62:

Serena's transformation from sexy executive to momzilla had been swift and ugly. The more involved she became with the children, the more she squeezed him out of their lives.

2009, Karen Quinn, “Elliott”, in The Sister Diaries, London: Pocket Books, →ISBN:

In the past, Ali had found the term "bridezilla" mildly amusing, but when it came to dealing with an Edie who had suddenly morphed into what could only be called the bride's "momzilla"? That wasn't amusing in the least.

2014, J[udith] A[nn] Jance, “A Last Goodbye: An Ali Reynolds Novella”, in Moving Target: […], 1st Touchstone hardcover edition, New York, N.Y.: Simon & Schuster, →ISBN:

But difficult clients did suck some of the joy out of her job. Everyone talked about Bridezillas, but in Anne's opinion Momzillas were ten times worse. And she was sure Seattle had ten times more Momzillas per capita than any other city in the country.

2015, Sheila Roberts, chapter 1, in A Wedding on Primrose Street, Don Mills, Ont.: Mira Books, →ISBN, page 9:

(Canada, US, humorous, informal) A controlling or overinvolved mother.


assholehood

These douchebags have reached a whole new level of assholehood.

2013, Eugene Patrick Ruisi, Polyxenburgh - Page 383:

(Canada, US, derogatory, slang, rare) The state or condition of being an asshole.


Dixie cup

Dixie cups (plural)
Dixie Cup (alternative)
dixie cup (alternative)

Originally a brand name, first used in 1919, after a line of dolls made by Alfred Schindler's Dixie Doll Company in New York.

One day I was looking at a little girl eating a Dixie cup of strawberry ice cream.

2010, Carol D. Levine, Panic Child: A Harrowing True Story of Sexual Abuse, →ISBN, page 55:

(Canada, US) A disposable paper cup, sometimes waxed, especially used for individual servings of iced desserts.


double-nickel

From trucker slang in the 1970s referring to the national 55 mph speed limit, based on nickel (“five-cent coin”).

But in 1982 they found a loophole: Keep the double-nickel speed limit, but effectively allow motorists to drive up to 65 by designating that speed a “waste of a finite resource” and setting the fine at $15.

2015 February 17, Howard Fischer, “Bill takes teeth out of state speed limits”, in Arizona Daily Star:

Peckinpah is just as interested in the old golf-cart codger who says “Damn the double-nickel!” (in reference to the 55mph speed limit) as he is in Duck or Lyle, and much more so than in Ali MacGraw’s character, along for the ride and marquee value.

2015 August 20, Michael Barrett, “Damn the Double Nickel: "Convoy" Shows a Great Director Slumming”, in Pop Matters:

(US slang) The national speed limit of 55 miles per hour introduced in the USA in 1974.

2009 February 3, Craig Kwasniewski, “61 Is Impressive but Remember the Double Nickel "Kobe Bryant's 61-point outburst at MSG surpasses Michael Jordan's infamous double-nickel from 1995.”, in The Association:

This night was insane. Knicks win, Sixers win, Wolves win. Kyrie drops a double-nickel.

2015 January 29, Matt Moore, “Five-Star Review: Kyrie Irving's double-nickel night”, in CBSSports:

(US slang) The number 55 (by extension).


beefsteak tomato

en-noun

beefsteak tomato (plural beefsteak tomatoes)


on the floor

I got a '69 Chevy with a 396/Fuelie heads and a Hurst on the floor.

(US, automotive) Mounted on the floor of an automobile


Amcit

In the last seven weeks, seven Amcits were arrested for national security concerns and violations of immigration laws (Ref A-E), compared to only six in the entire four months prior.

2011, Alexander Star, Open Secrets: WikiLeaks, War and American Diplomacy:


PVS

(US) Abbreviation of prisoner visitation and support.: a prison visitation program in US federal and military prisons


PVS

(US, military) Abbreviation of personal viewing sight.: a night-vision device


dessert bar

(US) A kind of soft baked cookie that is square or rectangular.


ARCIC

w:United States Army Capabilities Integration Center

(US, military) Initialism of United States Army Capabilities Integration Center.


jacklight

* jack + light. Probably from jack (“a male servant of any rank”), later associated with a boy servant or any boy, and later still with a knave: a rogue, thief, or deceitful man.
* Possibly also related to Spanish jaque (“a bully”).

It was a long, low roadster, with a jacklight.

1931, William Faulkner, Sanctuary, Library of America, published 1985, page 19:

(Canada, US) A spotlight or lamp mounted on a car, boat or pole, etc. to aid in hunting.


jacklight

en-verb

jacklight (third-person singular simple present jacklights, present participle jacklighting, simple past and past participle jacklighted or jacklit)

jacklights (present singular third-person)
jacklighting (participle present)
jacklighted (participle past)
jacklighted (past)
jacklit (participle past)
jacklit (past)

(hunting, US, Canada) To shine a jacklight or spotlight on an animal, usually a deer, to aid in hunting at night.


ass-pull

ass-pulls (plural)
ass pull (alternative)
asspull (alternative)

From ass + pull, from the phrase pull out of one's ass.

Ah, you "believe". You do not know. So you admit that it's just wishful thinking, an ass pull not based on any facts.

2009 July 9, charlesgriffman, “Re: e360 vs Spamhaus decision ?”, in news.admin.net-abuse.email (Usenet):

And there's no reason I see to believe either of these numbers is anything but an ass-pull.

2011 January 2, Matthew Russotto, “Re: OT: going green”, in comp.sys.mac.system (Usenet):

Even if we ignore the total ass-pull of super powers for Madoka, we still get a resolution that is no better than "it was all a dream".

2011 April 22, Dave Baranyi, “Re: Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica - 11 & 12 - final comments - no real spoilers”, in rec.arts.anime.misc (Usenet):

(Canada, US, slang, vulgar) A hastily fabricated explanation or contrived plot twist.


wedding soup

en-noun

wedding soup (countable and uncountable, plural wedding soups)

A mistranslated calque of Italian minestra maritata (“married soup”), which refers to the “marriage” of the vegetables and the meat.

calque

You have probably heard of wedding soup, an Italian-American favorite that gets its name not because it is served at weddings, but because it is a marriage of meat (in the form of tiny meatballs) and vegetables […]

2013, Ellie Krieger, Weeknight Wonders: Delicious Healthy Dishes in 30 Minutes, →ISBN:

This was his second helping and he'd already eaten three slices of bread, a salad, and a cup of wedding soup.

2014, Mary Campisi, A Family Affair: Fall, →ISBN:

[The] shopper creates a version of wedding soup and incorporates beans into the mix to allow for extra protein.

2013, Kristen Homan, Money in the Kitchen, →ISBN:

(US) An Italian-American soup consisting of green vegetables and meat in a chicken-based broth.


dark territory

en-noun

dark territory (countable and uncountable, plural dark territories)

(US, rail transport) A section of railroad track not controlled by signals.


Chinese home run

Chinese home run (plural Chinese home runs)

Either from supposed tendency of early 20th-century Chinese immigrants to the United States to do minimally acceptable work for minimal compensation, or a possible corruption of "Chaney's home run" from such a hit by a batter with that name that ended a game when the ball could not be found.

Chinese home run: 1. A derogatory term for a home run hit over the portion of the outfield fence closest to home plate, often one that lands just inside (or hits) the foul pole in a ballpark with small dimensions.

2011, Paul Dickson, The Dickson Baseball Dictionary, W.W. Norton & Co., pages 182-184:

(derogatory, dated) A home run hit to the minimum distance possible, usually just over the outfield fence closest to home plate.

Hal was too small to play, but he sat far out in foul territory, sucking on his blueberry Popsicle and chasing what the big kids called "Chinese home runs." (Cited at Dickson, above. He further quotes correspondence from King that indicates that his understanding of this term was that it applied to a foul ball over the backstop)

1985, Stephen King, “The Monkey”, in Skeleton Crew, Putnam, page 163:

(New England) A foul ball hit high and far, usually over the back of the plate.


POG

POG (countable and uncountable, plural POGs)

(US, military, slang, countable) Acronym of person other than grunt: a member of military staff other than infantry.


workshare

workshare (countable and uncountable, plural workshares)

(US) A strategy for handling market slowdowns where employees' hours are reduced rather than incurring layoffs.


gynotician

While we are left to decide in private what constitutes the end of life, the gynoticians of our state have decided that a heartbeat alone constitutes its beginning.

2013, Karen Marotta, "Ohio gynoticians" [letter to the editor], Milford-Miami Advertiser, 17 July 2013, page A10

Millenials believe Kansas "gynoticians" like Rep. Allan Rothlisberg should stop playing doctor when it comes to individuals' personal, private decisions.

2014, Katherine Gwynn, "Abortion access" [letter to the editor]", Lawrence Journal-World, 25 January 2014, page 9A

Ohio’s self-styled “gynoticians” (politicians) are at it once again. In their neverending quest to chip away at a woman’s right to determine her own reproductive destiny, House Republicans have introduced House Bill 69 to unconstitutionally restrict access to a legal, safe and vital medical procedure in this state.

2015, Brian Yeh, "Bill would limit women’s say in reproduction" [letter to the editor], The Columbus Dispatch, 28 February 2015

(US, politics, derogatory) A politician viewed as interfering with women's private medical decisions by lobbying for restrictions on abortion and/or contraception.


trimmigrant

Whether you support it or not, marijuana cultivation has become increasingly rooted in our local community and economy, bring boutique fertilizer stores, cheap weed and a fall migration of slightly disheveled "trimmigrants" to our area.

2013, Jacob Shockey, "Poisoned marijuana grows are silencing our forests", Applegater (Applegate Valley, Oregon), Volume 6, Number 4, Winter 2013, page 20

Based on previous experience, Nevada City was braced for a massive influx of so-called “trimmigrants” when the marijuana harvest season started.

2014 November 8, Dave Brooksher, “Trimmigrants moving on faster than expected”, in The Union, California:

If there is full legalization in California, the poor Bohemians making $200-400 day trimming buds in Humbolt County will be earning $10 an hour, if that. I have a trimmigrant relative who makes that kind of money working basically half-days.

2014 December 31, jbeattie, “Re: Stuck seatpost - a new idea?”, in rec.bicycles.tech (Usenet):

(US, slang) A migrant worker who comes into an area to find a job harvesting marijuana.


ALPR

ALPR (countable and uncountable, plural ALPRs)

California-based Vigilant […] has partnered with a range of governments in Texas, California, and Georgia to provide their police with a suite of ALPR systems to use on patrol, along with access to Vigilant's database.

2021, Kate Crawford, chapter 6, in Atlas of AI […] , →ISBN:

(US, law enforcement, uncountable) Initialism of automated/automatic license plate recognition.

We don’t find every use of ALPRs objectionable. For example, we do not generally object to using them to check license plates against lists of stolen cars, for AMBER Alerts, or for toll collection, provided they are deployed and used fairly and subject to proper checks and balances, such as ensuring devices are not disproportionately deployed in low-income communities and communities of color, and that the “hot lists” they are run against are legitimate and up to date.

2023 February 13, Chad Marlow & Jay Stanley, “How to Pump the Brakes on Your Police Department’s Use of Flock’s Mass Surveillance License Plate Readers”, in ACLU:

(US, law enforcement, countable) Initialism of automated/automatic license plate reader.


nosebleed section

nosebleed section (plural nosebleed sections)

A jocularly hyperbolic allusion to the tendency of high altitude to cause or aggravate nosebleeds.

Meronym: nosebleed seat

'Nor do I have a family box: it's the upper gallery for me, what we call the nosebleed section.

2001, Sara Paretsky, Total Recall, →OCLC:

(Canada, US) The seats high in the back of bleachers, stands, or the balcony at a theater or stadium, usually cheaper and with a poorer view than other seats.


professional student

professional student (plural professional students)

(derogatory, US) Someone who takes college classes to avoid having to assume adult responsibilities after graduating from high school.


NYCTA

New York City Transit Authority
w:New York City Transit Authority

(US) Initialism of New York City Transit Authority.


mombie

A mombie is a woman who "changes" after having a baby. She's been brainwashed by motherhood, […]. She loves nothing more than joining an army of other mombies, so don't be surprised if your old friend-turned-mombie begins to spend her time primarily with other mombies who are all covered in some kind of murky baby secretion.

2013, Blair Koenig, STFU, Parents, →ISBN:

The woman who used to start the day with a Spin class with Suzanne turned into a mombie—a mom zombie who was a shadow of her former self. Showering was no longer important. Why bother?

2016, Suzanne Riss, Jill Sockwell, The Optimist's Guide to Divorce: How to Get Through Your Breakup:

(slang, sometimes derogatory) A mother who is consumed by raising her children to the point of being sleep-deprived or simply obsessed, and hence zombie-like.


recreation room

recreation room (plural recreation rooms)

The recreation room. One of the broadcast receivers which are provided at all L.M.S.R. trainmen's hostels is seen in the background.

1947 March and April, “L.M.S.R. Hostels for Trainmen”, in Railway Magazine, page 92, photo caption:

(US, Australia, Canada) A room used for a variety of purposes, such as parties, games and other everyday or casual use.


draftproof

en-adj

draftproof (comparative more draftproof, superlative most draftproof)

more draftproof (comparative)
most draftproof (superlative)


draftproof

en-verb

draftproof (third-person singular simple present draftproofs, present participle draftproofing, simple past and past participle draftproofed)

draftproofs (present singular third-person)
draftproofing (participle present)
draftproofed (participle past)
draftproofed (past)


draftproofing

US standard spelling of draughtproofing.


toe biter

toe biters (plural)
toe-biter (alternative)

Referring to the powerful bite containing proteolytic enzymes.

(US) A large aquatic true bug with pincer-like front legs, Lethocerus americanus

(US) Any other insect in the family Belastomatidae


warphan

In addition, the following organizations act as the Association's agencies in caring for warphans.

2½ cents per meal will support a warphan and also provide educational and vocational training.

1940, Federal Council Bulletin, volumes 23-25:

A WARPHAN COMES OF AGE

1944, China Magazine, volumes 12-13, page 26:

Adopt a warphan for a month!

2005, K. Scott Wong, Americans First: Chinese Americans and the Second World War, page 94:

(US) An orphan whose parents died due to war, especially in 20th-century China.

sotaorpo

orphan due to having lost one's parents in war


squash bug

An insect in any of several species of true bugs in the family Coreidae which feed on plants in the family Cucurbitaceae


free silver

(US, economics, historical) The free coinage of silver, often at a fixed ratio with gold, as at the ratio of 16 to 1, which ratio for some time represented nearly or exactly the ratio of the market values of gold and silver respectively.


pastorium

(US, Southern US) A parsonage, in some Baptist churches.


pedigree clause

en-noun

pedigree clause (plural pedigree clauses)

(US) A clause sometimes inserted in contracts or specifications, requiring that a construction material such as cement must be of a brand that has stood the test of a specified number of years' use in an important public work.


writ of execution

writ of execution (plural writs of execution)

(law, US) a court order authorising an officer to seize and sell the judgment debtor's property in order to pay his judgment debt.


southern green stink bug

southern green stink bug (plural southern green stink bugs)

(US) A stink bug, Nezara viridula, that has spread worldwide in tropical and subtropical regions and is a significant pest on many crops.


knockout drop

(slang, US, usually in the plural) A drop of a drug used to make a person fall asleep or become unconscious or stupefied for the purpose of robbery, etc., typically by mixing it into a drink.


Patriots' Day

(US) A civic holiday commemorating the anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord, the first battles of the American Revolutionary War on April 19, 1775. It was previously celebrated on April 19, but since 1969 has been observed on the third Monday in April.


canaigre

cañaigre (alternative)
canigre (alternative)
cannaigre (alternative)

Possibly from Mexican Spanish canaigre, cañagre, cañaigre, variants of cañagria, from caña agria (“canaigre”, literally “sour cane”), from caña (“cane; reed”) (ultimately from Sumerian 𒄀𒈾 (gi.na)) + agria (feminine singular of agrio (“sour”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱ- (“sharp”)).

The true tannic acids are also widely distributed; […] in roots, as in the Texas plant, a Rumex commonly known as "Cañaigre;" […]

1879 June, Henry B. Parsons, “Some Constituents of Plants”, in Fred[ric]k A. Castle, Charles Rice, editors, New Remedies: An Illustrated Monthly Trade Journal of Materia Medica, Pharmacy and Therapeutics, volume VIII, number 6 (number 60 overall), New York, N.Y.: William Wood & Company […], →OCLC, page 170, column 1:

The Commissioner of Agriculture, in his report for 1878, speaking of this plant, says: "The examination of the canaigre, for tannin, shows the existence of a very abundant source of this important material, and gives reason for the belief that the latter at least may soon afford a cheap supply to the arts.["]

1882, Albert J[ennings] Fountain, “Canaigre”, in Report of Dona Ana County, Santa Fe, N.M.: Bureau of Immigration of the Territory of New Mexico; New Mexican P[r]int., →OCLC, page 9:

The native people of the Southwest have for many years made a very soft, impervious and durable leather by tanning hides with an extract of the roots of the cañaigre, Rumex hymenosepalus.

1893 February, “Science in Farming. [A New Tanning Plant.]”, in The American Agriculturist: For the Farm, Garden & Household, volume LII, number 2, New York, N.Y.: Orange Judd Company […], →OCLC, page 102, column 3:

Considerable attention is being paid by the press to canaigre as a plant, the cultivation of which may become profitable in this State, and it seems probable that it may become one of the valuable minor industries.

1895, “Concerning Canaigre”, in The Deseret Weekly, volume 51, Salt Lake City, Ut.: Deseret News Co., →OCLC, page 675:

cannaigre or tanner's dock (Rumex hymenosepalus), a plant now being cultivated in the Western States for the production of tannin.

1898, W. R. Dodson, W[illia]m C[arter] Stubbs, “Grasses, Clovers, Forage and Economic Crops. [Economic Plants Exclusive of Hay and Forage.]”, in Bulletin of the Agricultural Research Station of Louisiana State University and A. & M. College (2nd Series; no. 53), Baton Rouge, La.: Bureau of Agriculture and Immigration; […] Truth Book and Job Office, →OCLC, page 51:

Some years ago, when I was connected with the Arizona Experiment Station, some efforts in that direction were being made with a plant grown down in that country called Canigre. That is a plant that grows wild in certain sections of the Southwest, but because of its being a two-year crop and because of the fact that in order to make it productive, a very large amount of water was required, which made it an irrigation proposition, we determined that it would be an unprofitable crop at that time.

1924 January 26, W. W. Skinner (witness), “Bureau of Chemistry. Statements of Dr. Charles A. Browne, Chief of Bureau; Dr. W. W. Skinner, Assistant Chief of Bureau; […]”, in Agricultural Appropriation Bill, 1925: Hearings before Subcommittee of House Committee on Appropriations […] in Charge of Agricultural Appropriation Bill for 1925: Sixty-eighth Congress, First Session, Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, →OCLC, page 370:

Canaigre, the root of Rumex hymenosepalus Torr., was marketed in the late 1970s under such coined names of modern vintage as wild red American ginseng and wild red desert ginseng. […] It is obvious that the attempt to promote canaigre as a kind of American ginseng is a recent-day deceptive practice, probably due to the high prices now commanded by ginseng. Canaigre does not contain any of the active panaxoside-like saponin glycosides responsible for ginseng's physiological activities.

1999, Steven Foster, Varro E[ugene] Tyler, “Canaigre”, in Tyler’s Honest Herbal: A Sensible Guide to the Use of Herbs and Related Remedies, 4th edition, New York, N.Y., Abingdon, Oxfordshire: Routledge, published 2009, →ISBN, page 87:

Other teas that are potentially toxic include canigre, guarana, maté, foti and comfrey (discussed below).

2000, Alfonso R. Gennaro, editor, Remington: The Science and Practice of Pharmacy, 20th edition, Baltimore, Md.: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, →ISBN, page 439, column 2:

Cañaigre is used as a gargle for sore throats, as a mouthwash for pyorrhea and gum inflammations, and its powder is applied to prevent skin irritations.

2001, Mary [Caroline] Montaño, “Cocina y Salud: Foodways and Healing Arts”, in Tradiciones Neuvomexicanas: Hispano Arts and Culture of New Mexico, Albuquerque, N.M.: University of New Mexico Press, →ISBN, page 247, column 1:

Canaigre is one of the few tanstuffs that seems to be well adapted to mechanised agriculture, should it become an economic crop. A native of the south-western US and northern Mexico, the tuberous roots of canaigre have been used for centuries by the Mexicans for tanning leather. […] Canaigre, looking much like the familiar dock weed, has a fleshy tuberous root that looks similar to a parsnip or a carrot.

2016, S[uraj] L[al] Kochhar, “Vegetable Tannins and Dyestuffs”, in Economic Botany: A Comprehensive Study, 5th edition, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, New York, N.Y.: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 515:

(US) Rumex hymenosepalus, a species of dock native to southwestern North America with edible red stems and taproots containing tannin.

The preparation of an extract of cañaigre for tanning is a new industry,[…]. The cañaigre extract will be used for light leather, and it is expected that a ready market can be found in England for the whole product, at very profitable prices, and the plant can be raised upon land which is practically useless for other agricultural purposes.

1892 November 15, “Other Industries”, in Annual Report of the Secretary of the Interior, Washington, D.C.: Department of the Interior, →OCLC, page CII:

Futhermore, other vegetable tannins, such as ground Canigre, Quebracho, Babul bark, Mimosa tannin and pure tannic acid are found to have a similar virucidal effect and are as acerin not bactericidal.

1954, Zentralblatt für Bakteriologie, Parasitenkunde, Infektionskrankheiten und Hygiene: Medizinisch-hygienische, Bakteriologie, Virusforschung und Parasitologie [Journal for Bacteriology, Parasitology, Infectious Dieases and Hygiene: Medical Hygiene, Bacteriology, Virus Research and Parasitology], volume 161, Jena, Thuringia: Gustav Fischer Verlag, →OCLC, page 352:

(US) Tannin-containing matter obtained from the taproots of the plant.


tappoon

(US) A piece of wood or sheet metal fitted into a ditch to dam up the water so as to overflow and irrigate a field.


survey mile

From its continued use until the 1980s in reference to the US Geological Survey's 1927 geodetic datum.

(US) The mile of ⁶³³⁶⁄₃₉₃₇ kilometers employed by the United States prior to its adoption of the international mile by treaty in the 1950s.