jumping Jehoshaphat

By the jumpin' Geehosofat, what a gurl she air sure enuf!

1866, Thomas Mayne Reid, The Headless Horseman: A Strange Tale of Texas (Western), London: Richard Bentley, →ISBN, page 100:

(US, dated) Used to express astonishment.


hens' night

hens' nights (plural)
hen night (alternative)

2004, Helen Denkha, Private Purgatory, Llumina Press, Florida, page 63,
The cruises were very popular for Hens’ nights, and the girls would really let their hair down.

Among the so-hip-it-hurts couples and civilians, hens’ night group (bachelorette party) there; all giggles and squeals in the corner.

2006, Stacey DeMarco, Witch in the Bedroom: Proven Sensual Magic, Minnesota: Llewellyn Publications, page 33:

2008, Catherine Deveny, Say When, Black Inc., Melbourne, page 25,
The hens’ night, the wedding and the marriage seem to boil down to slut for a night, princess for a day and slave for the rest of your life.

Tiaras are common accessories at school dances, kids’ birthday parties and hens’ nights.

2008, Karen Brooks, Consuming Innocence: Popular Culture and Our Children, University of Queensland Press, page 239:

2010, Barbara Elsborg, Digging Deeper, Ellora’s Cave Publishing, Ohio, page 31,
Flick hoped Stef married someone rich.
Willow chatted about her hens’ night.

2008, David P. Reiter, Primary Instinct, Interactive Publications, Queensland, page 32,
His sister, who had called me sister from the day we were engaged, and shared her most private thoughts with me regarding her bi-sexual fantasies on my Hens’ Night, has never called me since.

(US, Australia, New Zealand) A hen night.


colorable

en-adj

colorable (comparative more colorable, superlative most colorable)

more colorable (comparative)
most colorable (superlative)

Colorable kid menu with crayons provided for the under-21 set.

1990, Val Mallinson, The Dog Lover's Companion to the Pacific Northwest: The Inside Scoop on Where to Take Your Dog, →ISBN, page 426:


meemaw

meemaws (plural)
meema (alternative)
memaw (alternative)

Probably an affectionate alteration of mama or reduplication of maw (“mother”).

“Let's celebrate with drinks at Tipsy River.” “Uh, I don't want to go to Tipsy River. I don't want to bother my meemaw while she's working.” “Let's not push it. He's embarrassed of his country-ass grandma.” “Don't be embarrassed of your meemaw, Wayne. She's fun.”

2021 April 18, Christy Stratton & Erin Wagoner, “Hoot 'N Haw” (3:29 from the start), in Bless the Harts, season 2, episode 18, spoken by Wayne Edwards (Ike Barinholtz):

“Captain, we are in orbit of Brekka.” “Dr. Migleemo, you have the conn.” “Ba-ha-ha. A feast of opportunities to make you proud, Captain.” “Keep it together, Doctor. You'll do fine.” “[sniffles] It's really happening.” “Orders, sir?” “Yes. Initiate a subspace communication link to my meema. I want her to see her special boy being the captain!” “Yes, sir.”

2022 October 20, Ben M. Waller, “Trusted Sources” (17:12 from the start), in Star Trek: Lower Decks, season 3, episode 9, spoken by Dr. Gabers Migleemo (Paul F. Tompkins):

(US, dialect, Southern US) Synonym of mamaw (“grandmother”)


exclusionary rule

en-noun

exclusionary rule (plural exclusionary rules)

(US, law) A doctrine which requires that evidence obtained as the result of an illegal act on the part of law enforcement personnel (such as a warrantless search, or continued questioning a witness who has invoked the right of counsel) must therefore be excluded from being admitted as evidence in a trial. This rule does not apply in civil proceedings, although statutes sometime specifically provide for exclusion of such evidence.


Florida room

From its use in and association with the southeastern state of Florida in the United States. Cf. Arizona room.

Here In Florida Mrs. Jones raises begonias in her Florida room.

1965 January 25, “Club News: Pests To Be Topic”, in St. Petersburg Independent, retrieved 2009-06-23, page 11A:

Before proceeding with furniture, Akerman advises removing the glass enclosing the Florida room, as it creates a small awkward space.

2007 October 20, Donna Jean MacKinnon, “Keep your decorating light, airy to spruce up large condo”, in Toronto Star, Canada, retrieved 2009-06-23:

Community amenities will include a spacious parlor/lobby, library/business center and sitting area, resident community room, fitness room, Florida room and front and rear patios.

2009 June 17, “Nonprofit Developer to Build Senior Housing in St. Mary's”, in Southern Maryland Online, retrieved 2009-06-23:

(US and Canada, especially East Coast US and Florida) Synonym of sunroom, especially one without heating and enclosed with screens rather than glass windows.


short bus

learning disabilities
learning disability

(US, slang) A shorter school bus, typically equipped with a wheelchair lift, used for transporting children who are physically disabled or who are being educated in special programs, often for learning disabilities.


short bus

Dave's not too bright - probably was a short bus kid when he was younger.

We had an "all short bus” crew on that team. We were the short-bus crew of the league.

2000, Jayson Williams, Steve Friedman, Loose Balls, page 55:

“What's baffling is how you manage to make a perfectly cute miniskirt look so fugly.” “It's the cable tights.” Alana smacked her gum. “They're totally short bus.” “Short bus means retarded, idiot,” Monica said, turning on Alana with a critical glare. “Right, those tights are retarded. Right?”

2010, Stacey Jay, Undead Much, Penguin, →ISBN:

Short Bus Pappi likes to pop-lock, which is funny to watch because he's retarded and he's got no neck. He likes to dance, and he likes rap music. That morning he held his fingers out as though barrels of guns.

2013, Brian Allen Carr, Short Bus, Texas A&M University Press, →ISBN:

(US, slang, derogatory) Stupid; dumb; slow.


ride the short bus

en-verb

ride the short bus (third-person singular simple present rides the short bus, present participle riding the short bus, simple past rode the short bus, past participle ridden the short bus)

rides the short bus (present singular third-person)
riding the short bus (participle present)
rode the short bus (past)
ridden the short bus (participle past)

(US, slang, idiomatic, derogatory, education) To participate in a special education program, such as for those with learning disabilities.

[…] complete with golden shag carpet on the floor and Christian rock posters on the wall for the poor kids forced to ride the short bus of Christian culture […]

2006, Mark Driscoll, Confessions of a Reformission Rev:

"Have you been riding the short bus, or something? You know what Us Weekly said about her."

Admittedly, I'm no Rhodes Scholar, but I didn't ride the short bus to school either, […]

2011, Anthony Q. Artis, The Shut Up and Shoot: Freelance Video Guide:

“You think because I make my living putting balls through hoops, I rode the short bus to school?”

2014, T. E. Woods, The Red Hot Fix: A Justice Novel:

I accidentally called him Chris, and he turned red and yelled, "My name is Christopher"
Okay, now I was thinking he rode the short bus. As quick as he erupted, he relaxed and told me how much he loves his nanna and his kitty, Buttons. I ended the date early and said goodnight and went home.

2014, Greg Figueroa, Emily Feliciano, Worst Dates: best of the rest, page 4:

Is there any place on earth that has as many elected officials who rode the short bus to school as Lackawanna County?

2016 October 21, “Flynn, Burgerhoff square off in 113th district debate”, in Scranton Times-Tribune:

(US, slang, idiomatic, derogatory, education) To require a special education program, as though one were learning-disabled.


house of correction

en-noun

house of correction (plural houses of correction)

Massachusetts; Maryland; Massachusetts; Maryland


cyberczar

The White House office will be run by a “cyberczar,” but because the position will not have direct access to the president, some experts said it was not high-level enough to end a series of bureaucratic wars that have broken out as billions of dollars have suddenly been allocated to protect against the computer threats.

2009 May 29, David E. Sanger, Thom Shanker, “Pentagon Plans New Arm to Wage Cyberspace Wars”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

(US) A czar (political official) responsible for cyber issues.


breaktime

breaktime (countable and uncountable, plural breaktimes)

breaktimes (plural)
break time (alternative)

2007, National Labor Relations Board (U.S.) (editor), Decisions and Orders of the National Labor Relations Board, Volume 346: November 28, 2005—May 8, 2006, page 39,
Supervisor Laws asserts that when the incident occurred it was not the breaktime of either Tingler or Parnell. (4:760,789.)

(US) A break for a worker or workers that splits a period of work.


hunk of junk

(UK, US, informal) A worthless or malfunctioning piece of mechanical or electrical equipment.

бракма́

worthless or malfunctioning piece of equipment


riverboat queen

riverboat queen (plural riverboat queens)

I never saw the good side of a city until I hitched a ride on a riverboat queen.

1968, John Fogerty (lyrics and music), “Proud Mary”:

(US) A large paddle steamer operating on the Mississippi river.


sorostitute

The last one was a satirical documentary about sorostitute joggers around town called "Joggin'."

...you sorostitute . . . you Douche in the larval stage, you cum dumpster for Saint Rays and Phi Gams only— discriminating anorexic bitch, aren't you...

2005, Tom Wolfe, I am Charlotte Simmons:

Let me put it this way: frat daddies and sorostitutes suck, but that's completely my opinion. There are lots of pretty faces around here.

2005, Lindsey Nolan, Latasha Hamilton, Auburn University College Prowler Off The Record:

(US, slang, derogatory) A slutty member of a sorority (social group for female students).


stinkin'

en-adj

stinkin' (comparative more stinkin', superlative most stinkin')

more stinkin' (comparative)
most stinkin' (superlative)


Polack

Polacks (plural)
Polak (alternative)
Pollack (alternative)
Pollock (alternative)
Polock (alternative)

From Polish Polak (“a Polish person”). Cognate to French Polak, and akin to Swedish polack.

which to him appear'd / To be a preparation 'gainſt the Poleak

c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ii], page 260, column 2, line 63:

So leuied as before, againſt the Poleak.

c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ii], page 260, column 2, line 75:

First therefore was he employed into Poland, where by Sigismund, the king of Poland and of Suecia, he was received with great magnificence and applause both of the Polack himself and of his people.

1610, Thomas Middleton, “Sir R. Sherley Sent Ambassador, etc.”, in Arthur Henry Bullen, editor, The Works of Thomas Middleton, volume VIII, published 1886, page 307:

(now Canada, US now offensive slang) A Pole, or person of Polish descent.


RUS

Rural Utilities Service
w:Rural Utilities Service

(US) Initialism of Rural Utilities Service.


wrap in the flag

en-verb

wrap in the flag (third-person singular simple present wraps in the flag, present participle wrapping in the flag, simple past and past participle wrapped in the flag)

wraps in the flag (present singular third-person)
wrapping in the flag (participle present)
wrapped in the flag (participle past)
wrapped in the flag (past)

Both parties wrap themselves in the flag every election.

He manages to wrap every bit of pork for his district in the flag.

(transitive, US, idiomatic) To claim as deserving support for patriotic reasons.


in place

They ran in place with full packs for an hour.

In the event of a radiation leak, shelter in place: do not attempt to find a community shelter.

(chiefly Canada, US) Without changing position.


shneid

Danny Kaye was an avid baseball fan, passionately devoted to his beloved Brooklyn Dodgers who broke the shneid by beating the Yankees in the previous World Series.

2001, Ilana Abramovitch with Seán Galvin, Jews of Brooklyn, page 315:

Ok. The dolphins got off the shneid by finally beating the Jets in the first go round.

2002 November 10, “Jets Vs. Dolphins”, in alt.sports.football.pro.miami-dolphins (Usenet):

Cal is 3-0 all-time against the Boilermakers and is in a good position to keep Purdue on the shneid.

2003 March 21, “Cal Tennis Welcomes Purdue”, in dailycal.org:

[Eric Osmundson] has to get off the shneid, David [Whitehurst] has to help us, and even Ibby's better than 2-for-7. Hopefully, it'll start to come.

2005 December 3, “Jaaber, Penn turn back Navy”, in Philadelphia Daily News:

(informal, US, sports) A losing streak, especially a hitless period in baseball.


vanity plate

(US, Canada) A license plate whose identifier is chosen by the registering owner, usually to suggest a word or phrase.


mixed nuts

The United States standard of identity comes from 21 CFR 164.110.

standards of identity
standard of identity

A mixture of shelled nuts of various types.

(US standards of identity) A mixture of: shelled peanuts (optional); at least four types of shelled tree nuts (or at least three, if the container for sale contains less than two ounces and is transparent), each in a proportion of at least two percent; and, optionally, other functional ingredients. No one type of nuts may comprise more than eighty percent of the mixture.


dumbassed

en-adj

dumbassed (comparative more dumbassed, superlative most dumbassed)

more dumbassed (comparative)
most dumbassed (superlative)


fender skirt

(US) A piece of bodywork that covers the upper portions of the rear tires of an automobile.


crew chief

(sports, chiefly US) the chief umpire, referee or other official.


in for an inch, in for a mile

Afterwards, she took him farther south. His uneasiness grew with every step. . . . "In for an inch, in for a mile," he muttered.

2005, Bill Burt, William D. Burt, The Downs, →ISBN, page 29:

I soon found the water lapping at my toes so I figured, “in for an inch, in for a mile” and continued on in after the oystercatcher.

2007 December 31, Maggie Petsch, “American oystercatcher shots are memorable”, in Daily News, Galveston, Texas, retrieved 2009-07-16:

(chiefly US) Given that one is partly involved in or committed to a project, action, position, etc., there is no reason to refrain from becoming fully involved or fully committed.


long arm statute

en-noun

long arm statute (plural long arm statutes)

long arm statutes (plural)
long-arm statute (alternative)

personal jurisdiction
personal jurisdiction

(law, US) In the law of civil procedure, a statute which establishes the activities by a potential defendant which will give the courts of a state personal jurisdiction over that defendant.


purposeful availment

(US, law) In the law of civil procedure, an intentional act by one party directed into a particular state, thereby permitting that state to constitutionally assert personal jurisdiction over that party.


houseware

houseware (usually uncountable, plural housewares)

(Canada, US) Domestic utensils, especially for the kitchen; household goods.


ISR

ISR (countable and uncountable, plural ISRs)

(US, obsolete) Initialism of interstate route.


master-at-arms

(US, Navy) A petty officer responsible for law enforcement, antiterrorism, force protection, and expeditionary warfare.


master chief petty officer

master chief petty officer (plural master chief petty officers)

non-commissioned officer
non-commissioned officer

senior chief petty officer
senior chief petty officer

(US, Navy) A non-commissioned officer in the United States Navy and United States Coast Guard, ranking above senior chief petty officer.


senior chief petty officer

senior chief petty officer (plural senior chief petty officers)

master chief petty officer
master chief petty officer

(US, Navy) A non-commissioned officer in the United States Navy and United States Coast Guard, ranking above chief petty officer and below master chief petty officer.


petty officer first class

petty officer first class (plural petty officers first class)

petty officer second class
petty officer second class

(US, Navy) A non-commissioned officer in the United States Navy and United States Coast Guard, ranking above petty officer second class and below chief petty officer.


petty officer second class

petty officer second class (plural petty officers second class)

petty officer third class
petty officer third class

petty officer first class
petty officer first class

(US, Navy) A non-commissioned officer in the United States Navy and United States Coast Guard, ranking above petty officer third class and below petty officer first class.


petty officer third class

petty officer third class (plural petty officers third class)

(US, Navy) A non-commissioned officer in the United States Navy and United States Coast Guard, ranking above seaman and below petty officer second class.


seaman apprentice

seaman apprentice (plural seamen apprentice or seaman apprentices)

seamen apprentice (plural)
seaman apprentices (plural)

(US, Navy) An enlisted rate in the United States Navy and United States Coast Guard, ranking above seaman recruit and below seaman.


seaman recruit

seaman recruit (plural seamen recruit or seaman recruits)

seamen recruit (plural)
seaman recruits (plural)

(US, Navy) An enlisted rate in the United States Navy and United States Coast Guard, ranking below seaman apprentice.


jockette

(US, slang) The female equivalent of a jock.


back at you

back atcha (alternative)
backatcha (alternative)
right back at you (alternative)

"Hey, good luck with that, buddy!" / "Right back at you, man!"

"You're an idiot!" / "Yeah? Well, back at you, moron!"

(idiomatic, US) Used to return a greeting or insult.


pedo-

paedo- (alternative)
pædo- (alternative)

From Ancient Greek παῖς (paîs, “child”).


table soccer

(chiefly US) Alternative form of table football


Alford plea

Originated in the US legal case before the Supreme Court of the United States, North Carolina v. Alford (1970).

Alford Plea. A plea under which a defendant may choose to plead guilty, not because of an admission to the crime, but because the prosecutor has sufficient evidence to place a charge and to obtain conviction in court. The plea is commonly used in local and state courts in the United States.

1992, Walter John Raymond, Dictionary of Politics: Selected American and Foreign Political and Legal Terms, Brunswick Publishing Corporation, →ISBN, page 9:

Under the Alford doctrine, a defendant does not admit guilt but admits that the state has sufficient evidence to find him or her guilty, should the case go to trial.

1996, Kathleen Daly, Gender, Crime, and Punishment, Yale University Press, →ISBN, page 20:

Alford plea. A guilty plea entered as part of a plea bargain by a criminal defendant who denies committing the crime or who does not actually admit his guilt. In federal courts, such plea may be accepted as long as there is evidence that the defendant is actually guilty. Named after North Carolina v. Alford (1970.)

2006, Susan Ellis Wild, Webster's New World Law Dictionary, Webster's New World, →ISBN, page 21:

When offering an Alford plea, a defendant asserts his innocence but admits that sufficient evidence exists to convict him of the offense.

2009 November, Michael T. Judge, Stephen R. McCullough, “Criminal law and procedure”, in University of Richmond Law Review, page 339, Vol. 44:

(US, law) A plea in criminal court in which the defendant does not admit guilt but concedes the government has sufficient evidence to convict.


agricultural lien

agricultural lien (plural agricultural liens)

Filing with the state generally is required to perfect an agricultural lien unless the collateral is in the possession of the lienholder.

2007, Milton C. Toby, chapter 6, in The Complete Equine Legal & Business Handbook: Legal Insights and Practical Tips for a Successful Horse Business, →ISBN, page 112:

(US, law) A statutory lien that protects the seller of farming equipment by giving the seller a lien on crops grown with the equipment.


blow smoke up someone's ass

en-verb

blow<,,blew,blown> smoke up someone's ass

blow smoke up someone's ass (third-person singular simple present blows smoke up someone's ass, present participle blowing smoke up someone's ass, simple past blew smoke up someone's ass, past participle blown smoke up someone's ass)

blows smoke up someone's ass (present singular third-person)
blowing smoke up someone's ass (participle present)
blew smoke up someone's ass (past)
blown smoke up someone's ass (participle past)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Sapaa-blow smoke up someone's ass.wav

(Canada, US, slang, vulgar) Alternative form of blow smoke


Bubba

(US) Alternative form of bubba (a white male Southerner).


blutwurst

blutwursts (plural)
blood-wurst (alternative)
blood wurst (alternative)

Borrowed from German Blutwurst, from Blut (“blood”) + Wurst (“sausage”).


placative

en-adj

placative (comparative more placative, superlative most placative)

more placative (comparative)
most placative (superlative)

Penrod's answer, like the look he lifted to the impressive stranger, was meek and placative.

1914, Booth Tarkington, chapter 21, in Penrod:

Temple entered the dining-room from the kitchen, her face fixed in a cringing, placative expression [...].

1931, William Faulkner, Sanctuary, Vintage, published 1993, page 64:


lard-ass

(Canada, US, slang, derogatory) An overweight person.


soup-to-nuts

Their soup-to-nuts approach left us with few questions.

(idiomatic, US) Comprehensive; complete; covering all of something.


petaliter

petaliters (plural)
petalitre (alternative)

(US) A unit of volume equivalent to 10¹⁵ liters. Symbol: Pl


rumor campaign

rumor campaigns (plural)
rumour campaign (alternative)

(US, idiomatic) A method of persuasion in which damaging rumors or innuendo are deliberately spread concerning a person or other target, while the source of the rumors tries to avoid detection.


grow a pair

en-verb

grow a pair (third-person singular simple present grows a pair, present participle growing a pair, simple past grew a pair, past participle grown a pair)

grows a pair (present singular third-person)
growing a pair (participle present)
grew a pair (past)
grown a pair (participle past)

Abbreviation of "grow a pair of testicles".

(chiefly US, colloquial, idiomatic, somewhat vulgar) To be brave; to show some courage, especially in a situation in which one has so far failed to do so.


FACT

w:Federation of American Consumers and Travelers

(US) Initialism of Federation of American Consumers and Travelers.


CMA

en-noun

CMA (countable and uncountable, plural CMAs)

... WILFORD J. WILLY CMA SR GRADE LIEUTENANT AND JOSEPH P. KENNEDY SR GRADE LIEUTENANT CMA BOTH USNR CMA WERE KILLED PD COMMANDER SMITH ...

1944, telegram to Gen. Carl Andrew Spaatz from Gen. Jimmy Doolittle; Edward Renehan, The Kennedys at War, 1937-1945 (2002), Doubleday, page 304

(US, military) Abbreviation of comma, used in communication systems without punctuation marks (e.g., telegrams).


bust a cap in someone's ass

en-verb

bust a cap in someone's ass (third-person singular simple present busts a cap in someone's ass, present participle busting a cap in someone's ass, simple past and past participle busted a cap in someone's ass or bust a cap in someone's ass)

busts a cap in someone's ass (present singular third-person)
busting a cap in someone's ass (participle present)
busted a cap in someone's ass (participle past)
busted a cap in someone's ass (past)
bust a cap in someone's ass (participle past)
bust a cap in someone's ass (past)

pop a cap in someone's ass
pop a cap in someone's ass#English

(slang, Canada, US) Synonym of pop a cap in someone's ass


yelper

From Middle English yelpere; equivalent to yelp + -er.


blockbuster drug

en-noun

blockbuster drug (plural blockbuster drugs)

(US, informal) A pharmaceutical product that generates more than a billion dollars of revenue for its owner each year.


marse

I followed old Marse Robert for four year near about / Got wounded in three place and starved at Point Lookout

ante 1887, Innes Randolph, "Good Ol' Rebel Soldier"

My white folks was Ad White what owned me. Called him Marse Ad. Don't call folks marse much now-days.

1941, Bernice Bowden, Slave Narratives: A Folk History of Slavery in the United States:

All of marse Butler's people were Creek Indians.

1941, Work Projects Administration, Slave Narratives: A Folk History of Slavery in the United States:

(obsolete, dialectal, US, Caribbean) Alternative form of master, often used as a general title of respect.


faucetlike

en-adj

faucetlike (comparative more faucetlike, superlative most faucetlike)

more faucetlike (comparative)
most faucetlike (superlative)

(Canada, US, rare) Resembling or characteristic of a faucet.


death panel

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

First used in a 2009 Facebook note by U.S. politician Sarah Palin: "... my parents or my baby with Down Syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama's 'death panel' so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their 'level of productivity in society,' whether they are worthy of health care."

(US, originally in right-wing discourse, otherwise humorous) A fictitious government committee which is responsible for choosing which of various patients will receive healthcare, and which withholds life-saving treatment from some in order to reduce costs.


up hill and down dale

I have a great deal of sympathy with scientific doubters, and with those who test psychicism up hill and down dale and are not satisfied.

1936, Rollo Ahmed, The Black Art, London: Long, page 275:

We bought a 1969 dark green VW Beetle which I immediately named "Doodle Bug," and off we went. The car did not give us a minute's trouble throughout the trip — up hill, down dale, across uncharted wastelands between super highways.

1980 December 6, Nancy Walker, “Toodle-Oo, Doodle”, in Gay Community News, volume 8, number 20, page 12:

(UK, US, Australia, idiomatic) Here and there; everywhere.


Campbellite

From Campbell + -ite, after Thomas and Alexander Campbell.

(US) A member of any of various religious groups historically descended from the nineteenth-century Restoration Movement.


rainbowed

rainbowed (comparative more rainbowed, superlative most rainbowed)

more rainbowed (comparative)
most rainbowed (superlative)

[> You may come to the point where you're accepted within the culture but you'll be racially different and never truly integrated. <]
Depends upon how rainbowed the culture is. Here in America we're very rainbowed, such that the cultural norm is respect for differences.

2003 October 10, Marvin Edwards, “Re: Affirmative Action”, in alt.religion.unitarian-univ (Usenet):

(chiefly US, rare) Made up of several races or ethnicities; rainbow.


sweet seventeen

en-noun

sweet seventeen (plural sweet seventeens)

sweet seventeens (plural)
sweet 17 (alternative)

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

(US, colloquial) A girl's seventeenth birthday, or seventeenth-birthday party. It is often used to mitigate a failed sweet sixteen birthday.


contractor combatant

contractor combatant (plural contractor combatants)

Author and United States Department of Defense (DoD) contractor Carter Andress coined the term “contractor combatant” in his book about the Iraq War titled Contractor Combatants: Tales of an Imbedded Capitalist.

(military, US) A civilian in a war zone who performs the tasks of an armed soldier under the Geneva Convention.


destroyer escort

destroyer escort (plural destroyer escorts)

(US, military, nautical, historical) A type of warship, lighter in armor and armament, and slower than a destroyer, originally used for convoy escort during World War II; now considered a frigate.


molasses cane

molasses cane (usually uncountable, plural molasses canes)

(US, Appalachia) A plant, commonly sugar cane, maize or corn, sorghum (maize or milo), or other another fructose-producing grass plant (of the family Gramineae) used for the production of cane syrup or molasses.


corncake

To serve, place a corncake on each plate and top with 3 slices of bacon.

2009 August 30, “Iroquois White-Corn Cakes With Maple Syrup and Bacon”, in New York Times:


busy signal

(US, telephony) An audible signal to the calling party that indicates failure to complete the requested connection; an engaged tone


know shit from Shinola

en-verb

know shit from Shinola (third-person singular simple present knows shit from Shinola, present participle knowing shit from Shinola, simple past knew shit from Shinola, past participle known shit from Shinola)

knows shit from Shinola (present singular third-person)
knowing shit from Shinola (participle present)
knew shit from Shinola (past)
known shit from Shinola (participle past)

A colloquialism which dates back to the early 1940s in the United States, sometimes ended with "that's why your shoes don't shine". Shinola was a popular brand of shoe polish.

"He don't know shit from Shinola. (laughter) you know that? Always wondered how the Shinola people felt about that (laughter) Hi, I'm the new man from Shinola. (laughter) Hi, how are ya? Nice to see ya? (laughter) How are ya? (laughter)"

30 October 1973, George Carlin, "Filthy Words", WBAI Radio, quoted in FCC Reports, Second Series, Volume 56, October 31, 1975 to January 16, 1976, page 101

"I'd like to comment on your May editorial, "Who's In Charge Here?" You may be a fair journalist, but you don't know shit from Shinola when it comes to karate."

1974 August, S. George Pesare, “You Don't Know From Shoe Polish!”, in Black Belt Magazine, issue, pg. 10:

"Laura looked at him coolly, levelly. 'Frank,' she said softly, 'the information simply isn't there. Therefore the control can't be there either. So don't try to con me. You don't know shit from Shinola!'"

1995, Michael Ward, Why your corporate culture change isn't working-- and what to do about it, page 102:

"See what I mean Shiela? You've got the logical form, the semantics, and all that, but you don't know shit from Shinola, and with your stupid heuristic learner you can't learn it unless somebody with authority tells you."

1996, Kenneth M. Ford, Zenon W. Pylyshyn, The robot's dilemma revisited: the frame problem in artificial intelligence, page 28:

"Nowadays they've got all those captains and majors and lieutenants strutting around like it's May Day in Moscow, and they don't know shit from Shinola about how to run a ladies' jail."

2008, Wally Lamb, The Hour I First Believed, Ch.1, at p.27

(stative, US, vulgar, chiefly in the negative) To have the most basic level of intelligence or common sense.

know one's ass from a hole in the ground


lamb fries

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

(US) The testicles of a lamb, peeled, rolled in cracker meal, fried, and served as food, a traditional dish in the Bluegrass region of Kentucky.


TRIS

(US) Acronym of Transportation Research Information Services.


SOCOM

Special Operations
special operations#English

(US, military) Abbreviation of U.S. Special Operations Command.


Trixie

Some Trixie/Chad couples eating at Paronelli's managed to get into a fight before they had a chance to order dessert. Occasionally a Trixie, with her mascara running, would leave the table in tears […]

2006, Jennifer Ruisch, Faith and the City: A Girl's Search for Post-College Meaning, page 70:

The areas many cafes are prime locations for spotting Trixies or Chads, the area's notoriously rich and insipid residents.

(US, derogatory, slang) An affluent and sexually attractive young woman, the female counterpart of a Chad.


criminetly

"I can't help it. I trust you, Sid. Whatever you want to do, I trust you. I know you wouldn't do anything wrong— with me."
"Criminetly!"
"Are you angry?"
"I thought you'd put out."

1964, Dean Earl Buckingham, Never Save Rome, page 103:

"Criminetly, lady," one of our group said. "At least you could say 'excuse me.'"

1989 October 29, Bob O'Sullivan, “Dubrovnik Donnybrook”, in Chicago Tribune, archived from the original on 2013-06-30, page C21:

SVEN. Holy cheesecakes, it's colder than Walt Disney out there.
GUNNER. (Breaking from the kiss.) Oh, criminetly.
BERNICE. Oh, my gosh.

2007, Phil Olson, A Don't Hug Me Christmas Carol, →ISBN, page 85:

(US) Alternative spelling of criminently


running shoe

For example, if some people are wearing their joggers as fashion statement rather than as injury preventers, then perhaps their plan to buy expensive running shoes is actually sound.

2016, Ray Wyatt, Plan Prediction: Which Policy is Preferred by Which People?, page 69:

(Canada, US, Australia) Sneaker, not cleats; tennis shoes; normal gym shoes.


lead-pipe cinch

en-noun

lead-pipe cinch (plural lead-pipe cinches)

(US, slang) A cinch; something very easy.


areaway

“I have three rooms here, and the back one opens into a kind of areaway from which I get into an abandoned storeroom, or I guess it’s an attic. […]”

1922, Zane Grey, chapter 7, in The Day of the Beast, New York: Harper, page 116:

At the basement door, which as in all these houses led out into the areaway below the front stoop, Krupong said, “Is there a toilet down here?”

1969, Hortense Calisher, chapter 11, in The New Yorkers, Boston: Little, Brown, page 307:

(Canada, US) An outdoor passage offering access to a basement.


toppy

en-adj

toppy (comparative more toppy, superlative most toppy)

more toppy (comparative)
most toppy (superlative)


kemo sabe

(slang, US) Alternative spelling of ke-mo sah-bee


boomerang kid

1987, Jean Davies Okimoto, Phyllis Jackson Stegall, Boomerang Kids: How to Live with Adult Children Who Return Home, Little, Brown, →ISBN:

Gerhard and Gale Kappe, an Oak Park, Ill., couple with two boomerang kids at home, could save more than $1,700.

1998 July, Kimberly Lankford, “The Right Insurance at the Right Price” (magazine article), in Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, Volume 52, Number 7, Kiplinger Washington Editors, Inc., ISSN 1528-9729, page 79

And if you have left the “parental nest,” do you plan to return home as a boomerang kid once you complete your studies?

2009, Barbara A. Mitchell, Family Matters: An Introduction to Family Sociology in Canada, Canadian Scholars' Press, →ISBN, page 198:

(originally US, informal) A young adult who has moved back into the parental home after a period of independence.

boemerangkind

young adult who moved back into parental home


backwoodsy

backwoodsy (comparative more backwoodsy, superlative most backwoodsy)

more backwoodsy (comparative)
most backwoodsy (superlative)

Johnson, 45 years old with thinning blond hair, was a strapping, cigar-smoking man from Owensboro, Kentucky, who still spoke in a kind of slow, backwoodsy drawl.

1989 March 3, John A. Jenkins, “High Stakes”, in Chicago Reader:

Bang's rough violin scrapes convey a backwoodsy ruralism, recalling the rootsy fiddle playing of southern prewar black string bands[…].

1994 April 8, Peter Margasak, “Kahil El'Zabar, Malachi Favors, Billy Bang”, in Chicago Reader:

(US) Typical of something or someone from the backwoods


EGA

Eagle, Globe, and Anchor
w:Eagle, Globe, and Anchor

(military, US) Initialism of Eagle, Globe, and Anchor.


act of Congress

en-noun

act of Congress (plural acts of Congress)

From the literal sense of act (“legislation”) enacted by US Congress.

Does it take an act of Congress just to get a stop sign on a corner?

Should Frederick stick around — and apparently it would take an act of Congress to get him out of the ICU — he might take up where Molly had brutally left off.

2000, Nevada Barr, Liberty Falling, page 79:

Since it seemed like getting a glass of wine was going to require an act of Congress, I quickly agreed.

2003, E. Lynn Harris, A Love of My Own, page 54:

Another problem was bureaucratic: the transfer of the ship required, literally, an act of Congress. It was an agonizing process that ground along for twenty-six months, through the tenures of three secretaries of the navy, two presidents, and two mayors of New York.

2008, Bill White with Robert Gandt, Intrepid: The Epic Story of America's Most Legendary Warship, page 273:

(idiomatic, US, chiefly colloquial) An authorization that is extremely difficult to obtain, especially in a timely fashion.


nonaluminum

(Canada, US) Not of or pertaining to aluminum.


AOR

AOR (countable and uncountable, plural AORs)

MTV is a singles medium, as is the hottest (warmest?) new radio strategy God help us, “adult contemporary”; even AOR devotes the contemporary portion of its programming to putative singles.

1990 January 2, Robert Christgau, “1980–1989: Rockism Faces the World”, in The Village Voice:

album-oriented radio
album-oriented radio#English

(music, radio format, US, uncountable) Initialism of album-oriented radio.

auxiliary replenishment oiler
auxiliary replenishment oiler#English

(US, military, nautical) Initialism of auxiliary replenishment oiler.

area of responsibility
w:area of responsibility

(US, military) Initialism of area of responsibility.


criminently

Probably formed by infixation of nonsense syllables into criminy.

crimenetly (alternative)
criminetly (alternative)

"Criminently!" Bean's voice rang out so that all the listening room could hear him. "They's baout thutty slant-eyed rats in hyar […]"

1946, Odell Shepard, Holdfast Gaines, page 343:

"Criminently," said Crumley. "Look at the mob."

1985, Ray Bradbury, Death is a Lonely Business, page 198:

I wanta take a look at the stars! JOE [astonished]: At the stars! Criminently! Is that all?

2005, Tennessee Williams, “The Big Game”, in Mister Paradise and other one-act plays, page 101:

(US) An expression of annoyance or surprise


undermatching

(US, education, economics) The practice of accepting a match that is less than optimal, especially when accepting a slot at a college or university when a superior one is available.


B-drinker

"That po gal." Jones explored a booth with the broom. "Hustlin water, runnin erran. Whoa!" "Ring up the precinct about her. She's a B-drinker."

1963 (date written), John Kennedy Toole, A Confederacy of Dunces, London: Penguin Books, published 1980 (1981 printing), →ISBN:

(US, slang) Someone who drinks a B-drink; a young woman hired to sit at a bar and induce the customers to buy her drinks, or spend money at the bar; a B-girl.


make a spectacle of oneself

en-verb

make a spectacle of oneself (third-person singular simple present makes a spectacle of oneself, present participle making a spectacle of oneself, simple past and past participle made a spectacle of oneself)

makes a spectacle of oneself (present singular third-person)
making a spectacle of oneself (participle present)
made a spectacle of oneself (participle past)
made a spectacle of oneself (past)

She had far too much to drink and made a spectacle of herself by flirting with everyone.

(idiomatic, originally US) To embarrass oneself or others in public.


BOLO

BOLOs (plural)
BOL (alternative)
bolo (alternative)

William Davis Jr. admitted he had been drinking and driving, but he said he shouldn’t have been caught. Even though police had issued a BOLO or “be on the lookout” for his car and an officer testified Davis made several traffic violations, he said there wasn’t enough probable cause for the initial traffic stop that turned into a DUI. […] Davis said he should not have been stopped because the BOLO for his car was not checked out before he was pulled over, but Justice Cornelia Clark pointed out that shouldn’t matter.

2015 September 10, “Knoxville attorney admits to DUI, argues he shouldn’t have been pulled over”, in WATE, archived from the original on 2016-08-20:

Police had issue[d] a BOLO alert for Brown and the children when he suddenly arrived in the emergency room of Central Florida Regional Hospital, looking for his wife.

2016 April 20, Mo Barnes, “Father kills estranged wife, shoots kids”, in RollingOut, retrieved 2017-06-16:

Freeman was able to locate the male and recognized him from a BOLO.

2017 June 13, Keith Lane, “Frederick Freeman named MPD Officer of the Month”, in Local 15, retrieved 2017-06-16:

(US law enforcement, acronym) A broadcast issued from a law enforcement agency to others, typically containing information about a wanted suspect, a person of interest, or a related vehicle.


hogleg

hoglegs (plural)
hog's leg (alternative)

A plain-clothes man with his coat off and his hog's leg looking like a fire plug against his ribs took one eye off his evening paper […].

1940, Raymond Chandler, Farewell, My Lovely, Penguin, published 2010, page 228:

Well I been a-ridin' shotgun on the Houston-Dallas stage / I got me a sawed-off hogleg, twenty is the number gauge / I'd shoot anybody, that would try to stop this ride / A lot of outlaws tried it, a lot of outlaws died.

(US, slang) Any large-caliber handgun, typically with a long barrel.


no-count

No-count. Even low-down. I still don't see how Loma could of married into that sharecropper white trash.

2007, Olive Ann Burns, Cold Sassy Tree, page 16:


gangbanging

en-noun

gangbanging (countable and uncountable, plural gangbangings)

(US, slang) An act of a street gang committing crimes as a group, such as attacking random people on the streets.


paisano

From Neapolitan and Spanish paisano. Doublet of peasant.

Within a very few minutes the cattleman was mounted and away. Paisano, well named after that ungainly but swift-running bird, struck into his long lope that ate up the ground like a strip of macaroni.

1903 February, O. Henry [pseudonym; William Sydney Porter], “Hygeia at the Solito”, in Everybody’s Magazine, volume VIII, number 2, New York, N.Y.: John Wanamaker, →ISSN, page 178, column 2:


holiday season

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

What are your plans for the holiday season?

(US, Canada) The period of the late fall and early winter when several holidays occur, such as Halloween, American Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's Day, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa


riblet

(US) Boneless processed pork or beef rib meat, served at restaurants and fast food places.


know beans about

en-verb

know beans about (third-person singular simple present knows beans about, present participle knowing beans about, simple past knew beans about, past participle known beans about)

knows beans about (present singular third-person)
knowing beans about (participle present)
knew beans about (past)
known beans about (participle past)

But the great artist doesn't know "beans" about driving oxen. He has put his driver on the "off" side of the yoke.

1881 February 7, “Notes of the Fine Arts”, in New York Times, retrieved 2009-09-22, page 3:

If this self-styled expert in the field of human relations knew beans about handling people he'd get more work out of the women and fewer tears.

1963 March 12, “Dear Ann Landers”, in Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, retrieved 2009-09-22, page 17:

If wealth managers actually knew beans about anything, they would be in asset management.

2008 July 14, Charles Paikert, “Ken Fisher”, in InvestmentNews, retrieved 2009-09-22:

(chiefly US, in negative constructions) To know something, even if only a little, about.

His primary opponent, Raphael Herman, is a real estate salesman who frankly admits he knows beans about insurance.

1986 August 22, “Editorial: The Cabinet Races”, in Gainesville Sun, retrieved 2009-09-22, page 18A:

(chiefly US, idiomatic) To know nothing, or almost nothing, about.

識條春 /识条春

to know nothing, or almost nothing, about


loblolly

en-noun

loblolly (countable and uncountable, plural loblollies)

loblollies (plural)
lob-lolly (alternative)
lob lolly (alternative)
loblollie (alternative)
lob-lollie (alternative)
loplolly (alternative)

From Yorkshire dialect lob (“boil”, literally “bubbling up”) + dialect lolly (“broth”).

he and Narcissa paddled and splashed with tucked-up garments and muddy bottoms, after the crudest of whittled boats, or made loblollies by treading and treading in one spot with the intense oblivion of alchemists.

1931, William Faulkner, Sanctuary, Vintage, published 1993, page 122:


badassery

Think The Dying Earth with added barbarian badassery — this is some very superior genre-blending.

2010, Richard K. Morgan, The Steel Remains, link:

...he could always remember the badassery it took to survive the labyrinth.

2010, Daniel Nayeri, Another Pan, page 179:

...the crowning moment of badassery

2012, Danny Vittore, Back the Fuck Up!: Wild Animals That Don't Give a Shit!, page 77:

(US, slang, sometimes considered vulgar) The behaviour or quality of a badass; belligerence, audaciousness, etc.


cheese dog

(US) A hot dog with processed cheese spread on it.


acrost

Now ye sling a couple o' saplings acrost the durrt ye've chucked out.

1904, Elizabeth Robins (C. E. Raimond), The Magnetic North:

It's in that little brick buildin' straight acrost from the sheriff's door o' the jail--ye've been neighbors this long time!

1905, Booth Tarkington, The Conquest of Canaan:

I'll jest sashay acrost the track an' give 'em my regards."

1913, Horace Annesley Vachell, Bunch Grass:

(US, dialectal, nonstandard) Alternative form of across.


durned

Take the durned thing away.

1912, Kate Langley Bosher, The Man in Lonely Land:

I liked your nerve, too, durned if I didn't!"

1916, Fannie Hurst, Every Soul Hath Its Song:

All four are hoping to enjoy some quiet time at the women's bass fishing tournament, but durned if wimpy Talmadge and grumpy Mel don't tag along and upset everything.

1995 April 28, Mary Shen Barnidge, “Zara Spook and Other Lures”, in Chicago Reader:


authentic cadence

authentic cadence (plural authentic cadences)

(music, chiefly US) A cadence involving the resolution of the dominant chord (V) to the root chord (I).

authentischer Schluss

cadence where dominant chord resolves to the root chord


devil strip

devil strips (plural)
devil's strip (alternative)

From devil + strip, from the area’s status as a no man's land between private and public property, devil or devil's in place names meaning
“barren, unproductive and unused”.
Compare devil's lane (“narrow area between two parallel fences”), devil's footstep (“barren spot of land”).

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


window treatment

window treatment (plural window treatments)

(interior decoration, chiefly US, Canada) A set of decorations for a window, often including curtains or blinds.


kookish

en-adj

kookish (comparative more kookish, superlative most kookish)

more kookish (comparative)
most kookish (superlative)

(slang, chiefly US) Like a kook; eccentric.


kookishness

(slang, chiefly US) The state or condition of being kookish; eccentricity, weirdness.


kookery

(slang, chiefly US) The state or quality of being a kook.


Talibaptist

Blend of Taliban + Baptist, from the hardline tactics of the former group and the traditionalism of the latter.

(slang, derogatory, chiefly US) A fundamentalist Christian.


meet with

en-verb

meet with (third-person singular simple present meets with, present participle meeting with, simple past and past participle met with)

meets with (present singular third-person)
meeting with (participle present)
met with (participle past)
met with (past)

‘They want to meet with you at the Annexe as soon as possible. I'm to ring back by yesterday.’
‘They want what?’
‘To meet you. But they use the preposition.’
‘Do they? Do they really? Good Lord. I suppose it's the German influence. Or is it old English? Meet with. Well I must say.’ And he lumbered off to the bathroom to shave.

1977, John Le Carré, The Honourable Schoolboy, Folio Society, published 2010, page 239:

(chiefly US, Canada) To have a meeting with (someone).


schlockmeister

From schlock + -meister, originally “seller of inferior goods”.

Or he could be viewed as a schlockmeister lowering standards for an inarticulate public, especially women—so often conceived as mass-cultural dupes.

2014, Eric Weisbard, Top 40 Democracy […] , University of Chicago Press, →ISBN, page 4:

Hearing Mamet call Spielberg a pretentious schlockmeister was even more shocking to the alderman—to all the aldermen present, in fact, and to Daley, too—than hearing him say he hadn't seen Private Ryan.

2022, Adam Levin, Mount Chicago, Doubleday, →ISBN:

(slang, derogatory, chiefly Canada, US) A writer of schlock; an author, film director, etc. who produces tasteless and inferior works.


varsity letter

(US) An identifying initial of the academic institution that is awarded to a member of a varsity team. It is made from structured cloth, and intended to be sewn to a piece of clothing such as a varsity sweater or varsity jacket.


goat rodeo

For example, a shooting incident had turned into a 20 police car "goat rodeo." The entire area was blocked by the multitude of police cars...

1996, Barbara Isabel Hummel, Managing the world: an analysis of expressive folklore among paramedics:

Old FAA hands, who are trying to keep this goat rodeo moving in a straight line, are still hopeful that this will all shake out in time...

2004, David Clarke, Technology and terrorism:

I should have known after a Monday like that, that Tuesday would be a veritable goat rodeo.

“McConnell has zero interest in presiding over another goat rodeo,” a second health care lobbyist told me.

2017, Dylan Scott, Republicans wind up one last Hail Mary to repeal Obamacare:

(Canada, US, slang) A chaotic, unmanageable situation.


blue card

The term has been inspired by the United States' green card, blue making reference to the main colour of the EU flag.

(scouting, US) An application for pursuing a certain merit badge, which must be signed by a Scout's unit leader and their merit badge counselor before pursuing.


nigger heaven

(US, slang, derogatory, offensive) A place or a circumstance regarded by black people to be pleasant or enjoyable.


wye switch

When the wye switch is opened the home signal is automatically set at danger and the distant signal at caution.

1909, Interstate Commerce Commission, Accident Adjustment Report, page 30:

(rail transport, US) A railroad switch, having a Y shape, in which one line splits into two lines that diverge at equal angles.


jerkwad

And frankly, jerkwad, you're not worthy to lick the dirt off his briefcase.

2001, William Bernhardt, Murder One, Ballantine, →ISBN, page 110:

Hidge said, "Someone with a license, jerkwad."

2001, Bill Roorbach, The Smallest Color, Counterpoint, 2003 pbk ed., p. 222

You're not crazy, just extremely annoying. Go soak your head, jerkwad.

2003 December 16, “Confidentials”, in Weekly World News, page 23:

(slang, derogatory, Canada, US) A jerk; an obnoxious person.


money bomb

Coined in 2007 by the presidential campaign of Ron Paul.

He set up a website that solicited pledges for contributions to be made directly to the Paul campaign on that day — a technique that became known as a "money bomb," which he used again to such great effect Sunday.

2007 December 17, Kenneth P. Vogel, “'Money bomb': Ron Paul raises $6 million in 24-hour period”, in USA Today:

After the November 5th money bomb, an Obama supporter tried to have a money bomb for Obama.

2008, Mark Frazier, Ron Paul Revolution: History in the Making, page 98:

(US, politics) An intense, short-term Internet fundraising campaign, usually taking 24 hours or less.


shitkicker

shitkickers (plural)
shit kicker (alternative)
shit-kicker (alternative)

/ˈʃɪtˌkɪkə(ɹ)/

I saw a tomboy wearing a pair of shitkickers.

A week after his feat, Don Eyles, wearing John Lennon glasses, a drooping mustache, long blond hair, black cords and shitkickers, walks down a long hall past phones labeled “Don’t Chatter Classified Matter” and red padlocked waste cans marked “Classified Waste Only” on his way to Draper’s million-dollar mockup of the Lunar Module.

1971 March 18, Timothy Crouse, “Don Eyles: Extra! Weird-Looking Freak Saves Apollo 14!”, in Rolling Stone:

(US, slang, vulgar, usually in the plural) A workboot.

(US, slang, vulgar, offensive) A poor, rural person, especially from the southern United States.

I have a shitkicker of a headache.

(US, slang, vulgar) Something unusually unpleasant or difficult.


Hicksville

en-proper noun

Hicksville (countable and uncountable, plural Hicksvilles)

Hicksvilles (plural)
hicksville (alternative)

From hick + -s- + -ville (sense 2). In Ohio and Long Island (New York) at least, from the surname Hicks + -ville.

(Canada, US, humorous) A hamlet or small rural community populated by hicks.


paper towel

(Canada, US, Australia, countable) A sheet of absorbent paper, used for cleaning and food preparation, usually sold in and dispensed from rolls.


dog's age

John Higgins, I haven't seen you in a dog's age.

(US, colloquial) A long time; many years.


sideboy

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

He had a nice breath. Haig and Haig at least. ‘You've been at the sideboy again,’ I said.

1940, Raymond Chandler, Farewell, My Lovely, Penguin, published 2010, page 125:

More discreetly set on the sideboy were bottles of vodka and whiskey and a box of Cuban cigars.

A coffeepot was perking on a sideboy and the two men poured a cup of Kona before sitting down in comfortable leather covered chairs.

2000, Robert William Bruce, Power Vortex:

(US, colloquial) A small dresser; a drinks cabinet.


redneckish

en-adj

redneckish (comparative more redneckish, superlative most redneckish)

more redneckish (comparative)
most redneckish (superlative)

(informal, chiefly US) Like or indicative of a redneck or rednecks; rural, uneducated, unsophisticated, etc.


jewelweed

en-noun

jewelweed (countable and uncountable, plural jewelweeds)

jewelweeds (plural)
jewel-weed (alternative)

he could still see a flower here and there smile up at him – the tawny red of the jewel-weed, and the close-tufted ball of the ‘mountain snow.’

1891, Mary Noailles Murfree, In the "Stranger People's" Country, Nebraska, published 2005, page 136:

Impatiens capensis
Impatiens capensis#Translingual

Impatiens pallida
Impatiens pallida#Translingual

(US) Impatiens, especially Impatiens capensis and Impatiens pallida.


sunbelt

sunbelts (plural)
Sunbelt (alternative)
Sun Belt (alternative)

Compound of sun + belt. Purportedly coined by American politician Sam Rayburn.

coin

Anglos to whom I talked in Miami […] persisted in the related illusions that the city was small, manageable, prosperous in a predictable broad-based way, southern in a progressive sunbelt way, American, and belonged to them.

1987, Joan Didion, Miami, Granta, published 2005, page 51:

Lack of water, fertile land, productive mines, and heavy industry made it an unlikely candidate. But the same forces which forged the new west and lured millions of people to the sunbelt, also boosted Las Vegas.

1995, Eugene P. Moehring, Resort City in the Sunbelt: Las Vegas, 1930–1970, University of Nevada Press, →ISBN, page 13:

(chiefly US) An area or belt of land that receives a lot of sun; specifically, a zone comprising the southern and western states of the USA where the weather is typically sunny, characterised by an influx of population from the north and often typified as having conservative political views.


candy apple

(US) An apple with a hard sugar candy coating.


turkle

I knew my father's nature so well, that I was certain his anger would hang on to him like a turkle does to a fisherman's toe [...].

1834, David Crockett, A Narrative of the Life of, Nebraska, published 1987, page 33:

Pronunciation spelling
pronunciation spelling

(US, dialectal) Pronunciation spelling of turtle.


a little of the creature

a leetle of the creater (alternative)
a little of the critter (alternative)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-a little of the creature.wav

So I took ‘a leetle of the creater’ – that warmer of the cold, and cooler of the hot, – and it made me feel so good that I concluded it was like the negro's rabbit, ‘good any way.’

1834, David Crockett, A Narrative of the Life of, Nebraska, published 1987, page 42:

Nothing; only it is poor sport to go on a dub without a little of the critter.

1853, Anna Maria Collins, Mrs. Ben Darby, page 23:

And when he met her, he told her what he came about, and said that he never would mind what the women prayed for, but it was greatly against his health to be obliged to drink his wine and whiskey raw, and he'd a longing desire for a little of the creature neatly mixed up with lemon and sugar, and water [...].

1836, “Legends of Blarney Castle”, in The Knickerbocker, volume VIII:

(US and Scotland, colloquial) A small drink of alcoholic spirits.


tapped out

en-adj

tapped out (comparative more tapped out, superlative most tapped out)

more tapped out (comparative)
most tapped out (superlative)

(US, slang) Having no money, broke, penniless.


traveler's check

en-noun

traveler's check (plural travelers' checks)

travelers' checks (plural)
traveller's cheque (alternative)

(US, finance) A check (draft), requiring a specimen signature and a countersignature; this is usually prepaid and drawn against the bank's own funds, rather than drawn against the signatory's account.


multispecialty

I asked that question of Dr. David Ludwig, director of the Optimal Weight for Life Program at Children’s Hospital Boston, a multispecialty program for the care of overweight children.

2009 July 21, Perri Klass, M.D., “When Weight Is the Issue, Doctors Struggle Too”, in New York Times:

(US) Exhibiting or possessing multiple specialties (especially medical specialties)


infare

From Middle English infer (“entrance”), from Old English infær (“ingress, entrance, ingang”), from Proto-Germanic *in + *farą (“a going”), corresponding to in- + fare. Related to Old English infaru (“inroad, incursion, invasion”). Compare German einführen (“to introduce”).

cog

At our next meeting we set the day for our wedding; and I went to my father's, and made arrangements for an infair, and returned to ask her parents for her.

1834, David Crockett, A Narrative of the Life of, Nebraska, published 1987, page 64:

He stretched his arms above his head and drew a long sigh of pleasurable reminiscence. “We hed a right sorter sociable evenin'. I'll be bound they air all over yander at the infair now.”

1891, Mary Noailles Murfree, In the "Stranger People's" Country, Nebraska, published 2005, page 11:

The older women spread the viands for the "infare," as the wedding dinner was called, upon the table, and we stood about it to eat amid shouts and laughter and an exchange of wit as good natured as it was horrifying to bridal ears.

1910, Corra Harria, A Circuit Rider's Wife, Digitized edition, The Gutenberg Project, published 2007:

Maybe I had better explain that infare meant the bride's going home--to her new house, … Wherever held, it was an occasion of keen and jealous rivalry--those in charge being doubly bent on making the faring in more splendid than the wedding feast.

1913, Martha McCulloch Williams, Dishes & Beverages of the Old South, Digitized edition, The Gutenberg Project, published 2009:

Again Laney interrupted her husband. "My mother said they even had infare dinners the next day after the wedding. The infare dinners were just for the families of the bride and groom, and the bride had a special dress for that occasion that she called her infare dress. The friends of both parties were there at the big feast on the wedding day, but not at the infare dinner."

1941, Slave Narratives, Volume IV, Digitized edition, The Gutenberg Project, published 2006:

Today, most weddings are followed by some sort of celebration, although not by infares, shivarees, or any similar institution.

She'd show me her doll, and talk about play-parties she'd been to, infares and dances.

2000, Robert Morgan, The Mountains Won't Remember Us and Other Stories:

The musterings, auctions, infares, feuds, and frolics are here, the holdup, the war whoop, eagle oratory, revival shouts, hard work and hard times, and every aspect of pioneer morality from the bashful lover at the bean pot to the camp-meeting baby.

2007, Ted Olson, Kathy H. Olson, James Still:

In the past, drinking had been a thing for parties, or infares as they called them locally, or something before dinner to whet one's taste.

(Scotland, US) A party or other celebration held to mark someone's entrance into a new home, especially the arrival of a bride at her new home; a wedding reception.


vibist

(US, slang) A vibraphone player; someone that plays the vibraphone.


icebox cake

(US) A dessert consisting of whipped cream and stacked chocolate wafers, refrigerated to form a sliceable log.


precinct committeeman

en-noun

precinct committeeman (plural precinct committeemen)

(US) A person elected or appointed in State Counties to represent a local ward, precinct, or township.


off like a prom dress

Pun on two senses of off, with the implication that a couple at a prom are likely to have sexual intercourse. Compare off like a bride's nightie.

When we heard the police car pull up, we were off like a prom dress.

(simile, slang, Canada, US) Making a start, or departing, very rapidly.


nonstore

(US) Not of or pertaining to a store (retail outlet).


Big Blue

(US, military, informal) The US Air Force.


Hellenizer

Hellenizers (plural)
Helleniser (alternative)

(US) One who Hellenizes; a spreader of Greek culture or ideas.


spanger

From spange + -er (“person who does”), root blend of spare + change, from stereotyped phrase “spare change?”, “spare any change?”.

I squatted down on the sidewalk to get eye level with the spanger (someone who asks passerbys for spare change).

2007, Pam Hogeweide, Spangers and Song on Hawthorne

(US, slang, derogatory) beggar, one who uses the phrase “spare change?”


pink dollar

(US) The business generated by providing goods and services to the homosexual community.


Dorothy dollar

From Dorothy Gale, a character in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, whose actress Judy Garland in the 1939 film adaptation is a symbol among the LGBT community.


Fujita scale

From the Japanese-American meteorologist Tetsuya Theodore "Ted" Fujita (藤田哲也).

(US, meteorology) A scale used to rate the intensity of a tornado; now superseded by the Enhanced Fujita scale.


hog wallow

hog wallows (plural)
hogwallow (alternative)
hog-wallow (alternative)

(US) A shallow depression denuded of vegetation and potentially muddy, created by the wallowing of hogs.


NFG

(US, slang) no fucking good (or, bowdlerized, no freaking good). This mark is written on an object to identify it as unusable, having failed inspection, and so on. Often seen in manufacturing environments and the U.S. military.

(US, slang) no fucks given (it doesn’t matter)


come-to-Jesus

With the coaches still in the room, the veteran leaders on offense, one by one, took turns addressing the rest of the unit. / "It was a come-to-Jesus meeting," guard Daryn Colledge said Wednesday.

2009 November 12, Greg A. Bedard, “Offense clears the air”, in Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

(idiomatic, US) Relating to a similar secular ritual.

To bring someone in for a come-to-Jesus talk.

Joe Biden’s growing frustration with the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, continued to mount, with the Democratic US president captured on a hot mic saying that he and the Israeli leader will need to have a “come to Jesus meeting”.

2024 March 8, Joe Biden, quotee, “Biden caught saying he and Netanyahu need to have ‘come to Jesus meeting’”, in The Guardian, sourced from Associated Press, →ISSN:

(idiomatic, US) Conveying a scolding or a blunt discussion of a disagreeable fact regarding the addressee.


come to Jesus

en-verb

come to Jesus (third-person singular simple present comes to Jesus, present participle coming to Jesus, simple past came to Jesus, past participle come to Jesus)

comes to Jesus (present singular third-person)
coming to Jesus (participle present)
came to Jesus (past)
come to Jesus (participle past)

(idiomatic, US) To become committed or display commitment to a cause.

(idiomatic, US) To have a sudden important realization.


headright

By 1846 we had moved past the line of settlement, to my father's headright on the Pedernales.

2013, Philipp Meyer, The Son, Simon & Schuster, published 2014, page 4:

(Canada, US, now historical) A legal grant to own unsettled land in colonial America, or the land so claimed.


policlinic

From Ancient Greek πόλις (pólis, “city”) + English clinic.

(US, medicine, very rare) An outpatient clinic, especially of a hospital.


starting five

(US, basketball) The five players who are initially playing for a team at the start of a game.


Medigap

(US) A type of medical insurance for expenses not covered under Medicare.


Italian sandwich

en-noun

Italian sandwich (plural Italian sandwiches)

The sandwich was invented in Portland, Maine, in 1903 by Giovanni Amato, an Italian baker.

(US) A type of submarine sandwich consisting of French bread sliced lengthwise, filled with salami or ham with cheese and onion.


forehanded

en-adj

forehanded (comparative more forehanded, superlative most forehanded)

more forehanded (comparative)
most forehanded (superlative)

‘I dun'no' whether it air night or no,’ she said [...]. ‘I mought be too forehanded a-gittin' supper fur aught I kin tell.’

1891, Mary Noailles Murfree, In the "Stranger People's" Country, Nebraska, published 2005, page 88:

First, a U.S. President is being forehanded for once. The new Common Market tariff structure has not yet begun to hurt our exporters (many of them, even more forehanded, have sought sanctuary by building new plants in Europe).

1962 February 2, “High Aim: Freer World Trade”, in LIFE, volume 52, number 5, page 6:

"You're so forehanded that all your presents went a week ago, I suppose," Eleanor swept clear a chair.

2012, Grace Margaret Gallaher, “The Queerest Christmas”, in The Children's Book Of Christmas Stories - The Original Classic Edition:

(now US) Looking to the future; displaying foresight; prudent.

The conditions of the old-time Salisbury hill-farm, which fed its owners on its spare-ribs and corn meal, and sweetened their taste with the crystallized sap of its maples, and which reckoned a man with a savings-bank account and a hundred stonewalled and unmortgaged acres "forehanded" if not positively rich, have ceased to be typical conditions of the American present-day prosperity.

1926, Benjamin Ide Wheeler, Monroe Emanuel Deutsch, The Abundant Life: Benjamin Ide Wheeler, page 85:

...cause if you have, look at that forehanded man there, Deacon Westfall, and you see the rich man.

1838, Thomas Chandler Haliburton, The Clockmaker, Or, The Sayings and Doings of Samuel Slick, page 96:

No, he is not poor at all. My father has got a good farm, and is quite forehanded.

1842, Jacob Abbott, Cousin Lucy Among the Mountains, page 100:


ricefish

en-noun

ricefish (plural ricefishes or ricefish)

(US) A freshwater fish of the southeastern United States, Chologaster cornuta


does Macy's tell Gimbel's

Macy's and Gimbels (without the apostrophe) were popular department stores located within two blocks of one another in Midtown Manhattan in New York City; the latter store is now defunct.

The "Does Macy's tell Gimbel's?" gag has been a standard one in New York for many years. It was somewhat shattered last night at the Copacabana, when two young couples were seated at a ringside table and conversed at great length...."Well, Macy's may not tell Gimbel's," said one of the young men, "But Bloomingdale's does."

1941 January 21, The Washington Post, page 22:

In other words the older circuit will give the Johnny-come-lately as little help and comfort as it can. After all, does Macy's tell Gimbel's?

1946 January 11, The New York Times, page 24:

...As a lesson in merchandising, not only store products, but good-will, this "Miracle on 34th Street" is a dandy. Does Macy's tell Gimbel's? It should!

1947 June 5, The New York Times, page 32:

Col. Hogan (to Col. Klink) Does Macy tell Gimbel?

(US, dated, colloquial, rhetorical question) A rhetorical question with the implied answer being that competitors do not share business secrets with one another.


thruput

thruput (countable and uncountable, plural thruputs)


LEM

(US, space science) Originally Lunar Excursion Module, latterly Lunar Module.


LM

(US, space flight) Initialism of lunar module.


SPS

Service Propulsion System
w:en:Service Propulsion System

(US, aerospace, astronautics) Initialism of Service Propulsion System.


get a word in edgewise

en-verb

get<,,got,got􂀿UK􂁀:gotten􂀿US􂁀> a word in edgewise

get a word in edgewise (third-person singular simple present gets a word in edgewise, present participle getting a word in edgewise, simple past got a word in edgewise, past participle (UK) got a word in edgewise or (US) gotten a word in edgewise)

gets a word in edgewise (present singular third-person)
getting a word in edgewise (participle present)
got a word in edgewise (past)
got a word in edgewise (UK participle past)
gotten a word in edgewise (US participle past)
get a word in edgeways (alternative)

/ˌɡɛt ə ˈwɜːd ɪn ˈɛdʒwaɪz/

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-get a word in edgewise.wav

/ˌɡɛt ə ˈwɝd ɪn ˈɛdʒwaɪz/

The use of the word edgewise or edgeways (“with the edge facing in the direction of movement”) is metaphorical, suggesting that the gap or opportunity for a person to speak is very slim.

Everyone was talking at once. I couldn’t get a word in edgewise.

The converſation at breakfaſt began on reading, which ſhe ſaid ſhe was extremely fond of, and Joſeph, her ladyſhip, and my papa, fell into ſuch a deep diſcourſe, that I verily thought they would never have finiſhed; for, believe me, I was quite out of patience, as neither mama nor I, could ſo much as put a ſingle word in edgewiſe; for they might as well have talked Greek to us, and we ſhould have underſtood them much the ſame.

[1778 December, “[Original Letters. Miss Clifford to Miss Granby.] In Continuation.”, in The Lady’s Magazine; or, Entertaining Companion for the Fair Sex, Appropriated Solely to Their Use and Amusement, London: Printed for G[eorge] Robinson, […], →OCLC, page 652, column 1:

Accordingly she was exceedingly elevated; alternately singing pieces of hymns in a hobbling broken voice, having lost her teeth, breaking out into incoherent exclamations, and relating parts of her experience; while I had not room, which indeed I did not much require, to get a word in edgewise.

1822, [James Colman], “Letter VIII. The Contrast.”, in Walks in the Country; or, Christian Sketches of Scenery, Life, and Character, in Familiar Letters, London: Printed for the author; published by James Nisbet, […], →OCLC, pages 100–101:

The baggage-camel had been bobbing his head to and from for some time past, anxious to get a word in edgeways.

1894 May, Rudyard Kipling, “Servants of the Queen”, in The Jungle Book, London, New York, N.Y.: Macmillan and Co., published June 1894, →OCLC, page 196:

We help him push his Nash down the street, then drink awhile and talk with Evelyn a beautiful blonde woman that young Ron Blake wants and even Dave Wain wants but she's got her mind on other things and taking care of the children who have to go to school and dancing classes in the morning and hardly gets a word in edgewise anyway as we all yak and yell like fools to impress her tho all she really wants is to be alone with me to talk about Cody and his latest soul.

1962 September 11, Jack Kerouac, chapter 13, in Big Sur, New York, N.Y.: Farrar, Straus and Cudahy, →OCLC; republished as Big Sur (Penguin Modern Classics), London: Penguin Books, 2012, →ISBN:

From the women who write to her, Cokie Roberts has observed, "I get the feeling that the country is full of women who've never gotten a word in edgewise when the men talk politics."

1996, Louis Baldwin, “Cokie Roberts: Political Commentator (1943– )”, in Women of Strength: Biographies of 106 who have Excelled in Traditionally Male Fields, A.D. 61 to the Present, Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, →ISBN, page 177:

I sat there, letting his voice run on. Even if I'd wanted to, I couldn't have gotten a word in edgeways. Perhaps if life continued thi way, I would gradually lose the faculty of speech, [...]

1999, Zena Collier, chapter 3, in A Cooler Climate, Lincoln, Neb.: toExcel Press, iUniverse, →ISBN, page 24:

I only included the interview because it is revealing of Javanese gender relationships. The young dancer is muted and hardly gets a word in edgeways, as the (male) troupe leader and her mother hijack each question and provide answers which are sometimes contradictory.

1999, Felicia Hughes-Freeland, “Dance on Film: Strategy and Serendipity”, in Theresa J. Buckland, editor, Dance in the Field: Theory, Methods and Issues in Dance Ethnography, Basingstoke, Hampshire, New York, N.Y.: Palgrave Macmillan, →DOI, →ISBN, part II (Methodological Approaches), page 117:

[W]hen interacting with a member of a cultural group used to taking longer to reflect on what to say next, native English speakers virtually prevent this person from getting a word in edgewise. We feel compelled to fill the "uncomfortably long" silence with words.

2003, Sylvia Helmer, Catherine Eddy, “ESL Learners and Communication”, in Dyanne Rivers, editor, Look at Me when I Talk to You: ESL Learners in Non-ESL Classrooms (Pippin Teacher’s Library; 39), Toronto, Ont.: Pippin Publishing Company, →ISBN, page 48:

Stanton stood up. It seemed the only way of getting a word in edgeways.

2014, Ben Elton, chapter 5, in Time and Time Again, London: Black Swan, Transworld Publishers, →ISBN, page 57:

Betsy rang me every now and then, but I couldn't get caught up in the 'fight' like she did. Besides, if I got a word in edgeways during each call I'd be lucky.

2014, Emma O’Reilly, with Shannon Kyle, “Old Wounds”, in The Race to Truth: Blowing the Whistle on Lance Armstrong and Cycling’s Doping Culture, London: Bantam Press, →ISBN, page 248:

She must have nattered on for half an hour. Everyone else was gone when I finally got a word in edgewise and escaped.

2015 February, Eva Gates, By Book or by Crook (A Lighthouse Library Mystery), New York, N.Y.: Obsidian, New American Library, →ISBN, page 313:

(US, usually derogatory) To break into or participate in a conversation, especially where there is much interruption by other speakers.

բառ մեջ գցել

to break into or participate in a conversation


fruit cup

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


rivel

Probably from (Pennsylvania German, from) Palatine Rhine Franconian Riwwel, Ribbel, Riebel (compare Volga German Rievel, Ribel, Riebel).

(US) A kind of small dumpling made from egg and wheat flour, often eaten in soup, especially among the Pennsylvania Dutch and other Germans.


loosey

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

Killed Over a Loosey. A 30-year-old man was chased down by four women and stabbed more than 20 times early Sunday after arguing with them over a broken cigarette, sources said.

2009, Peter Moskos, Killed Over a Loosey, Cop in the Hood blog, February 2, 2009

After a few months of sloppy, half-asleep patronage, the Egyptians started calling me “boss” and readily accepted my fifty cents when I asked for a loosie, which I did often.

2018, Ottessa Moshfegh, My Year of Rest and Relaxation, Vintage, published 2019, page 5:

(US, slang) A single cigarette, sold individually ("loose").


banana boat

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

(US, slang) The group of NBA players Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James, Chris Paul and Dwyane Wade.


palo verde

palo verdes (plural)
paloverde (alternative)

Borrowed from Spanish palo verde (“green stick”).

(US) Any of a variety of trees in the genus Parkinsonia, with characteristic green bark, found in desert areas of North America.

turco

any of a variety of trees in the genus Parkinsonia


strange-ass

en-adj

strange-ass (comparative more strange-ass, superlative most strange-ass)

more strange-ass (comparative)
most strange-ass (superlative)


crazy-ass

crazy-ass (comparative more crazy-ass, superlative most crazy-ass)

more crazy-ass (comparative)
most crazy-ass (superlative)


Black

It contained an article written by Lacy Banko summarizing the work of Dr. Herbert Hendin, who had done a comparative study on suicide among Black people in the major American cities. Dr. Hendin found that the suicide rate among Black men between the ages of nineteen and thirty-five had doubled in the past ten to fifteen years, surpassing the rate for whites in the same age range.

1973, Huey P. Newton, J. Herman Blake, Revolutionary Suicide, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, →ISBN, page 3:

A group of Black women came in later but only observed from the sidelines.

1986, Chaya Shalom, “The only dyke from Israel”, in Off Our Backs, volume 16, number 8, →JSTOR, page 26:

Buried among the jargon of the announcement was a mention of a name for AAVE, suggested by a Black scholar in 1975^([sic]) but never adopted by linguists: Ebonics. That word, concocted from ebony (a color term from the name of a dark-colored wood) and phonics (the name of a method for teaching reading), was destined to attach to the board as if chiseled into a block of granite and hung round their necks.

1999, Geoffrey K. Pullum, “African American Vernacular English Is Not Standard English with Mistakes”, in Rebecca S. Wheeler, editor, The Workings of Language, →ISBN, page 40:

Hundreds of Seattle protesters came together Saturday to voice the sadness and fury that has spread across the country over the death of George Floyd, a Black man who died after being pinned beneath the knee of a Minneapolis police officer for almost nine minutes.

2020 May 31, “Violence, destruction mar Seattle protests over the death of George Floyd”, in The Seattle Times, page A1:

(chiefly Canada, US, often UK) Alternative letter-case form of black (“of or relating to any of various ethnic groups having dark pigmentation of the skin”).


square kilometer

en-noun

square kilometer (plural square kilometers)

When classes start in September, the University of Macau’s new campus — still under construction on about a square kilometer, or roughly 250 acres, on Hengqin Island in southern Guangdong Province — will be “handed over” to Macau governance in accordance with a 2009 bill by the National People’s Congress in Beijing.

2013 July 14, Joyce Lau, Calvin Yang, “University of Macau Moves Over the China Border”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2013-07-18, Asia Pacific:

square kilometre
square kilometre#English

US standard spelling of square kilometre.


booshway

(US, historical) The head man at the Fort Union trading post on the upper Missouri River at the confluence of the Yellowstone River, circa 1849.


funnel cake

funnel cake (countable and uncountable, plural funnel cakes)

From funnel + cake, since it is made by pouring batter through a funnel into hot oil.

(US) A specialty food made from deep-fried batter and originally associated with the Pennsylvania Dutch region of the United States.


moral fiber

moral fiber (usually uncountable, plural moral fibers)

(US) Alternative spelling of moral fibre


bust one's ass

en-verb

bust one's ass (third-person singular simple present busts one's ass, present participle busting one's ass, simple past and past participle busted one's ass or bust one's ass)

busts one's ass (present singular third-person)
busting one's ass (participle present)
busted one's ass (participle past)
busted one's ass (past)
bust one's ass (participle past)
bust one's ass (past)

(slang, Canada, US, vulgar) To work very hard, to put in a lot of effort.


sidewalk cafe

sidewalk cafes (plural)
sidewalk café (alternative)

(US) An outdoor portion of a restaurant, coffeehouse or cafe.


we-uns

From we + uns, a form of ones representing an older pronunciation of it.

we'uns (alternative)
we'ins (alternative)

“We-uns hev all been a-gittin' married round hyar lately. Whar's that purty wife o' yourn?”

1891, Mary Noailles Murfree, In the "Stranger People's" Country, Nebraska, published 2005, page 16:

‘We'uns was sittin under a tree over to the cannin factory just a little while ago, eatin our dinner, when this here stranger rode up.’

Then he come back to we-uns laughin'; sed the Yank offered him twenty dollars a month to go home to Maine with him, an' went on like a preacher […]

1892, Lippincott's Monthly Magazine: A Popular Journal of General Literature, page 62:

But Marshall Rutherford hain't no neighbour to we-uns. He hain't belongin' to Big Creek Gap. We hain't wantin' no more of Kennedy Poteet's stock in here, and we hain't aimin' to hev 'em.

1900, Emma Rayner, Visiting the Sin: A Tale of Mountain Life in Kentucky and Tennessee, page 293:

(US, Midwestern US and Appalachia) Us. (Compare us'uns.)


up one's own ass

16 February 2003, The Times - Motor Racing: Coulthard’s driving passion
[David Coulthard on Michael Schumacher] Considering the success and money he's earned, it'd be easy for him to disappear so far up his own arse, but he hasn't; there's something down-to-earth there

It's nice to be able to look back on the thing, because I was so up my own ass at the time about everything that it was hard to enjoy all the craziness...

9 December 2003 The Advocate (magazine) No. 904

19 February 2006 Sunday People - EXCLUSIVE: ON ME WEB CAM, SON!
Just like Leslie Grantham who also slagged off his costars, Forgeham blasted Zoe as "egotistical" and said she was "full of herself...and up her own ass"

(idiomatic, vulgar, Canada, US) Having an excessively high opinion of oneself, excessively preoccupied with one's own affairs, or lost in self-regarding abstraction.


secondary color

en-noun

secondary color (plural secondary colors)

secondary colour
secondary colour#English

(US) Alternative spelling of secondary colour


blockade whiskey

blockade whiskey (countable and uncountable, plural blockade whiskeys)

(US) Illegally distilled whiskey; moonshine.

(US) Home made liquor, produced legally or otherwise.


condensery

(US) A place in which condensed milk is manufactured


chark

chark (countable and uncountable, plural charks)

A back-formation of charcoal (interpreted as chark coal).

At noon, each man got his half-chark (a wine glass) full of rum and a four-quart iron pot of fish soup made from salt salmon, potatoes and graham flour ... in the evening another half chark of rum and 20 cents as pay for the day's work.

2006, Phyllis Downing Carlson, Laurel Downing Bill, Aunt Phil's Trunk: Early Alaska:


CROWS

w:Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station

(military, US) Acronym of Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station.


dassn't

They dursn't go theer nomoor seein as they wor copp'd steylin last time.


harnt

‘Harnts don't wander much ginerally,’ he said. ‘They hand round thar own buryin'-groun' mainly.’

1891, Mary Noailles Murfree, In the "Stranger People's" Country, Nebraska, published 2005, page 93:

(US, dialect) Alternative form of haunt, haint (“ghost”)


lettuce-bird

lettuce-birds (plural)
lettuce bird (alternative)

‘And Len Rhodes said you looked when you danced for all the world “like a lettuce-bird a-flying.”’

1891, Mary Noailles Murfree, In the "Stranger People's" Country, Nebraska, published 2005, page 112:


plow through

en-verb

plow through (third-person singular simple present plows through, present participle plowing through, simple past and past participle plowed through)

plows through (present singular third-person)
plowing through (participle present)
plowed through (participle past)
plowed through (past)
plough through (alternative)


S&L

(US, banking) A savings and loan association.


MUC

(military, US, acronym) Meritorious Unit Commendation.


coatrack

coatracks (plural)
coat-rack (alternative)


that ship has sailed

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-that ship has sailed.wav

that ship has already sailed (alternative)

The point is I… I don't need this right now, OK. It, it's too late, I'm with somebody else, I'm happy. This ship has sailed.

1995 November, “The One Where Ross Finds Out”, in Friends, season 2, episode 7 (television production), spoken by Ross Geller (David Schwimmer):

It’s a comedy-drama called Three Weeks; we’re shooting this autumn and it’s my directorial debut, which is exciting. It’s about a woman coming to terms with the fact that she doesn’t want to be a mother. She’s in her 30s, realising the truth of watching that ship sail as a choice.

2023 August 13, Michael Hogan, quoting Susan Wokoma, “Actor Susan Wokoma: ‘We all want to be married to Emma Thompson, don’t we?’”, in The Observer:

(originally US) That opportunity has already passed; it is too late to do anything about it.

по́езд ушёл (pójezd ušól, literally “the train is gone”)

close the stable door after the horse has bolted


plead the Fifth

plead the Fifth (third-person singular simple present pleads the Fifth, present participle pleading the Fifth, simple past pled the Fifth or pleaded the Fifth, past participle pled the Fifth)

pleads the Fifth (present singular third-person)
pleading the Fifth (participle present)
pled the Fifth (past)
pleaded the Fifth (past)
pled the Fifth (participle past)

(law, US) To invoke the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which protects witnesses from being forced to incriminate themselves.


judgmatically

en-adv

judgmatically (comparative more judgmatically, superlative most judgmatically)

more judgmatically (comparative)
most judgmatically (superlative)

I never fancied broiling fowls;--though once broiled, judiciously buttered, and judgmatically salted and peppered, there is no one who will speak more respectfully, not to say reverentially, of a broiled fowl than I will.

1851 November 14, Herman Melville, chapter 1, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC:

(colloquial, chiefly US) In a judgmatical way; like a judge, judiciously, with good judgment.


nonmajor

(US) A student who is not a major (specialist in one area).


sexual favor

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

(chiefly US) Alternative spelling of sexual favour


yager

There are fourscore of them; and but that each carries a yager rifle in his hand, a knife in his belt, and a Colt's pistol on his thigh, you could not discover the slightest point of resemblance between any two of them.

Many present identify it as the yager usually carried by Clancy.

We were each armed with a Mississippi yager and two Colt's revolvers.

1879, William F. Cody, The Life of Hon. William F. Cody:

(US, obsolete) A heavy, muzzle-loading hunting rifle


tentpole

His [James Rolfe's] reasoning dances around the simple fact that has set this innocuous-seeming movie apart from its fellow blockbusters this summer—that it’s a tentpole genre film starring women.

2016 May 18, David Sims, “The Outcry Against the All-Female ‘Ghostbusters’ Remake Gets Louder”, in The Atlantic:

(US, attributive, figurative, film, television, theater) A large-scale entertainment production that is a major source of revenue for its studio, television network, or investors.


German goiter

From German + goiter, from the stereotype that Germans drink a lot of beer, and from the similarity of a protruding stomach to a protruding goiter.

Brothers Gribble, Berger, Wolf, Shadwill and the writer are still nursing their “beer muscles.” I mean German goitres.

1939, American Flint, volume 28, page 41:

Any man who likes playing Santa Claus is in much better shape come Christmas if he has a German goiter.

1956 October 8, “Advantages of Being Fat”, in Milwaukee Journal, retrieved 2010-01-03, page 22:

(US Midwest, idiomatic, humorous, now possibly offensive) A protruding stomach, especially one supposed to be indicative of excessive consumption of beer.


metroplex

Blend of metropolitan + complex, originally coined as a marketing term for the Dallas–Fort Worth conurbation.

Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex

The collection of small urban centers and the multinucleated metropolitan subcenters is the twenty-first-century metroplex that provides citizens with opportunities to develop different lifestyles in new environmental settings. In the metroplex the new arrivals do not have to abandon their careers or interests.

1984, Jack Meltzer, Metropolis to Metroplex: The Social and Spatial Planning of Cities, Johns Hopkins University Press, →ISBN, page 14:

(US, urban studies) A large metropolitan area containing several cities and their suburbs.


An R with a cross-stroke indicating an abbreviation (of recipe, response, retrograde etc). In the case of a prescription, abbreviating Latin recipe (“take this”, second-person singular imperative of recipiō); it is sometimes typeset as, or even interpreted as, a digraph Rx. Compare also Dx (“diagnose, diagnosis”) and Hx (“history”).

der

second-person singular imperative of <i class="Latn mention" lang="la">recipiō</i>

(medicine, pharmacy, Canada, US, Philippines) Prescription.


knee-deep in the Big Muddy

From Waist Deep in the Big Muddy (1967), a folk song by Pete Seeger, protesting the war in Vietnam.

waist-deep in the Big Muddy (alternative)

Polls show three-quarters of the people don't want us to invade Haiti. Nonetheless, it appears we're about to go knee-deep in the Big Muddy.

1994 September 16, Cal Thomas, “Clinton should heed Gore advice”, in New York Daily News, retrieved 2010-01-04:

The 40-year-old Fastow, a hot-tempered financial whiz, engineered the controversial partnerships that led to Enron's meltdown. . . . "He's knee-deep in the big muddy," Meagher says.

2002 July 16, Edward Iwata, “Enron faces 'hornet's nest' of charges”, in USA Today, retrieved 2010-01-04:

In the classic ‘knee deep in the Big Muddy’ scenario (Staw, 1976), individuals continue to contribute to a losing cause long after it is clear that this is a tremendous waste of money.

2007, Janice Langan-Fox et al., Research Companion to the Dysfunctional Workplace, →ISBN, page 142:

(chiefly US, idiomatic) Stuck in a predicament; mired in a difficult situation, especially one resulting from poor judgment or bad leadership.


Miz

When he got there, Miz Meadows asked him where was Brer Fox

1988, Julius Lester, More tales of Uncle Remus: further adventures of Brer Rabbit, his friends, enemies, and others, →ISBN, page 13:

Once upon a time, when dogs barked in rhyme, there was Miz Hattie. Miz Hattie lived all alone in the piney woods.

1995, Virginia Hamilton, “Miz Hattie Gets Some Company”, in Her stories: African American folktales, fairy tales, and true tales, →ISBN, Her Animal Tales, page 15:

Miz Rowe knew, of course, that Flary was at home, and knew that she was making a hand along with the old man and the boys.

2000, Janice Holt Giles, Hill Man, →ISBN, page 159:


passivization

en-noun

passivization (countable and uncountable, plural passivizations)

passivizations (plural)
passivisation (alternative)

(US, grammar) The process of rendering into the passive form.


swap meet

swap meets (plural)
swapmeet (alternative)

(Canada, US) A meet for the purpose of trading, including buying and selling or swapping (bartering); a flea market.


PCA

(US, law) Abbreviation of Posse Comitatus Act. The U.S. law called "Posse Comitatus Act", 20 Stat. 152 aka 18 U.S.C. § 1385

Posse Comitatus Act

The PCA was demonstrably a Communist-front organization, and most of the Hollywoodites whom it rallied to its support were members of the Communist Party, some of them having been notorious as such for many years.

1956, United States. Congress. House. Committee on Un-American Activities, Hearings, page 171:

Progressive Citizens of America
w:Progressive Citizens of America

(US, politics, historical) Initialism of Progressive Citizens of America.


don't ask, don't tell

(US) A policy of the U.S. military from 1993 to 2011, which barred openly gay, lesbian, or bisexual people from serving in the military, while also barring discrimination against closeted gays, lesbians, and bisexuals.


writ of assistance

writ of assistance (plural writs of assistance)

(historical, US) a court order that authorized customs officers to conduct general searches of premises for contraband; a form of search warrant


work someone's butt off

en-verb

work someone's butt off (third-person singular simple present works someone's butt off, present participle working someone's butt off, simple past and past participle worked someone's butt off)

works someone's butt off (present singular third-person)
working someone's butt off (participle present)
worked someone's butt off (participle past)
worked someone's butt off (past)

Her son, Dominic, had been ranked third at the end of his junior year, but had “worked his butt off this year,” she said.

2021 June 11, Stephanie Saul, quoting Melissa Borgioli, “Two Black Students Won School Honors. Then Came the Calls for a Recount.”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

work someone's ass off
work someone's ass off#English

(Canada, US, vulgar, slang) Synonym of work someone's ass off.


noncredentialed

(US) Alternative spelling of noncredentialled


hooyah

(US, military) Official battle yell of the US Navy.


cancelable

(US) Alternative spelling of cancellable


price point

price points (plural)
pricepoint (alternative)

Our cracker shelves need some things at the 5.99 price point, both an upscale product and a very large size mid-range brand.

The big-box stores are selling our $120 price-point items at $99 or less.

(marketing, chiefly US) A price, viewed as one of a number of prices for related retail goods.


price point

price point (third-person singular simple present price points, present participle price pointing, simple past and past participle price pointed)

price points (present singular third-person)
price pointing (participle present)
price pointed (participle past)
price pointed (past)
pricepoint (alternative)

(marketing, chiefly US) To set price points on goods; to engage in price-lining.


got it going on

"You got it going on, girlfriend. Don't she, Joey?" "It's working for you, sweetheart," Joseph said, and took a sip of his coffee.

2006, Terry McMillan, Waiting to Exhale, page 144:

One is the sort of girl who's really got it together and who has a sort of boyish look and who's really got it going on.

2006 May 9, Karen O., “Big Gay Following”, in The Advocate, volume 962, page 32:

But then monikers aren't all that important when you've got it going on like this MC. Even drowning in layers of winter clothes and speaking in a barely-there voice, Murray is clearly the beautifulest, his edgy grace plain for all to see.

1995 March, Danyel Smith, “Keith Murray: the most beautifullest”, in Vibe, volume 3, number 2, page 47:

(idiomatic, colloquial, chiefly US) Be attractive, outgoing (typically of women).

People always told me that owning property was a big turn-on for many women – a sign that a bloke has got it going on financially.

2005, Sean Dooley, Big Twitch: One Man, One Continent, a Race Against Time - A True Story about Birdwatching, page 62:

In other words, Detroit has got it going on big time these days. With not one, but two new sports stadiums...

1998 April, Scott Sterling, “localzine: Detroit, Michigan”, in CMJ New Music Monthly, number 56, page 77:

Ooooooooh Ebony! You got it going on! I could have screamed when I saw David Justice and Halle Berry on the cover of the April issue.

1993 June, Felicia Scrubb, “Letters to the Editor: Hale Berry”, in Ebony, volume 48, number 8, page 10:

(idiomatic, colloquial, chiefly US) Appreciatively, of someone or something for being active and successful in a pursuit, to have the ability to be active and successful in a pursuit.


luck in

luck in (third-person singular simple present lucks in, present participle lucking in, simple past and past participle lucked in)

lucks in (present singular third-person)
lucking in (participle present)
lucked in (participle past)
lucked in (past)

I hope I luck in and win the draw.

(informal, US, Canada, Australia) To experience good luck; to be fortunate or lucky.


dad burn

1918, Stars and Stripes (taken from the Pittsburgh Post),
By, by gum, we'll lick the kaiser when the sergeants teach us how, for, dad burn it, he's the reason that we're in the army now!


ass-kisser

ass-kissers (plural)
ass kisser (alternative)

(Canada, US, slang, vulgar) Someone who kisses ass (who acts obsequiously in order to gain another's favor).


screw-off

You know, when a guy is a screw-off you got to discipline him.

1997, Robert W. Snyder, Transit talk: New York's bus and subway workers tell their stories, page 137:

I've always considered that a polite way of telling a parent that her child is a screw-off, a goofball of major talent.

1988, Ann Edwards Cannon, Cal Cameron by day, Spider-man by night, page 98:

(Canada, US, slang) Someone who often fails to do his or her work; someone known to goof off.


sportsbook

Coordinate term: handbook

There’s a common marketing slogan in sports betting: “Sweat the game, not the payout.” In other words, when dealing with legitimate sportsbooks and not some shady neighborhood bookie, gamblers shouldn’t have to worry about getting stiffed. Yet bettors say gaming operators aren’t always living up to that promise, and some industry officials agree. Bookmakers sometimes use a clause in their fine print as an “insurance plan,” as one top regulator put it, to get out of paying big winners — and multiple industry observers say the practice is increasing.

2024 January 17, Danny Funt, “He hit three monster bets — and then the sportsbook wouldn't pay. One bettor's big payout was delayed for months because of a practice sportsbooks increasingly use as an insurance policy, according to industry observers”, in Washington Post, retrieved 2024-01-17:

(US) A place where a gambler can bet on various sports competitions; the company that runs it; the website that is its online presence. (Most such companies offer online betting, subject to geofencing by state.)