flattop

flattops (plural)
flat top (alternative)
flat-top (alternative)

From flat + top. Sense of “aircraft carrier” attributed to the message, “Scratch one flattop,” radioed during the Battle of the Coral Sea by LCDR Robert E. Dixon to the USS Lexington, whose commanding officer credited the pilot with coining the standard USN slang.

Well school's not so bad but the summer's better
Gives me more time to see my girl
Walk through the park beneath the shiny moon
Oh when we kiss she makes my flat top curl

1959 Jerry Keller, "Here Comes Summer" (lyrics)

(US) A short haircut in which the hair is brushed straight up then cut flat across the top.

(US, navy, informal) An aircraft carrier.


congressperson

en-noun

congressperson (plural congresspersons or congresspeople)

congresspersons (plural)
congresspeople (plural)

(US) A member of the House of Representatives.


turtleneck

turtlenecks (plural)
turtle neck (alternative)
turtle-neck (alternative)

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

(Canada, US) A high, close-fitting collar, turned back on itself and covering all or most of the neck, on a sweater or similar garment.

I've got billions and billions of rhymes to flex / 'Cause I've got more rhymes than Carl Sagan's got turtlenecks

2004, “Hey Fuck You”, in To the 5 Boroughs, performed by Beastie Boys:

Still, Jobs became friends with fashion designer Issey Miyake, who had designed some Sony uniforms, and asked him to make some black turtlenecks that he liked.

2012, Karen Blumenthal, Steve Jobs: The Man Who Thought Different, A&C Black, →ISBN, page 183:

turtleneck sweater
turtleneck sweater#English

(Canada, US) Ellipsis of turtleneck sweater.


Bremelo

Bremelos (plural)
Bremerlo (alternative)

Blend of Bremerton + buffalo. The word has been in use since the 1960s in Kitsap County.

(slang, US, derogatory, military) A young overweight woman in the area around Puget Sound Naval Station Bremerton, Washington, a major naval base, particularly one who seeks to partner with Navy personnel.


conservancy

conservancy (countable and uncountable, plural conservancies)

From conservant + -cy or conserve + -ancy.

1986 April 16, “Midland Insurance was placed in conservancy.”, in Los Angeles Times:

(US, law) A state in which a company is allowed to continue trading without incurring any new financial liabilities or disposing of any assets.


go to the mat

en-verb

go to the mat (third-person singular simple present goes to the mat, present participle going to the mat, simple past went to the mat, past participle gone to the mat)

goes to the mat (present singular third-person)
going to the mat (participle present)
went to the mat (past)
gone to the mat (participle past)
go to the mats (alternative)

He was ready to go to the mat to keep the old color scheme.

(chiefly US, idiomatic) To continue to struggle or fight until either victorious or defeated.


congresscritter

There are a number of Congresscritters who'd like nothing better than to convert the Shuttle into benefits for their own districts.

1979, Jerry Pournelle, A Step Farther Out, Ace, page 43:

Shaw whistled respectfully at that. "All that for one senator and one congresscritter?"

Lobbyist Alice can transfer digital cash to Congresscritter Bob so that newspaper reporter Eve does not know Alice's identity.

1996, Bruce Schneier, Applied Cryptography, John Wiley & Sons, page 139:

You don't have to be a Fortune 500 firm's chief economist (heck, you don't even need to know any more economics than a Congresscritter, ie, virtually none), to see that these spreads had to change [...]

2003, S.A. Johnston, Trading Options to Win, John Wiley & Sons, page 254:

(US, slang, derogatory, somewhat humorous) A congressperson.


dodger

en-noun

dodger (countable and uncountable, plural dodgers)

(uncountable, Australia, US, slang, dated) Bread.


toll-free

From toll + -free. Compare Saterland Frisian tolfräi (“toll-free”), West Frisian tolfrij (“toll-free”), Dutch tolvrij (“toll-free”), German zollfrei (“toll-free”), Swedish tullfri (“toll-free”), Norwegian tollfri (“toll-free”).

(US, of a phone call) Without an additional toll, especially for a long-distance charge.


skeleton in the closet

skeleton in the closet (plural skeletons in the closet)

"Humph!" she vouchsafed. Then, showing her old-time interest, she went on: "But, say, it is queer, his speakin' to you, honestly, Miss Pollyanna. He don't speak ter no one; and he lives all alone in a great big lovely house all full of jest grand things, they say. Some says he's crazy, and some jest cross; and some says he's got a skeleton in his closet."

1913, Eleanor H. Porter, chapter 9, in Pollyanna, L.C. Page, →OCLC:


copayment

(US) A fixed fee paid by subscribers to a medical insurance scheme for each treatment or service in addition to a membership fee.


cornball

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

(US, informal) An unsophisticated person.

That movie was a real cornball.

[Paul] Rudd, especially, finds the perfect balance between synthetic cornball charm and actual emotional engagement. Like the movie itself, he’s best when playing the rom-com clichés straight.

2014 June 26, A. A. Dowd, “Paul Rudd and Amy Poehler Spoof Rom-com Clichés in They Came Together”, in The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 2017-12-07:

(US, informal) Something or someone excessively corny.

Who's this cornball, man?

(US, African-American Vernacular, informal) A corny person; an uncool, stupid, or lame person.


redistrict

en-verb

redistrict (third-person singular simple present redistricts, present participle redistricting, simple past and past participle redistricted)

redistricts (present singular third-person)
redistricting (participle present)
redistricted (participle past)
redistricted (past)

(US, politics) To redraw the borders of the districts represented by legislators or other elected officeholders in accord with changes in population as shown in the decennial census.


correctional

en-adj

correctional (comparative more correctional, superlative most correctional)

more correctional (comparative)
most correctional (superlative)

correctional officer, correctional policy, correctional services.

(chiefly US, Canada) Of or pertaining to the imprisonment or rehabilitation of convicted criminals.


counterman

I looked for the counterman, seeing him serving a plate of pork chops and grits to a man with a pale blond moustache.

1952, Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man, Penguin Books (2014), page 179:

(US) A man who serves behind a counter, especially in a diner.


coveralls

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


warrant of attorney

en-noun

warrant of attorney (plural warrants of attorney)

(US, law) A document in which someone admits liability for a debt and allows an attorney to admit this in court so that no action will be taken.


flag officer

(US military, informal) In addition to naval officers of Navy and the Coast Guard, a general officer in the Army, Marines, or Air Force with the rank of brigadier general or higher.


criticizer

criticizers (plural)
criticiser (alternative)

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

(US) A person who criticizes; a carper or faultfinder.


tip wage credit

tip wage credit (countable and uncountable, plural tip wage credits)

(US labour law, singular only, the tip wage credit) A law that allows an employer to count tips received by an employee toward the latter's minimum wage.

US labour law; the tip wage credit; US labour law; the tip wage credit


sleeper berth

(US) A small compartment on a long-distance truck in which the driver can sleep when taking a break.


subprime

Central to the story was Steve Eisman, an eccentric and rebarbative hedge-funder who was one of the earliest to see through the subprime lies.

2014 April 5, Alex Preston, “Flash Boys: Cracking the Money Code by Michael Lewis, review: Michael Lewis tells the compelling true story of one man’s mission to tame Wall Street [print version: Capital ventures]”, in The Daily Telegraph, London, archived from the original on 2014-04-08, page R26:

(US, banking, now worldwide) Designating a loan (typically at a greater than usual rate of interest) offered to a borrower who is not qualified for other loans (for example, because of a poor credit history).

(US, banking, dated) Designating a type of commercial lending rate, less than the prime rate, offered to desirable borrowers.


bullhorn

bullhorns (plural)
bull horn (alternative)
bull-horn (alternative)

From bull + horn, attested since the 1950s.

Iʼll press the trigger, and with a loud squeal of ear-piercing feedback, the bullhorn buzzes to staticky life.

2015, Paul Beatty, The Sellout, Oneworld Publications (2016), page 59:

[Mark Zuckerberg] didn’t found Facebook to manipulate elections; Jack Dorsey and the other Twitter founders didn’t intend to give Donald Trump a digital bullhorn.

2018 July 1, Katrina Brooker, ““I Was Devastated”: The Man Who Created the World Wide Web Has Some Regrets”, in Vanity Fair:

CNews, the news network created by the billionaire Vincent Bolloré, topped the ratings in May by giving a new bullhorn for right-wing views on crime, immigration, climate and Covid.

2021 September 14, Norimitsu Onishi, “A Fox-Style News Network Rides a Wave of Discontent in France”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

(chiefly US) A megaphone which electronically amplifies a person’s natural voice.


foxfire

fox fire (alternative)
fox-fire (alternative)

Possibly from fox + fire, though the semantic connection is unclear. Alternatively, the first element may be ultimately from Old French fols (“false”), or the term may derive by folk etymology from phosphor.

The foxfire,—as the country people call it,—glowed hideously from the cold and matted bosom of the marsh; and, far from us, in the depths of darkness, the screech-owl sat upon his perch, brooding over the slimy pool, and whooping out a dismal curfew, that fell upon the ear like the cries of a tortured ghost.

1832, Mark Littleton [pseudonym; John Pendleton Kennedy], “The Goblin Swamp”, in Swallow Barn, or A Sojourn in the Old Dominion. In Two Volumes, volume I, Philadelphia, Pa.: Carey & Lea, […], →OCLC, page 311:

Perhaps you've seen a foxfire in the woods. Well, in the dark, it looks like a live, burning coal; but when you go to it, and take it up, it's only a piece of rotten wood.

1874 June, Philip Quilibet, “Drift-wood. A Famous Evangelist.”, in The Galaxy. […], volume XVII, number 6, New York, N.Y.: Sheldon & Co., →OCLC, page 842, column 2:

[Nathaniel] Hawthorne in one of his books records a remarkable personal encounter with this weird fox-fire, and one which cost him dearly. He was on a journey by canal-boat, which had stopped en route for a brief period at midnight. During the interval he had stepped ashore, and was decoyed into a neighboring wood by the bright glow, which proved to be a fallen tree ablaze with phosphorescence. In his surprise and interest he lost all account of time, and thus missed his boat, [...] Almost any damp woods, especially after a rain, is likely to disclose its fox-fire, but it occasionally appears under circumstances where we little expect it.

1894 January 9, William Hamilton Gibson, “Foxfire”, in Harper’s Young People, volume XV, number 741, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […], →OCLC, page 189, column 1:

People calls this "spunk," but it's foxfire. You see this hole in it? You see where I sawed it in two with the chain saw? See, this grows in hollow trees in a maple or a oak. No, it ain't mushroom; it's just really foxfire.

1911, Patsy Moore Ginns, quoting Stanley Hicks, “Ghosts, Haints, and Witches”, in Snowbird Gravy and Dishpan Pie: Mountain People Recall, Chapel Hill, N.C.: University of North Carolina Press, published 1982, →ISBN, page 185:

The rain stopped falling. They passed, leaving a trail of foxfire shuffled up out of the wet leaves like stars plowed in a ship's wake.

1965, Cormac McCarthy, The Orchard Keeper, New York, N.Y.: Random House, →OCLC; republished London: Picador, 2010, →ISBN, page 201:

Curiously enough, there were fluorescent displays underground that could be enjoyed without benefit of an ultraviolet lamp. One of these was fox fire, the spectral glow given off by fungi on decaying timber. In the damp darkness of the mine, pine planks 3 inches thick could become feather light and crumbly in a year.

1983, Manuel Robbins, “Collecting Fluorescent Minerals”, in The Collector’s Book of Fluorescent Minerals, New York, N.Y., London: Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, →DOI, →ISBN, page 50:

(mycology, chiefly US) Bioluminescence created by some types of fungus, particularly those growing on rotting wood.

فوكسفيري

bioluminescence created by some types of fungus


pantleg

pantlegs (plural)
pant leg (alternative)
pant-leg (alternative)

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

Joan recognized her as the girl whose son had sissied on her pants. She was still dabbing at her pantleg with a damp paper towel.

1979, Rhea Kohan, Save Me a Seat, →ISBN, page 25:

(Canada, US) One leg of a pair of pants, a trouser leg (UK English).


have a pair

en-verb

have a pair (third-person singular simple present has a pair, present participle having a pair, simple past and past participle had a pair)

has a pair (present singular third-person)
having a pair (participle present)
had a pair (participle past)
had a pair (past)

Abbreviation of "have a pair of testicles," the masculine glands supporting generation and sexual potency.

Sound off like you got a pair! (drill sergeant in Full Metal Jacket)

(chiefly US, colloquial, idiomatic, somewhat vulgar) To be manly, brave.


tickler

The moment she bought any item of stocks, any commercial paper or other securities in the course of her Wall-street operations, she at once wrote it down in the tickler.

1862, The Parish Will Case, in the Court of Appeals:

(US, business) A tickler file, file cabinet, or similar containing memoranda of deadlines arranged in date order.


micropolitan

Blend of micro- (prefix meaning ‘very small’) + metropolitan.

blend

The government has created a new label for these communities, which increasingly fill the gaps on the map between major cities. The new term – Micropolitan Statistical Areas – recognizes that even small places far from metro areas are economic hubs that draw workers and shoppers from miles around. […] The largest micropolitan areas have more people than many metro areas. The Torrington, Conn., micropolitan area is the largest, with a population of 183,000 – bigger than the population of 103 metropolitan areas. Torrington is a micro, not a metro, because the central city has fewer than 50,000 people, the threshold for a city anchoring a metro area. Cities at the centers of micropolitan areas have at least 10,000 people but no more than 49,999.

2004 June 27, Haya El Nasser, “Small-town USA goes ‘micropolitan’”, in USA Today, McLean, Va.: Gannett Co., →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-04-06:

(US) Of or pertaining to a city or twin cities having at least 10,000 but fewer than 50,000 inhabitants; of a city: less populated than a metropolitan area but more than a rural one.

micropolitano

of or pertaining to a city or twin cities having at least 10,000 but fewer than 50,000 inhabitants


micropolitan

For marketing experts who help companies decide where to expand, the "micropolitans" represent potentially lucrative – and untapped – markets. More than 28 million people, or one in 10 Americans, live in such areas.

(US) A city or twin cities having at least 10,000 but fewer than 50,000 inhabitants; a city which is less populated than a metropolitan area but more than a rural one.

小城市 (xiǎochéngshì, literally “small city”)

小都市 (xiǎodūshì, literally “small metropolis”)


threepeat

en-verb

threepeat (third-person singular simple present threepeats, present participle threepeating, simple past and past participle threepeated)

threepeats (present singular third-person)
threepeating (participle present)
threepeated (participle past)
threepeated (past)
three-peat (alternative)

(US, slang) To win something three times consecutively.


threepeat

threepeats (plural)
three-peat (alternative)


fourpeat

fourpeat (third-person singular simple present fourpeats, present participle fourpeating, simple past and past participle fourpeated)

fourpeats (present singular third-person)
fourpeating (participle present)
fourpeated (participle past)
fourpeated (past)
four-peat (alternative)

Blend of four + repeat. Compare threepeat (to rhyme with repeat).

(US, slang) To win something four times consecutively.


fourpeat

fourpeats (plural)
four-peat (alternative)


four-peat

four-peat (third-person singular simple present four-peats, present participle four-peating, simple past and past participle four-peated)

four-peats (present singular third-person)
four-peating (participle present)
four-peated (participle past)
four-peated (past)
fourpeat (alternative)


four-peat

four-peats (plural)
fourpeat (alternative)


xing

xings (plural)
x-ing (alternative)
Xing (alternative)
X-ing (alternative)

From crossing, using X as abbreviation for cross.

Railroad xing 200 feet ahead.


CSIS

w:en:Center for Strategic and International Studies

(US) Acronym of Center for Strategic and International Studies.


querida

She's my querida.

(US, in Latin-American contexts) darling


heartland

Halford John Mackinder
The Geographical Pivot of History

From heart (“(figuratively) centre, core, essence”) + land.

ocaq

The interior part of a region, especially when contrasted with coastal parts or when regarded as particularly powerful or significant.

(specifically, US, often attributively) The states in the centre of the United States, chiefly regarded as politically and socially conservative; also, the people living in such states collectively.

Yhdysvaltain sydänmaat

states in the centre of the United States, chiefly regarded as politically and socially conservative; people living in such states collectively


straw boss

(US) A worker acting as a supervisor of other workers.


uncheck

en-verb

uncheck (third-person singular simple present unchecks, present participle unchecking, simple past and past participle unchecked)

unchecks (present singular third-person)
unchecking (participle present)
unchecked (participle past)
unchecked (past)

Uncheck the “save my password” box.

If you uncheck either of these check boxes, [Microsoft] Expression Web 2 will create all new Web pages with uppercase tag names and/or attributes. Current Web standards require that HTML tag names and attributes be lowercase. Therefore, pages created with either of these boxes unchecked will not be compatible with existing standards.

2008 March, Jim Cheshire, “Using Web Page Views”, in Using Microsoft Expression Web 2, special edition, Indianapolis, Ind.: Que Publishing, Pearson Education, →ISBN, page 138:

graphical user interface
graphical user interface

(graphical user interface, US, Canada) To remove a checkmark.


jackoff

(slang, vulgar, derogatory) A jerkoff (mean, nasty, or obnoxious person), a jerk, an asshole.


mechanical pencil

en-noun

mechanical pencil (plural mechanical pencils)

Coordinate term: mechanical eraser

(Canada, US) A pencil with a replaceable and mechanically extendable lead that wears away with use, designed to provide lines of constant thickness without requiring sharpening, and typically featuring a small eraser at the end opposite the tip.


appellate jurisdiction

(US, law) The power of a court to review and potentially modify the decisions made by another court or tribunal.


Air Force

United States Air Force
w:United States Air Force

(US, military, politics) Ellipsis of United States Air Force.

Air Force Falcons
w:en:Air Force Falcons

United States Air Force Academy
w:en:United States Air Force Academy

(US, sports) Ellipsis of Air Force Falcons. sports teams representing the United States Air Force Academy


newsman

(US) A reporter; a person in the profession of providing news.


LH

LH (countable and uncountable, plural LHs)

(US, army, aviation) Initialism of light helicopter.


detention home

(US) An institution in which juvenile offenders are temporarily housed.


900 number

In the original North American Numbering Plan, phone numbers beginning with an area code of "800" were reserved for so called toll-free numbers, where the party receiving the call pays the charges. The telephone companies later developed a corresponding set of numbers beginning with the area code "900" which would permit the owner of the number to receive additional fees from the caller.

(Canada, US) A telephone number for which an extra charge is assessed, part of which is returned to the owner of the number.


railroad station

railroad station (plural railroad stations)

(US) A place where trains stop for passengers to embark and disembark.


train station

I got into the cab and told the cabman to drive up to the Dover train station.

1856 November 14, “The Great Gold Robbery. Extraordinary Disclosures.”, in The Daily News, number 3,275, London, page 5, column 3:

(chiefly US, Philippines) A place where trains stop for passengers to embark and disembark.


ratepayers group

ratepayers group (plural ratepayers groups)

(US, Canada) A collection of residents representing a geographic or otherwise connected residential or business area who together ensure that their communities development interests are known, represented and supported.


material support

(US, law) (in the context of support for terrorism) Any property, or service, including currency or monetary instruments or financial securities, financial services, lodging, training, expert advice or assistance, safe houses, false documentation or identification, communications equipment, facilities, weapons, lethal substances, explosives, personnel, and transportation, except medicine or religious materials


desoxycorticosterone

(biochemistry, steroids) US form of deoxycorticosterone.


blue bonnet

blue bonnets (plural)
bluebonnet (alternative)
blue-bonnet (alternative)

(especially US) Any of several North American species of Lupinus common in the southwestern US, especially Lupinus texensis and Lupinus subcarnosus.


motorhead

The sportos, the motorheads, geeks, sluts, bloods, wastoids, dweebies, dickheads - they all adore him. They think he's a righteous dude.

1986, John Hughes, Ferris Bueller's Day Off (Motion Picture), spoken by Grace Wheelberg (Edie McClurg):

Amelia may soon return to her roots in TV production as she completes an exciting pilot about car culture, a nice integration of vocation and avocation for this particular motorhead.

2023 December 13, “SoCal Car Guru Motorhead Mama Shares Sage Advice for Potential EV Buyers”, in Golden State:

(US, Canada, slang) A car, truck, or motorcycle enthusiast.


boilermaker

/ˈbɔɪləɹmeɪkɚ/

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

the beauteous Asian was […] knocking back boilermakers and their helpers at an astonishing pace.

2006, Thomas Pynchon, Against the Day, Vintage, published 2007, page 597:


blowtorch

blowtorches (plural)
blow torch (alternative)

/ˈbləʊˌtɔːtʃ/

When the firecan jockeys have flown their blowtorches some 100,000 miles, the doctors take over for the ground physical.

1949, Popular Science, volume 155, number 6, page 120:


blacksnake

blacksnakes (plural)
black-snake (alternative)

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


blockbusting

Sonny W. Walker, another of the three black salesmen employed along with three whites by Concord Realty, 3524 Church Avenue, picked up the thread of Mr. Harris's bitter disclaimer that it took deliberate blockbusting—sometimes called panic redlining—to make whites move out of East Flatbush.

1969 December 9, Linda Charlton, “'Blockbusting': Dilemma in East Flatbush Area”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

(US) A technique used to encourage people to sell their property by giving the impression that a neighborhood is changing for the worse, especially by implying a change in its racial makeup.


cash out

en-verb

cash out (third-person singular simple present cashes out, present participle cashing out, simple past and past participle cashed out)

cashes out (present singular third-person)
cashing out (participle present)
cashed out (participle past)
cashed out (past)

(US) To reconcile at the end of a shift; to compare receipts of items sold to records of credit card, check and cash placed into the drawer, verifying that correct change was given out by the clerk.

(US, gambling) To retire; to exchange gambling chips for money when finished gambling.


hog-baying

(US) a sport in which one or more bay dogs are put into a pen and attempt to contain a wild hog for a defined amount of time.


boffo

en-adj

boffo (comparative more boffo, superlative most boffo)

more boffo (comparative)
most boffo (superlative)

Entertainment industry slang; possibly from box office or buffo.

“Come on, Lana. Give me and the bird a chance. We're boffo.”

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

And if the Hollywood stuff didn’t grab you, you could glom onto “RRR,” S.S. Rajamouli’s phenomenally successful Raj-era Indian action epic that, for sheer boffo exuberance, outdid anything the studios churned out this year.

2022 December 22, Peter Rainer, “Beyond the blockbusters: The 10 best films of 2022”, in The Christian Science Monitor:

With a track list stacked with hits such as “Stronger,” “Toxic” and “Circus,” the show has the potential for boffo success, but it also faces unique challenges.

2023 June 21, Julia Jacobs, “A Britney Spears Jukebox Musical Hopes for #SeeBritney Energy”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

(chiefly US, slang) Outstanding; very good or successful.


bossism

en-noun

bossism (usually uncountable, plural bossisms)

(US, politics) The domination of a political party by a single, powerful person (the boss)


broncobuster

broncobusters (plural)
bronco buster (alternative)
bronco-buster (alternative)

(chiefly US) A person who breaks horses so that they can be ridden with a saddle.


brownbagger

brownbaggers (plural)
brown-bagger (alternative)

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

(US, colloquial) A person who brings their own lunch to work.

(US, colloquial, derogatory) Synonym of butterface.


busgirl

(US) A female busser; one who clears plates from and cleans tables; one who buses.


bush-league

en-adj

bush-league (comparative more bush-league, superlative most bush-league)

more bush-league (comparative)
most bush-league (superlative)
bush league (alternative)


queep

Why in the hell isn’t there someone else to do all this queep?!

It isn't how well you fly, it's who you know and how well you perform your queep ground job.

1997 July 28, Kurt Bjorn, “Re: USAF Low Morale Confirmed!!!”, in alt.aviation.safety,rec.aviation.military,alt.disasters.aviation (Usenet), message-ID <01bc9b7f$570616e0$0100000a@pyroware.flash.net>:

Still, the above is a true reflection of statistical promotion rates in the context of our current queep-biased system.

2001 September 6, Zaprass, “Re: Tiny U.S. planes spy as GIs avoid danger”, in rec.aviation.military (Usenet), message-ID <3B9765DD.MD-1.4.4.Zaprass@nospam.com>:

What fighter pilots do is fly, and that they love, they have little love or tolerance for queep, a term for all paperwork and related jobs that keep a pilot out of the cockpit.

2007, Jonathan Dowty, Christian Fighter Pilot Is Not an Oxymoron, page 20:

Besides, if you're not flying, your whole world is going to consist of nothing but office queep.

2010, David Goldstein, Sharing Orion, AuthorHouse, page 87:

The stigma that surrounds a safety office and its staff is often that of naysayers or un-cool nerds. We’re the crushers of fun or sultans of queep in many squadrons, but there's no place for that kind of culture in the safety world.

2012 January 1, anonymous author, “Safety Culture”, in Wingman, page 32:

(military, slang, US) Non-flying duties, typically paperwork, that are undesirable to pilots.


sook

sooks (plural)
suck (alternative)
suke (alternative)

Probably from suck. Compare sukey (attested 1838), Sucky (1844), Suke (1850); sook from 1906.


sook

Unknown origin. From Chesapeake Bay, attested as early as 1948.

The life cycle of the crab in the bay causes a preponderance of adult males (jimmy crabs) to occur in the waters of the upper bay while conversely a concentration of adult females (sook crabs) occurs in the more saline waters near the mouth of the bay (table 2).

1948, John Cleary Pearson, Fluctuations in the Abundance of the Blue Crab in Chesapeake Bay, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, page 4:

(US, eastern shore of Maryland) A mature female Chesapeake Bay blue crab (Callinectes sapidus).


in service

About 20,600 Vélib’ bicycles are in service here, with more than 1,450 self-service rental stations.

2008 July 13, Steven Erlanger, “A New Fashion Catches on in Paris: Cheap Bicycle Rentals”, in New York Times:

(chiefly US and Canada) Available for use; operational.


employe

the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes

In his endeavor to justify a radical action, the employe often carries his grievance so far that an element of the ridiculous enters into his arguments [...].

1859, Transactions of the Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies, the Chicago Homeopathic Medical Society, page 156:

For that clerk, in the eyes of the people who come to you for service, is not merely an employe.

1920, Conference proceedings of the National Electric Light Association Convention, National Independent Meat Packers Association, the University of Georgia College of Agriculture, page 103:

Bring the same relationship we used to enjoy in the firm of 50 years ago when the employe used to kick the boss's door open and say: 'Joe, I just discovered [...]'.

1922, Lila Bell Acheson Wallace, De Witt Wallace, The Readers Digest, The Readers Digest Association, page 86:

As soon as a qualified substitute can be obtained, he should, upon the request of an employe, recommend him for release from his contract.


Jew down

en-verb

Jew down (third-person singular simple present Jews down, present participle Jewing down, simple past and past participle Jewed down)

Jews down (present singular third-person)
Jewing down (participle present)
Jewed down (participle past)
Jewed down (past)

" […] who should come along this mornin' but one of those same holy people, and Jewed me down on pay that the Lord knows is hard enough to live on."

1877, John Habberton, Some folks, K. Grädener, page 104

Incidentally they ask a price much higher than it is worth; they expect to be Jewed down.

1906, Thomas Beyer, The American Battleship in Commission as Seen by an Enlisted Man: Also Many Man-o'-war Yarns, Army and Navy Register, page 202

" […] I don't want to get Jewed down, you know. I'm sure you'll take care of me?"

2005, Michael Boloker, A Journey West, iUniverse, page 204

(US, offensive) Alternative spelling of jew down


geography fair

Spelling bees, science fairs, and geography fairs can also be organized through a support group.

1998, Christine M Field, A field guide to home schooling:

(US) an education activity in which students create geography-related projects and present to the class using displays, posters, written and oral reports, and other methods.


buck for

buck for (third-person singular simple present bucks for, present participle bucking for, simple past and past participle bucked for)

bucks for (present singular third-person)
bucking for (participle present)
bucked for (participle past)
bucked for (past)

(idiomatic, US, colloquial) To strive for persistently; to try hard to obtain (a promotion, raise, etc.).


lookit

Nonstandard reanalysis of look at (that).

Ah lookit deputy, with all due respect to you, if you come in here and act like an ass that's exactly the label that you'll gain

2010 May 20, Miriam Lord, quoting Dick Roche, “As asses roar it's business as usual in the chamber”, in The Irish Times:

Lookit! I'm old enough now, I'll wear what I want!

2010 September 14, Rosemary MacCabe, “MTV VMAs mark two: the young guns”, in The Irish Times, archived from the original on 2015-06-13:

Paddy said yesterday morning: "Lookit he didn't murder anybody. He is not a bad lad."

2014 March 24, Paul Williams, Fionnan Sheahan, Sam Griffin, “Mum tells gardai how drunk TD sent lewd message to schoolgirl”, in Irish Independent:

(colloquial, informal, Canada, US, Ireland) look, listen; see here, pay attention; the thing is, to be honest

He went right on cackling, "Lookit lookit lookit. Oh Jesus, lookit. Lookit lookit." The blast had shattered all the windows, and flames were shooting out of all of them.

2010, Anel Viz, Fairies in the Bottom of the Garden, page 18:

(colloquial, informal, Canada, US) behold!; look at that; look here or there; look!


life preserver

life preservers (plural)
life-preserver (alternative)
lifepreserver (alternative)

(US) A buoyant ring or vest intended to keep a person afloat.


prideful

en-adj

prideful (comparative more prideful, superlative most prideful)

more prideful (comparative)
most prideful (superlative)

‘The man is ill-tempered, envious, and above all prideful.’

2000, George R.R. Martin, A Storm of Swords, Bantam, published 2011, page 475:

(chiefly Scotland, Canada, US) Full of pride; haughty, arrogant.


shrank

From Pennsylvania German; cognate to German Schrank.

(US, Pennsylvania Dutch English) A large highly decorative German/Dutch-style piece of furniture, which combines aspects of a clothing wardrobe, curio, and cabinet.


momism

en-noun

momism (countable and uncountable, plural momisms)

(Canada, US, informal) Excessive attachment to one’s mother.

(Canada, US, informal) An utterance, piece of advice, etc. from one's mother.


letterman

The children seem to catch their enthusiasm from the energetic instructors, ten of them former lettermen at Kansas universities.

1967, United States Office of Education, Stepping Up with PACE, page 12:

Cousins told the students of their responsibility emphasizing that the sweaters were given them in recognition by the school that they were the “best in the field.” Coach Smith distributed the dark blue slip over sweaters with a gold block T on the front to the lettermen.

2000, Cecilia Aros Hunter, Leslie Gene Hunter, Texas A&M University Kingsville, Arcadia Publishing, →ISBN, page 62:

(US) A student who has attained a specified level of participation in a sporting or other activity, and is awarded a cloth “letter” to be affixed to an item of clothing.


Selma

Taken to use in the 19th century when similar-sounding names, Elma, Thelma, Alma, Wilma, etc. were in vogue. Perhaps a shortening of Anselma, or from the name of a place in the James Macpherson's Ossian cycle of epic poems, itself from Scottish Gaelic sealladh + math (“good vision”). In some cases perhaps borrowed from Turkish Selma, from Arabic سَلْمَى (salmā).

Eventually, our place and response may be viewed as a historic turning point, another Selma for the nation and world.

2020, Dane Smith, Star Tribune (Minneapolis), "Toward a better patriotism", 3 July 2020

Shelby County has become the new Selma.

2015, Minnie Bruce Pratt, Workers World, "Black and Brown unity in Alabama", 24 June 2015

"I don't know how many Selmas you have in your memory," she said. "I have a lot in mine."

1986, Daily Sitka Sentinel, Sitka Weekend, p.11, Friday 17 January 1986

How Many Selmas? Still another city in the south Is learning the hard way that the Negro will settle for nothing less than first class citizenship.

1965, The Fresno Bee, p.60, Wednesday 21 July 1965:

(US, politics, figuratively) A confrontation where authorities brutally repress those wanting civil rights, similar to Bloody Sunday in Selma, Alabama.


mathlete

Blend of mathematics + athlete. The term is a registered trademark of the MathCounts organization. The term entered pop culture from the movies American Pie (1999) and Mean Girls (2004), as well as being featured in the short-lived cult TV series Freaks and Geeks.
Mathletes was the name of a US national organization in the 1970s that sponsored high school mathematics competitions ("Mathletes") and junior high school competitions ("Junior Mathletes") between school teams known as "Math Teams". A team's news and results could be covered either under Sports (because it was a team competition) or Activities.

Yo Yo Yo! All you sucka MCs ain't got nothin' on me! From my grades, to my lines you can't touch Kevin G! I'm a mathlete, so nerd is inferred, but forget what you heard […]

2004, Tina Fey, Mean Girls, spoken by Kevin G (Rajiv Surendra):

(US) A member of the math team of a primary school or secondary school.


agritainment

Blend of agriculture + entertainment. By surface analysis, agri- + [enter]tainment.

surf

(US) The promotion of farms as places to visit for entertainment (e.g. tractor rides, corn mazes).


physical therapy

en-noun

physical therapy (countable and uncountable, plural physical therapies)

(uncountable) The medical discipline dealing with such.


Girl Scout

Girl Scouts (plural)
girl scout (alternative)
girlscout (alternative)

(US) A member of the Girl Scouts, a worldwide youth organisation for girls, known as Girl Guides in Commonwealth countries.


straight out of the chute

en-adv

straight out of the chute (not comparable)

Taken from rodeo routines: the bucking bronco, or bull, or the calf for the calf-roping contest is kept in a narrow pen, a chute, before being released.

His ride on Bold Lancer started out just like he thought it would. The bull bucked straight out of the chute and slowly came around to the left. Clay remained in position, forward on his bull rope, spurs raking the bull’s side. It looked as if it was going to be an easy ride, albeit a low-scoring one. Bold Lancer had other ideas.

(US, idiomatic) immediately, from the very outset.


lymphoblastic

(US, cytology, immunology) Of or pertaining to a lymphoblast.


lymphoblast

lymphoblastic leukemia
lymphoblastic leukemia

(US, cytology, oncology) An immature lymphocyte; they proliferate uncontrollably in lymphoblastic leukemia


lymphoblastic leukemia

en-noun

lymphoblastic leukemia (countable and uncountable, plural lymphoblastic leukemias)

lymphoblastic leukemias (plural)
lymphoblastic leukaemia (alternative)

(US, oncology, pathology) An acute form of leukemia characterized by a very large number of lymphoblasts in the circulating blood.


MR

MR (countable and uncountable, plural MRs)

memorandum for the record
memorandum for the record#English

memorandum for record
memorandum for record#English

memo for the record
memo for the record#English

(US military) Acronym of memorandum for the record, memorandum for record, memo for the record, and memo for record.


San Carlos

Borrowed from Spanish San Carlos (“Saint Charles”).

bor+

A name for the mission located in Monterey County, California

A native people of the Monterey County region.

The native language spoken in the Monterey County region.


benevolent assimilation

en-noun

benevolent assimilation (countable and uncountable, plural benevolent assimilations)

Coined in 1898 by President William McKinley justifying the invasion of the Philippines.

Finally, it should be the earnest wish and paramount aim of the military administration to win the confidence, respect, and affection of the inhabitants of the Philippines by assuring them in every possible way that full measure of individual rights and liberties which is the heritage of free peoples, and by proving to them that the mission of the United States is one of Benevolent Assimilation substituting the mild sway of justice and right for arbitrary rule.

(US, Philippines, historical) The assimilation of a group of foreigners by absorbing them into a new culture, with the primary stated reason being that it is an act of benevolence.


read out

en-verb

read out (third-person singular simple present reads out, present participle reading out, simple past and past participle read out)

reads out (present singular third-person)
reading out (participle present)
read out (participle past)
read out (past)

Coordinate term: read off

The movement detector is reading out the data now.

(transitive, idiomatic, US) (of a device) To read some data and inform the person using the device; (of the user) to read some data from the device to inform oneself.


hyote

(US) A cryptid sighted in Baltimore County, Maryland, that turned out to be a mangy fox.


tallboy

tallboys (plural)
tall boy (alternative)
tall-boy (alternative)

By surface analysis, tall + boy, but the furniture sense may have been originally modeled after lowboy, related to French bois (“wood”).

In her post, which was less than a minute long, she said that the company had sent her a tallboy can of Bud Light with her face on it. An image of the can was edited into the video.

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

(US) A tall beer can, either 16 or 24 ounces (473 or 710ml).


lock-in

The youth group will have their annual lock-in this weekend.

(US) A sleepover party, usually held in a public place such as a church or school, in which the participants are not allowed to leave until the next morning.


seg

[…] when a prisoner is transferred or paroled or sent to "seg" (segregation) or hauled back into court, they don't ask if he's busy with a lead role in a play.

1988 July 15, Albert Williams, “Prison Drama”, in Chicago Reader:


executive producer

en-noun

executive producer (plural executive producers)

(US) A job title of varying meaning, common in entertainment, computing and many other industries; often a person in charge of other producers.

výkonný producent

a job title of varying meaning, common in entertainment, computing and many other industries; often a person in charge of other producers


today we are all

Probably originates from "today we are all Republicans", said by a physician attending U.S. President Ronald W. Reagan prior to a surgery.

"I know I speak for every American when I say to him today, we are all Georgians".

August 12, 2008:, Robert Barnes, "McCain to Georgian President: "Today, We Are All Georgians"", Washington Post

Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman punctuated the day with a speech to Christians United for Israel last night, declaring that "today, we are all Israelis."

July 19, 2006:, Jim VandeHei, "Congress Is Giving Israel Vote of Confidence; Both Parties Back Ally, Court Jewish Support", Washington Post, page A05

No progress in human affairs will ever be built on the blood of innocent people. Today, we are all Spanish.

March 11, 2004: Denis MacShane, Guardian Unlimited

Madness, even under the pretext of despair, is never a force that can regenerate the world. That is why today we are all Americans.

September 12, 2001: Jean-Marie Colombani, "Today, We Are All Americans", Le Monde

(idiomatic, US) An expression indicating that the speaker empathizes with members of an identifiable group that was the subject of a disaster, and projects that others empathize as well.


goldbrick

goldbricks (plural)
gold-brick (alternative)
gold brick (alternative)

From gold + brick, originally (1850s) an actual gold ingot or brick, later a swindle that consisted of selling a putative gold brick, which was only coated in gold. The swindle is attested from 1879, the sense “to swindle” is attested 1902, and the sense “to shirk” is attested 1914, popularized as World War I armed forces slang. In early 1900s, used to refer to an unattractive young woman – not pretty, nor able to talk or dance (attested 1903), thence to refer to incompetent enlisted troops at the start of World War I, reinforced by the rank insignia of second lieutenants, which was a gold rectangle.

Mac, there’s not a confounded thing wrong with you. You are an excellent physical specimen and in good health. You’re nothing but a goldbrick. Now, get your butt out of here and don’t ever come back again unless you’re really sick or need an immunization.

1945, Dr. Charley Haly, quoted in Doc: heroic stories of medics, corpsmen, and surgeons in combat by Mark R. Littleton, p. 68

Tell me that I’ve been a louse and loafer
You won’t get a fight here, no ma’am
Say I’m a goldbrick, a good-off, no good
But that couldn’t be all that I am

2004 (written c. 1990), Howard Ashman, Aladdin: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, “Proud of your Boy”

(US, slang, dated) A shirker or malingerer.


goldbrick

en-verb

goldbrick (third-person singular simple present goldbricks, present participle goldbricking, simple past and past participle goldbricked)

goldbricks (present singular third-person)
goldbricking (participle present)
goldbricked (participle past)
goldbricked (past)
gold-brick (alternative)
gold brick (alternative)

→ Okinawan: ゴーブレーキ (goobureeki)

I'd just as soon goldbrick with malaria as with anything else.

1961 November 10, Joseph Heller, “The Soldier in White”, in Catch-22 […], New York, N.Y.: Simon and Schuster, →OCLC, page 173:

He learned to despise the Germans, people he once thought fit to rule the world, but now so craven they ate French dirt for a glass of cheap campagne; he mastered the art of goldbricking. Sitting at his desk, bored and full of hate, he got fat and dreamed of Paris.

1989, Greil Marcus, “The Assault on Notre-Dame”, in Lipstick Traces, Faber & Faber, published 2009:

(US, slang, dated) To shirk or malinger.


groper

(US) An employee of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), especially one who performs inspections on passengers.


tillerman

That function was reserved for the tillerman (the man that sits at the top steering position at the rear of the aerial ladder).

The driver in the back is called the tillerman. The tillerman steers the rear wheels, allowing the truck to turn onto narrow streets and alleys.

2005, Justin T. Mayhue, Hagerstown Firefighting Through the Years:

(US) A person who steers the rear wheels of a fire truck (a tiller truck) or controls its ladder


Saran Wrap

→ Japanese: サランラップ (saran rappu)

/səˈɹæn ˌɹæp/

From Saran, the trade name of a number of monomers and polymers made from vinylidene chloride (especially polyvinylidene chloride or PVDC, because the wrap was originally made of PVDC). Saran was coined by a combination of Sarah and Ann, the names of the wife and daughter of John Reilly of The Dow Chemical Co. + wrap.

Saran wrap (alternative)
saran wrap (alternative)
saran-wrap (alternative)
saranwrap (alternative)

In the kitchen, many dishes, covered for the moment with Saran Wrap, were laid out along the main table.

2005, Zadie Smith, On Beauty, Penguin Books (2006), page 84:

(US) A thin, clear, (self-)clinging plastic film used to wrap food, etc.


Alt-A

(US, finance) Alternative-A — Describing mortgages loans that do not conform to the traditional standards of Fannie Mae, but are presented as having an "A" credit rating, based on the borrower's FICO credit score.


cutterman

There may be some tie to the Slate Belt region, USA, where Cornish and Welsh quarrymen of the last two centuries were likely referred to as cutters.

(colloquial, US, Pennsylvania) A person who is either unkempt or slovenly.


sharpie

1976 December, Ken Schultz, Field & Stream Fishing Contest Winners: Nothing but the Best, Field & Stream, page 78,
Eventually DeBlasio became a sharpie.
In New York and New Jersey coastal fishing parlance a “sharpie” is one who fishes seven days a week all summer long, selling his fish to the market to make a living. Sharpies supposedly have fishing down to a science, to such a degree that they only go to particular places, at particular times, using particular fishing methods, and come back with a boatload of fish while everyone else wonders in amazement.

(US, regional) A knowledgeable fisherman.

Three booths down a couple of sharpies were selling each other pieces of Twentieth Century Fox, using double arm gestures instead of money.

1953, Raymond Chandler, The Long Goodbye, Penguin, published 2010, page 102:

He brought this pair of sharpies, the Lucia and the Ella, to Beaufort by schooner and began to use them for fishing, oyster dredging, and even as a passenger ferry and party boat.
The sharpie is a flat-bottomed, shallow-draft vessel of moderate size, comparable to a sloop or schooner.

1995, Rodney Barfield, Seasoned by Salt: A Historical Album of the Outer Banks, page 168:

On the other end of the spectrum are the flat-bottomed sharpies. The earliest sharpies were developed in the mid-nineteenth century as the ideal boats for the oyster fishery of the Connecticut shore.

2006, Greg Rössel, The Boatbuilder's Apprentice, page 293:

(US) A long, narrow fishing boat used in shallow waters.

It is harder to gauge the shorter tail of sharpies, but on sitting birds the tail shape is a more useful character than it is on flying birds. Sharpies of all ages and sexes almost always show a notched tail when they are sitting.

2005, Bill Thompson, Eirik A. T. Blom, Jeffrey A. Gordon, Identify Yourself: The 50 Most Common Birding Identification Challenges, page 93:

My mother had lost a considerable number of spring chicks to a raiding sharpie.

2010, Era S. VanDenburg, The Natural World of Ivy Lane, page 48:

sharp-shinned hawk
sharp-shinned hawk#English

(birdwatching, US) Clipping of sharp-shinned hawk.


shirr

shirr (third-person singular simple present shirrs, present participle shirring, simple past and past participle shirred)

shirrs (present singular third-person)
shirring (participle present)
shirred (participle past)
shirred (past)

(US, sewing) To make gathers in textiles by drawing together parallel threads.

правя набор

The Creole eggs arrived in a ramekin, shirred on a bed of Virginia ham julienne and topped with a robust, spicy tomato sauce of Creole derivation.

1985 April 27, Sue Hyde, “Sunday Brunch with a Harbor View”, in Gay Community News, page 8:

But her favorite way to express their simplicity is to shirr them. It's an old-fashioned technique that essentially means baking an egg. In her version, the eggs in ramekins are simmered in seasoned cream that reduces slightly into a soft sauce.

2006, Kim Severson, THE CHEF: ANNE QUATRANO; Letting the Land Make a Statement on the Plate, NYTimes, July 6

(US, transitive) To bake (a raw egg removed from its shell) in a baking dish.


all cats are gray at night

all cats are grey in the dark
all cats are grey in the dark#English

(US) Alternative form of all cats are grey in the dark


all cats are gray in the dark

(US) Standard spelling of all cats are grey in the dark.


hot mess

hot (“uncomfortable”) or hot (“attractive”) + mess (“disarray”).

The politician's in a hot mess since the women got the vote -- his wife threatened not to vote for his candidate unless he wipes the dishes.

1919 November 13, “The Periscope”, in Camden Post-Telegram, number 8134, Camden, NJ, page 5:

We’re a hot mess, this bad-tempered country of ours. More than 40 percent of Republicans are slouching toward full-blown autocracy, favorably disposed, in one poll, toward a presidency unfettered by constitutional checks and balances.

2019 December 6, Timothy Egan, “America the Hot Mess”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

(informal, chiefly US) A situation or object in a state of extreme disarray.

lío

person, thing, or situation in a state of disarray

My hair had two months of roots exposed. My brows were overgrown. I was a hot mess. And I was fat.

2003, Karyn Bosnak, Save Karyn: One Shopaholic's Journey to Debt and Back, page 271:

"Girl, you're a hot mess, but we're cool," she assured her, but her next words were a warning. "But you really need to stop blurting out the first thing that comes to your mind..."

Well, you're a hot mess and I'm falling for you, and I'm like hot damn, let me make you my boo, […] You're a hot mess, I'm loving it, hell yes!

2009, Cobra Starship, Hot Mess (song on the album Hot Mess)

(informal, chiefly US) A disheveled or unbalanced person, particularly one who is nevertheless, or therefore, attractive.


nightcap

nightcaps (plural)
night cap (alternative)
night-cap (alternative)

(US, sports, baseball) The final match of a sporting contest, especially the second game of a baseball doubleheader.


denatured alcohol

en-noun

denatured alcohol (usually uncountable, plural denatured alcohols)

(US) Reasonably pure ethyl alcohol for industrial purposes that has been made unfit for consumption by the addition of a poisonous substance such as acetone or methyl alcohol


signalize

en-verb

signalize (third-person singular simple present signalizes, present participle signalizing, simple past and past participle signalized)

signalizes (present singular third-person)
signalizing (participle present)
signalized (participle past)
signalized (past)
signalise (alternative)

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

(transitive, chiefly Canada, US) To furnish (a traffic intersection) with a traffic signal.


brag sheet

(US) (Navy) A list of achievements maintained by a serving sailor, used as a means of performance evaluation

(US) A resumé or curriculum vitae consisting of a standard form with a list of questions to be answered


stateroom

staterooms (plural)
state room (alternative)

The King's coach includes His Majesty's suite comprising a study and stateroom with adjoining bathroom having inter-leading door. […] In the Queen's coach are the Queen's stateroom and bathroom, the Royal Family lounge, lady-in-waiting's compartment and bathroom, and dresser's room. […] Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret are accommodated in one coach, and each of the two suites comprises a stateroom with its adjoining bathroom.

1947 January and February, “South African Royal Train”, in Railway Magazine, pages 36, 47:

(US) A private cabin in a ship or train.


supermom

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

Coordinate term: superdad

(US, informal) A mother who looks after her home and children whilst being in full-time employment.


governmentalize

governmentalize (third-person singular simple present governmentalizes, present participle governmentalizing, simple past and past participle governmentalized)

governmentalizes (present singular third-person)
governmentalizing (participle present)
governmentalized (participle past)
governmentalized (past)

(US, transitive) To bring (a private entity, or a decentralized entity) under government control; to nationalize.


War on Terrorism

(US) An ongoing campaign by the United States (and some of its allies) the stated aim of which is to counter international terrorism, but especially to counter al-Qaeda and other militant Muslim groups.

反恐戰爭 /反恐战争

ongoing campaign by the US and its allies


featherbedding

It [Pemex, Mexico's state-owned petroleum company] eventually grew bigger than Gazprom, the Russian state oil company, but it has always had a problem with internal malfeasance and featherbedding. “Corporate governance is poor,” says Duncan Wood, head of the Mexico Institute at the Wilson Center. “It’s disorganized. There are little fiefdoms within it. They strike deals with organized crime and turn a blind eye.”

2019, Seth Harp, “Blood and Oil”, in Rolling Stone:

Two factors made the Ministry untenable; private industry considered the featherbedding of the public sector to be unfair competition. Since the DC depends on private industry for much of its support, continuing the practice would have compromised this support.

2020 September 11, James Walston, The Mafia and Clientelism: Roads to Rome in Post-War Calabria, Routledge, →ISBN:

(US) The employment of more workers than is necessary, typically because of labor union rules (or sometimes deals with organized crime, a government, etc), especially upon the introduction of new technology.


feedlot

On the Web, the Harris feedlots are snarkily referred to as “Cowschwitz” (#cowschwitz on Twitter). For those weary and hungry drivers willing to overlook the smell of its animals, Harris Ranch operates a western-style restaurant and hotel.

2017, Josh Tickell, Kiss the Ground, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN, page 183:

(US) Land on which livestock are fattened for market.


flyby

Two of your snot-nose jockeys did a fly-by on my tower at over 400 knots!

1986, Jim Cash, Jack Epps Jr., Top Gun (motion picture), spoken by Air Boss Johnson:

(US) A low-level ceremonial flight, typically in connection with an airshow or a military parade.


flyover

flyovers (plural)
fly-over (alternative)

(US) A low-level flight, especially of military aircraft, of a ceremonial nature; a flypast (British).

(US) A high-level overpass built above main overpass lanes.

Boom Town may not be a definitive text—save that for the historians—but it’s a significant update, one that exchanges the dusty pop-cultural clichés of a “flyover” city for the spark of a sincerely enlightening place.

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

If Democrats end up flipping state houses in places Trump won in 2016, they will have proved themselves capable of winning in the places coastal elites derisively refer to as “flyover America.”

2018 October 30, Rahm Emanuel, “The Biggest Story of the Midterms Is One the Democrats Aren’t Telling”, in The Atlantic:

(US, informal, attributive) Middle America, noncoastal America.


civil rights

en-noun

civil rights pl (normally plural, singular civil right)

The US supreme court has ruled unanimously that natural human genes cannot be patented, a decision that scientists and civil rights campaigners said removed a major barrier to patient care and medical innovation.

2013 June 21, Karen McVeigh, “US rules human genes can't be patented”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 2, page 10:

(US) Those rights which are guaranteed protection by the US Constitution and are considered to be unquestionable, deserved by all people under all circumstances, especially without regard to race, creed, religion, sexual orientation, gender, and disability.

eskubide zibilak

rights deserved by all people under all circumstances


firetruck

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


hoida

Pronunciation spelling
pronunciation spelling

(US) Pronunciation spelling of heard of.


oyster mushroom

oyster mushroom (plural oyster mushrooms)

Particularly good cooking techniques for the Oyster mushroom are stir or deep frying, sautéing, and braising. Some folks enjoy eating them raw in salads, but we do not recommend this. Oyster mushrooms are complemented by onions, butter, mild cheeses, fish, chicken, cream sauces, and gentle herbs.

1997, Arleen Raines Bessette, Taming the Wild Mushroom: A Culinary Guide to Market Foraging, page 31:

Oyster Mushrooms always grow on wood—but sometimes above roots or beside stumps, which creates the illusion they're growing from soil, which they're not.

2009, Joe McFarland, Gregory M. Mueller, Edible Wild Mushrooms of Illinois and Surrounding States, page 51:

Harvesting wild oyster mushrooms has always been a favorite fall gathering activity for me as a Michigan outdoorsman.

2013, Joe Lunkas, Fifty Years of Gathering, Fishing, and Unusual Animal Encounters, page 30:

Pleurotus ostreatus
Pleurotus ostreatus#Translingual

(US) The mushroom Pleurotus ostreatus, which in the wild grows chiefly on hardwood trees, and is cultivated for food.


snow cone

(US) A confection of crushed ice covered with flavored syrup or fruit juice, usually served in a paper cone or a plastic glass.

raspado

Mexican standard usage, Nicaragua, Panama, Venezuelan standard usage


sloppy joe

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

(US) A hot sandwich, typically composed of ground beef cooked in a skillet with highly seasoned tomato sauce or tomato paste and spread between two sides of a bun.

(US, New Jersey) A cold delicatessen three-decker rye bread sandwich made with sliced meat, Swiss cheese, coleslaw, and Russian dressing.


flatfoot

From flat + foot. Piecewise doublet of platypus.

(US, informal, military, slang) A sailor.


flatware

flatware (countable and uncountable, plural flatwares)

A girl without a nightgown or bathing suit. Who had never used two pieces of flatware to eat.

2003, Toni Morrison, Love, Vintage (2016), page 75:

Flatware should not be allowed to dry between presoaking and washing. It should be washed with the handles down and stored with the handles up.

2007, Benjamin W. Pearce, Senior Living Communities, page 118:

(US) Eating utensils; cutlery, such as forks, knives and spoons.


fleshpot

fleshpots (plural)
flesh-pot (alternative)

From flesh + pot. Earliest known use is from 1548 by Philip Nicolls in its literal sense, referring to a passage from Exodus 16:3, where the Israelites complain to Moses and Aaron about their current situation, reminiscing about the abundance of food they had while in captivity in Egypt; and thus it is a calque from Hebrew הַבָּשָׂ֔ר (“flesh, meat”) + סִיר (“pot”).

nb...

of .xii. men that moyses (by the co􂀿m􂁀maundement of god) sent to spye owt the land of canaan of whiche .xii. onely Iosua and Caleb, wer found faythful messengers

"Mere slip. Serpent of old Nile. Doesn't matter in the least," says Mr. Browne airily; "because she couldn't hear me as it happens. My dear girl, follow out the argument. Cleopatra, metaphorically speaking, was a fleshpot, because the world hankered after her. And—you're another."

1891, Mrs. Hungerford [i.e., Margaret Wolfe Hungerford], April's Lady, London: F. V. White & Co., page 58:

Sue Ellen, Pam, Jenna--the mistresses and wives--come and go; in a male-dominated society every woman is a fleshpot unless she has the virtues of Miss Ellie and assumes the role of benevolent matriarch.

1987, Narain Dass Batra, “Dramatical Serial: Prime Time and Daytime” (chapter 5), in The Hour of Television: Critical Approaches, Scarecrow Press, "Dallas" to "Dynasty", page 92:

So piquant was her delivery that merely by conjuring up one of her lines of dialogue, one is in the company of one of her unyielding characters—a fleshpot or a spinster, a waitress or a queen, a housewife or... as George Sanders’s character said of her alter ego in All About Eve, “Margo is a great star. She never was or will ever be anything less or anything else.”

1990 April 25, Scott Berg, “Bette Davis: Best Actress for Jezebel and Dangerous at Witch Way”, in Architectural Digest, page 248:

(US slang, derogatory) A very attractive woman considered a sex object.


defenseman

(chiefly US) Alternative spelling of defenceman


LandWarNet

(military, US) The US Army's global computer network, separate from the Internet.


tenderloin

en-noun

tenderloin (countable and uncountable, plural tenderloins)

(dated, US slang) A district of a city where corruption is common, often because the district is devoted to questionable businesses (peep shows, etc) which are easy for police to blackmail and extort.


bitch magnet

The figure of speech finds full expression in the description of how to pick up women: Tie a rope around the leg of a bitch magnet and throw him out a car window while cruising slowly through a crowded area.

2005, Reinhold Aman, Maledicta, volume 10, page 92:

Brad Land recounts that his fraternity pledged a former model from New York, despite the fact that he was a Yankee, because the brothers felt he would be a "bitch magnet," drawing attractive women to the fraternity.

2009, Nicholas L. Syrett, The Company He Keeps: A History of White College Fraternities:

The man was a bitch magnet and looking like Steve Stunning didn't hurt either.

(slang, US) A man who continually meets and attracts women.


gonk

en-verb

gonk (third-person singular simple present gonks, present participle gonking, simple past and past participle gonked)

gonks (present singular third-person)
gonking (participle present)
gonked (participle past)
gonked (past)

A proprietary name of arbitrary formation.

You're gonking me!


prealgebra

en-noun

prealgebra (countable and uncountable, plural prealgebras)

prealgebras (plural)
pre-algebra (alternative)

2000, Alfred S. Posamentier, Making Pre-Algebra Come Alive, Sage Publications (Corwin Press), page 1,
In most secondary school curricula, pre-algebra is the last course in which specific attention is paid to multiplication, division, squares, cubes, and primes. Thereafter, these skills and operations are pretty much taken for granted.

Almost everyone pursuing a career or a course of study needs to know pre-algebra math. Also, almost all college entrance tests and professional exams require knowledge of at least pre-algebra math. The practicing of almost all crafts involves the use of pre-algebra math.

2002, Sally H. Spetz et al., REA's Practical Help for Pre-algebra, Research & Education Association, page 1:

Pre-algebra is considered to be something of a terminal arithmetic course. What this means for the student is that pre-algebra is a course that links many topics together before the student proceeds to more abstract mathematics courses.

2011, Hal Torrance, Math Tutor: Pre-Algebra Skills, Mark Twain Media, page 1:

(US, education, uncountable) A school (in the US, middle school) course that introduces students to concepts needed to learn algebra.


spare tire well

spare tire well (plural spare tire wells)

spare tire wells (plural)
spare tyre well (alternative)

(US) A depression in the trunk of an automobile where the spare tire is stowed.


thizz

"We've got thizz!" Alexis shot me a look to see if it was okay that she'd mentioned it.

2008, Joseph R. Sims, Skeletons, iUniverse, →ISBN, page 23:

(US, California, slang, African-American Vernacular) MDMA; Ecstasy.


thizz

en-verb

thizz (third-person singular simple present thizzes, present participle thizzing, simple past and past participle thizzed)

thizzes (present singular third-person)
thizzing (participle present)
thizzed (participle past)
thizzed (past)

Similarly, some members of the Bay's black community, who feel that goin' dumb isn't particularly smart, have compared thizzin' (taking Ecstasy) to the crack epidemic.

2006 July, Erick K. Arnold, “Dumbed Down”, in Vibe:

(US, California, slang, African-American Vernacular) To get high from the drug MDMA (Ecstasy).


Hizzoner

1930, John Bright, Hizzoner Big Bill Thompson: An Idyll of Chicago, [book title].

Minnesota: Meet Hizzoner the Mayor... Canon... would go through an elaborate bowing-and-scraping routine as he addressed Hizzoner the Mayor.

1991, Max M. Kampelman, Entering New Worlds: The Memoirs of a Private Man in Public Life, page 56:

In 1989, they wrote a book, entitled His Eminence and Hizzoner, in which they set forth their differences in amicable fashion.

2002, James Gill, For James and Gillian: Jim Gill's New York, page 121:

(slang, US) Eye dialect spelling of His Honor, the mayor, especially of a large city.


binky

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

* Perhaps a child's pronunciation of blanket.
* (US) Commercial child's pacifier brand name. (1948–1977)

(US, informal, childish) A baby's pacifier.


hemorrhagic fever

en-noun

hemorrhagic fever (countable and uncountable, plural hemorrhagic fevers)

haemorrhagic fever
haemorrhagic fever#English

(pathology, US, Canada) Alternative form of haemorrhagic fever


postsecondary

In its revised budget, the government has increased funding for postsecondary education.

(education, US and Canada) Of or pertaining to education or educational institutions subsequent to secondary school or high school.


postsecondary school

postsecondary school (plural postsecondary schools)

McGill University is a well-known Canadian postsecondary school.

(education, US and Canada) An educational institution (usually a college or university) which is attended after graduation from secondary school or high school.


NBER

National Bureau of Economic Research
w:National Bureau of Economic Research

(US) Initialism of National Bureau of Economic Research.


belt loop

belt loops (plural)
beltloop (alternative)

(US) A highway that loops around the perimeter of a major city.


LU

Liberty Union Party
w:Liberty Union Party

(US, politics) Initialism of Liberty Union Party.


pole building

(US) A building constructed around a frame of timbers.

(US) A similar building in which metal poles are used instead of timbers.


ross

(US, dialect) The rough, scaly surface on the bark of trees.


ross

en-verb

ross (third-person singular simple present rosses, present participle rossing, simple past and past participle rossed)

rosses (present singular third-person)
rossing (participle present)
rossed (participle past)
rossed (past)

to ross bark

(US, dialect, transitive) To divest of the ross, or rough, scaly surface.


class secretary

en-noun

class secretary (plural class secretaries)

(US) A person in a school's student council who takes minutes at meetings etc.


fire dog

fire dogs (plural)
firedog (alternative)

He was[…] none of your free-and-easy companions, who would scrape their boots upon the firedogs in the common room, […]

1841 February–November, Charles Dickens, “Barnaby Rudge. Chapter 10.”, in Master Humphrey’s Clock, volume II, London: Chapman & Hall, […], →OCLC:

(chiefly US) Either of a pair of horizontal metal supports for holding logs in a fireplace.


eat up

en-verb

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

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

You're so cute, I could just eat you up!

(transitive, US, informal, chiefly of children or pets) To find something to be very cute.


sheet cake

en-noun

sheet cake (countable and uncountable, plural sheet cakes)

Wearing a kelly green tennis dress with white espadrilles, she was carrying a sheet cake resembling a flag, blueberries and strawberries as the stars and stripes arranged across a layer of whipped cream.

2022, Ling Ma, “Tomorrow”, in Bliss Montage, New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, →ISBN:

(US) A simple, flat, rectangular cake, often vanilla or sometimes chocolate.


big wheel

(US) A low-riding tricycle with a large front wheel.


yessum

yassum (alternative)
yas'm (alternative)
yes'm (alternative)

"I would like to sit down in your shade beside you," said the Tall Man. "Yassum," said the Little Bit of a Girl. […] "Why do you have the crutch?" asked the Tall Man presently. "Yassum, the crutch, the doctor he gave it to me, yassum," said the Little Bit of a Girl.

1905 September, Harry Persons Taber, “The Crutch”, in William Elliott Lowes, editor, Book of the Royal Blue, volume VIII, number 12, Baltimore, Md.: Passenger Department, Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, →OCLC, page 24, column 1:

"Yessum." Luster said. "We coming. You done played hell. Get up." He jerked my arm and I got up.

1929, William Faulkner, “April 7, 1928”, in “The Sound and the Fury”, in The Sound and the Fury & As I Lay Dying, New York, N.Y.: The Modern Library, published 1946, →OCLC, page 74:

Little Chuck's face contracted and he said gently, "You mean him [a louse], ma'am? Yessum, he's alive. Did he scare you some way?" / Miss Caroline said desperately, "I was just walking by when it crawled out of his hair … just crawled out of his hair—"

1960 July 11, Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, Philadelphia, Pa., New York, N.Y.: J[oshua] B[allinger] Lippincott Company, →OCLC, part 1, page 32:

(US, dialectal, dated) Used to express agreement with a woman (and, somewhat less commonly, a man): yes, ma'am.

kyllä rouva

(informal) used to express agreement with a woman


muckraker

John Bunyan
The Pilgrim's Progress
Theodore Roosevelt
muckraker

From muck + raker. Believed to have been coined following a 1906 speech by United States President Theodore Roosevelt, in which he likened the investigative journalist to ‘the Man with the Muck-rake’, a character in John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress.

The paper gave a start to the theater critic Hilton Als and the novelist Colson Whitehead, both recipients of the Pulitzer Prize. Its resident muckraker, Wayne Barrett, took aim at New York developers and politicians for nearly 40 years, and his obsessive work on Donald J. Trump has become a resource for reporters covering the president today.

2018 August 31, Tyler Pager, Jaclyn Peiser, “The Village Voice, a New York Icon, Closes”, in The New York Times:

en:principled justice-seeking type of investigative journalist

(US) One who investigates and exposes issues of corruption that often violate widely held values; e.g. one who exposes political corruption or the poor conditions in prisons.

Muckraker

"Oh, in many ways. There are two classes of people who are not welcomed on the Canal Zone—magazine writers and applicants for positions who have political influence back of them. The former are regarded as muckrakers, the latter as spies."

"Lady," says he, "the goil's nutty! You got a bughouse patient on your bands! This here talk about the white-slave traffic, ma'am… it's all the work o' these magazine muckrakers!"

en:Progressive-Era justice-seeker in 1890s-1920s span

(US, historical) One of a group of American investigative reporters, novelists and critics of the Progressive Era (the 1890s to the 1920s).


cherry-bomb

(sports, US, slang) In the four square ball game, the act of spiking the ball or slamming it down with a great force to make it hard for a person to retrieve it to stay in the game.

a cherry-bomb with even more impressive force


palestra

palestra (plural palestras or palestrae)


orphan drug

(US, law) A drug as defined under the Orphan Drug Act (1983).


mama's boy

mama's boys (plural)
mamma's boy (alternative)
mommy's boy (alternative)
mummy's boy (alternative)
momma's boy (alternative)

He's such a mama's boy that he can't even ask a girl out for a date without his mother's approval.

And now we have plenty of mama’s boys who just want to have fun, who just want to —I don't know— use some women, have fun, have great sex, but they are not able to offer this responsibility in case something happens (!) so that’s why women, they are insecure because sex is something very precious that we have to offer; we women, because it’s our bodies, and our bodies, uhm, we become pregnant and men cannot become pregnant, so we bear all of these risks. And, for us, it’s a huge opening if we say yes to a man, if we give ourselves to a man, it’s not only that we open —uh, I’m sorry for the expression— our legs, but, it’s just that we open our heart and soul and we trust that this man is responsible; and if something happens (!) he will take action, he will be there (!) for us; he will behave... [nodding] like a man.

2020, Alexandra, 8:48–9:45 from the start, in Strong women and weak men, spoken by speaker, Family Code, via YouTube:

(informal, idiomatic, derogatory, Canada, US) A male who has a very close bond with his mother, and may consequently be perceived as soft or effeminate.


the jig is up

head

the jig is up (simple past the jig was up)

the jig was up (past)
jig's up (alternative)
one's jig is up (alternative)
one's jig's up (alternative)
the jig's up (alternative)

Jig is an old term for a lively dance, and in the Elizabethan era the word also became slang for a practical joke or a trick. This idiom derives from this obsolete slang word.

We knew then the jig was up, and it was no grin matter for us.

When I first told 'em how the jig was up with us, that the British were going to have the land, without any fighting about it, I never see fellows so mad before in my life, unless it was Major Eaton at Washington when he sot out to flog Mr. Ingham.

1833, Seba Smith (as Jack Downing), The life and writings of Major Jack Downing, of Downingville, away down East in the State of Maine, Lilly; Wait; Colman & Holden, page 176:

After I had returned home in the spring of 1893 from Washington, where I saw so many gray-haired men who had held high elective office begging for the crumbs from Cleveland's table, I gave my wife an account of what I observed, and told her that when the jig was up for me I would hasten back to Missouri to begin the practice of law once more and be a man among men.

1920, Champ Clark, My Quarter Century of American Politics, Harper & brothers, page 96:

The universe works in strange ways: just when you think the jig is up, you get a second chance.

2007, Mary Newport, in Jerry Newport and Mary Newport, Mozart and the Whale: An Asperger's Love Story, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN, page 248:

(Australia, New Zealand, US, idiomatic) An expression used to mean "We have been caught out and have no defense", or if spoken to a person who has just been found out as the perpetrator of an offense, where it means "You've been discovered".


interstate compact

en-noun

interstate compact (plural interstate compacts)

(US) Any of several agreements, comparable to treaties, between states of the United States.


necktie party

necktie parties (plural)
necktie-party (alternative)

"I expect I'll have an invite to a necktie-party some day. . . . I'm always afraid the wrong necktie will be mine. Were you ever lynched?"

1904, B. M. Bower, “The Lamb”, in The Lonesome Trail and Other Stories:

I made my jail break just in time to keep from being invited as chief guest to a necktie party.

1910, William MacLeod Raine, chapter 3, in A Texas Ranger:

One peasant threw a grass rope over a hook high on the pole. Said Shupe: "It sure looked like a necktie party was being organized. I had no doubt they were going to hang me."

1958 July 21, “Foreign Relations: Back from Russia”, in Time:

Last week, my 17-year-old son and I went to see the movie True Grit. . . . A triple hanging kicks the thing off with a snap as three corpses jerk violently from the gallows. The necktie party is followed by shootings, stabbings and a smorgasbord of violence.

2011 January 17, Paul Andersen, “Cultural necrophilia”, in Aspen Times, USA, retrieved 2011-06-30:

(US, idiomatic, dated) An execution by hanging, especially a lynching.


druther

tenses (no-infinitive)
participles (no-infinitive)

A corruption of I‘d rather or ‘d rather.

I druther stay home today.

We druther go swimming than go to school.

The old gentleman was for going along with me, but I said no, I could drive the horse myself, and I druther he wouldn't take no trouble about me.

1884 December 10, Mark Twain [pseudonym; Samuel Langhorne Clemens], chapter XXXII, in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: (Tom Sawyer’s Comrade) […], London: Chatto & Windus, […], →OCLC:

"He's no slouch at dog-breakin', that's wot I say," one of the men on the wall cried enthusiastically. / "Druther break cayuses any day, and twice on Sundays," was the reply of the driver, as he climbed on the wagon and started the horses.

1903 July, Jack London, “Into the Primitive”, in The Call of the Wild, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., →OCLC, page 31:

(US, informal, often jocular) Would rather; would prefer to.


round robin

round robins (plural)
round-robin (alternative)

/ˌɹaʊnd ˈɹɒbɪn/

From round (adjective) + robin. Sense 1 (“senses relating to something with a round shape, or which goes around”) is connected with the word round, while sense 2 (“senses relating to people, animals, or plants”) is connected with some English regional senses of the word robin where it is used in the names of various fish and plants which are not related to the red-breasted bird. However, apart from the alliteration, it is not clear why the two words came to be linked together in compounds. It is possible that the term was first used to refer to sense 1.13.1 (“consecrated host”) which appears to be the earliest attested sense, and then extended to other senses either having the sense of round or robin.
Alternatively, it has been suggested that the term is a corruption of French ruban rond (literally “round ribbon”), referring to the practice in 17th-century France of signing on ribbons which were then attached to petitions of grievances in a circular manner: see sense 1.1. However, this etymology does not explain the senses of the term unrelated to a signed document.

der

Round robins are undertaken for a variety of motives: (1) to accumulate data that may be used to determine the precision and accuracy of a new or modified test procedure, (2) to recheck an established procedure to ascertain whether there has been a deterioration in the accuracy arising from departures from the prescribed routine, (3) to test the applicability of an established procedure to new materials, and (4) to maintain a periodic check on the performance of a group of laboratories. […] There is the risk of wasting much effort if a full-scale round robin reveals a diversity among the results that can only be explained by shortcomings and ambiguities in the instructions for performing the test.

1963 January, W[illiam] J[ohn] Youden, “Ranking Laboratories by Round-robin Tests”, in Harry H. Ku, editor, Precision Measurement and Calibration: Selected NBS Papers on Statistical Concepts and Procedures (NBS Special Publication; 300), volume 1, Washington, D.C.: National Bureau of Standards, United States Department of Commerce, published February 1969, →OCLC, page 165-9, column 1:

The value of interlaboratory tests or round robins has been significant in the FFTF programs. They have shown biases, problems with contamination from containers, and the need for standards. This information has led to prompt correction of problems; whereas, a single laboratory might have considerable difficulty in identifying such difficulties.

1975 March, Glenn R. Waterbury [et al.], “Nuclear Materials (Fuels)”, in Richard W. Seward, editor, Standard Reference Materials and Meaningful Measurements: Proceedings of the 6th Materials Research Symposium Sponsored by the Institute of Materials Research, National Bureau of Standards, October 29 through November 2, 1973, Gaithersburg, Maryland (National Bureau of Standards Special Publication; 408), Washington, D.C.: Institute for Materials Research, National Bureau of Standards, U.S. Department of Commerce, →OCLC, page 645:

(also attributive) Senses relating to something with a round shape, or which goes around.

(originally US) A group activity in which the members take turns to perform an action.

vuorottelu

At Tokyo's Yoyogi National Gymnasium, Japan defended well and attacked with ease, facing only moderate resistance in a 25-9, 25-19, 25-15 victory in the eight-team round robin, with two berths in next year's Paris Olympics up for grabs.

2023 September 17, “Japan’s women victorious in Olympic volleyball qualifying opener”, in The Japan Times, Tokyo: The Japan Times, Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2024-05-30:

Sixteen men and sixteen women will compete for their respective gold medals in the inaugural edition of Olympic breaking. Each of the competitions are a one-day tournament that begins with round-robin competitions before quarterfinal and semifinal stages that lead into the medal events.

2024 June 24, Jack McKessy, “Breakdancing is making its Olympics debut at Paris 2024. Here’s when you can watch”, in USA Today, McLean, Va.: Gannett Co., →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2024-07-31:

(originally US, sports, often attributive) The part of a tournament in which every player or team competes against each of the others in turn.

round robin

Senses relating to people, animals, or plants.

(chiefly Caribbean, US) Any of various marine fish of the genus Decapterus often called scads which have a body with an almost round cross section, especially the round scad (Decapterus punctatus); also, any of various other fish regarded as having a somewhat round shape.

pyöreä kala

(Canada, US, rare) A freshwater sunfish native to eastern North America, either the pumpkinseed (Lepomis gibbosus) or the redbreast sunfish (Lepomis auritus).


reflectorize

en-verb

reflectorize (third-person singular simple present reflectorizes, present participle reflectorizing, simple past and past participle reflectorized)

reflectorizes (present singular third-person)
reflectorizing (participle present)
reflectorized (participle past)
reflectorized (past)

The department, upon registering a vehicle, shall issue to the owner two partially or fully reflectorized license plates or devices for a motor vehicle, other than a motorcycle, and one partially or fully reflectorized license plate or device for all other vehicles required to be registered under this code. https://web.archive.org/web/20070601034507/http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d03/vc4850.htm

(US, traffic, transitive) To make reflective.


tinhorn

en-adj

tinhorn (comparative more tinhorn, superlative most tinhorn)

more tinhorn (comparative)
most tinhorn (superlative)
tin-horn (alternative)


tinhorn

tinhorns (plural)
tin-horn (alternative)

“[…] Them rich fellers, they don't make no bad breaks with their money. They watch it all th' time b'cause they know blame well there ain't hardly room fer their feet fer th' pikers an' tin-horns an' thimble-riggers what are layin' fer 'em. […]”

1899, Stephen Crane, chapter 1, in Twelve O'Clock:

I'm to deliver this treaty, signed by Secretary General Tanduk Timah himself. Heh. 'Tanduk Timah' in Bahasa Malay means 'Tin Horn.' How apt.

2009 February 12, Sandy Sandfort, Scott Bieser, Lee Oaks, “Escape from Terra”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name):

(US) A contemptible or pretentious person, especially one who gambles for low stakes.


chump-change

We don't have much money, but we can at least pay some of these chump-change bills.

2002, Barbara Quint, "The Digital Library of the Future." Information Today, vol 19 iss 7, July/Aug 2002. Retrieved 19 May 2007.
For a chump-change price of $2,000, any library could gain both the tools to create its own 24/7 digital reference service and access to a Global Reference Network of colleagues.

2004, Leigh Thompson and Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, "Why negotiation is the most popular business school course," Ivey Business Journal, Jul/Aug 2004, p. 3.
These key principles apply nicely to nearly any negotiation, whether it is an international high-finance deal or a chump-change haggle.

(US, idiomatic, slang) Of or pertaining to something of little monetary value.


faux bois

(US) The artistic imitation of wood or wood grains in various media


Supremes

From Supreme Court of the United States, by shortening, punning reference to The Supremes, a pop-music singing group.

(US, informal) The current members, as a group, of the Supreme Court of the United States.


four-in-hand

He wore a black frock coat and light trousers, his cravat a gray four-in-hand.

2013, A Scott Berg, Wilson, Berkley, published 2014, page 293:

(chiefly US) A slip knot with one end hanging in front of the other; a simple necktie.


fourth-class

Was it once stated that fourth class carriages no longer existed? But I have travelled fourth class in Jugoslavia and also on the C.F.A.E. in Algeria on the line from Oran to Colomb Bechar.

1945 July and August, John Gibbons, “Thirty Years of The Railway Magazine”, in Railway Magazine, page 229:

(US) A former class of mail consisting mostly of heavier printed matter.


fucken

(Australia, New Zealand, Philippines, US, slang, informal, vulgar) Alternative spelling of fucking


vicinage

From Old French visnage, respelled to more closer match its Latin source vīcīnus (“neighbor”).

(British, US, law) The area where a crime was committed, a trial is being held, or the community from which jurors are drawn.


first floor

(Canada, US, Philippines) The floor of a building at the level of the street or surrounding ground; the ground floor


Dwight

Probably from a Middle English female name Diot, a pet form of Dionysia, the feminine form of Dionysius.

(chiefly US) A male given name transferred from the surname.


horse's ass

there are more horses' asses than horses

At the party he behaved like a real horse's ass.

(Canada, US, vulgar, idiomatic) A jerk; an unpleasant, unlikable person; an asshole.

That is one horse's ass of a paint job.

(Canada, US, vulgar, idiomatic) A thing or person which is visually unappealing.


maître d'

Clipping of maître d'hôtel, derived from French maître d’hôtel.


Memorial Day

Memorial Day (Newfoundland and Labrador)

Memorial Day weekend is among the busiest for travel in the United States and the unofficial start of summer; a day for cookouts, beach trips and auto races. But how did Memorial Day, held on the last Monday of May in honor of America’s war dead, begin?

2024 May 25, Livia Albeck-Ripka, “The Tangled Roots of Memorial Day and Why It’s Celebrated”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

(US) A federal holiday honoring fallen soldiers, sailors, and other servicemen observed on the last Monday in May.

戦没将兵追悼記念日

せんぼつしょうへいついとうきねんび

戦没将兵記念日

せんぼつしょうへいきねんび

Siláołtsooí Bigáál Dah Nídahidiitʼįʼígíí Béédahaniih

Siláołtsooí Bee Iinaʼ Nidahaztʼįʼígíí Béédahaniih


baggage claim

(US) The designated location for receiving checked luggage, such as the baggage carousels at an airport.

行李提取處 /行李提取处

this can also refer to the check-in) poggyászfelvétel


butt-ugly

butt-ugly (comparative more butt-ugly, superlative most butt-ugly)

more butt-ugly (comparative)
most butt-ugly (superlative)
butt ugly (alternative)
buttugly (alternative)

(Canada, US, slang, derogatory) Extremely ugly.


sad sack

sad sacks (plural)
sadsack (alternative)

US 1920s. Popularized by Sad Sack, a cartoon character and eponymous comic strip published originally June 1942 in Yank, the Army Weekly, a US Army publication for soldiers, and later syndicated in the US 1940s and 1950s. Presumably from vulgar “sad sack of shit” as cartoonist Sgt. George Baker said he took it from a “longer phrase, of a derogatory nature”. The term originally referred to a well-meaning but inept soldier.

“Super Sad” takes as its Romeo and Juliet, its Tristan and Iseult, a middle-aged sad sack named Lenny Abramov and a much younger beauty named Eunice Park.

2010 July 26, Michiko Kakutani, “Love Found Amid Ruins of Empire”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

Weary of his drab life with its nowhere job, failed marriage, boring girlfriend, and estranged teenage son, a middle-aged sad sack fakes his death, changes his identity, and hits the road.

2013 April 27, “Movie capsules: Arthur Newman”, in Boston Globe, retrieved 2015-04-05:

We meet him as he's on his way out, taking the news with equal parts tantrum and sad-sack acceptance.

2014 March 29, Zach Schonfeld, “Film Review: Jason Schwartzman Is Charmingly Inept in 7 Chinese Brothers”, in Newsweek, retrieved 2015-04-05:

So Samantha, the A.I. assistant with whom the sad-sack divorcé Theodore Twombly (Joaquin Phoenix) fell in love in “Her,” felt like a futuristic revelation.

2024 May 20, Alissa Wilkinson, “What We Lose When ChatGPT Sounds Like Scarlett Johansson”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

A perennial failure or victim of misfortune.


numbnuts

en-noun

numbnuts (plural numbnuts or numbnutses)

numbnuts (plural)
numbnutses (plural)
numb-nuts (alternative)
numb nut (alternative)

Tell numbnuts over there to wake up and pay attention to his work.

What is your major malfunction, numbnuts? Didn't Mommy and Daddy show you enough attention when you were a child?

1987, Stanley Kubrick, Michael Herr, Gustav Hasford, Full Metal Jacket, spoken by Gunnery Sergeant Hartman (R. Lee Ermey):

(chiefly US, slang, derogatory, sometimes humorous, often as a term of address) A slow-witted, unresponsive, or inept person (usually male).


NYFM

(US, historical) Initialism of New York [City] Foreign Mail, specifically that of the period 1870 to 1879.


Masshole

This damn Masshole cut in front of my car!

You're a typical Massachusetts driver, known affectionately as a "Masshole." Bit of advice: Don't ever go to Ohio, or you will get arrested within five miles of the border.

2002, John Sheirer, Free Chairs, →ISBN, page 132:

(Canada, US, derogatory, slang) A contemptible or obnoxious person from Massachusetts.

(derogatory, slang) Especially, an obnoxious or irresponsible automobile driver from Massachusetts.

OK massholes it is pouring rain, possibly all day. It is going to be more of a pain to get out and vote.

(Massachusetts, slang, usually self-referential) Any resident of Massachusetts.

Massachusetts; usually self-referential; Massachusetts; usually self-referential

God-damned Masshole trespasser who maybe ought to have his arrogant ass kicked for the hell of it.


cloverleaf interchange

cloverleaf interchange (plural cloverleaf interchanges)

(US, Canada) A junction of two highways, one crossing over the other, having a series of exit and entrance ramps, arranged in the form of a four-leaf clover, such that traffic may proceed from either highway in all directions.


partial cloverleaf interchange

partial cloverleaf interchange (plural partial cloverleaf interchanges)

partial cloverleaf interchanges (plural)

cloverleaf interchange
cloverleaf interchange

(US, Canada) A variation on the cloverleaf interchange in which there are fewer loop ramps.


Southern belle

Southern belles (plural)
southern belle (alternative)

[S]he [Edwina, mother of Tennessee Williams] was indeed Amanda [Wingfield, character in Williams' play The Glass Menagerie] in the flesh: a doughty chatterbox from Ohio who adopted the manner of a Southern belle and eschewed both drink and sex to the greatest extent possible.

2014 November 14, Blake Bailey, “'Tennessee Williams,' by John Lahr [print version: Theatrical victory of art over life, International New York Times, 18 November 2014, p. 13]”, in The New York Times:

(US) A beautiful, archetypal (especially upper class) white woman of the Southern United States.


hoodoo

hoodoo (countable and uncountable, plural hoodoos)

The three men wondered whether they would find Colson at Taylor's Creek. They felt that a hoodoo hung over the place.

1931, Ion L. Idriess, Lasseter's Last Ride, Sydney: Angus and Robertson, page 60:

(chiefly US) Supernatural bad luck, or something or someone believed to bring bad luck.


ortolan

From Middle French hortolan (“gardener”), from Latin hortulānus (“gardener”). Doublet of hortulan.

(US) Any of various similar birds, especially the bobolink, sora, or snow bunting.


honorably

en-adv

honorably (comparative more honorably, superlative most honorably)

more honorably (comparative)
most honorably (superlative)

There is much to regret about America's failure in Vietnam. The reasons are etched in black marble on the Washington Mall. But we had believed the cause that America had asked us to serve in Vietnam was a worthy one, and millions who defended it had done so honorably.

1999, John McCain, Faith of My Fathers, New York: Random House, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 348:


Delores

(US) A female given name from Spanish, variant of Dolores.


chopped liver

/ˈt͡ʃɒpt ˌlɪvə/

/ˈt͡ʃɑpt ˌlɪvɚ/

Michael Quinion
Sol Steinmetz
The New York Times Company
The New York Times Magazine

Calque of Yiddish געהאַקטע לעבער (gehakte leber), from געהאַקטע (gehakte, “chopped”) (compare the verb האַקן (hakn, “to chop”)) + לעבער (leber, “liver”).
According to the Hungarian-American lexicographer and linguist Sol Steinmetz (1930–2010), sense 2 (“person or object not worthy of being noticed”) may be from the fact that chopped liver is served as an appetizer or side dish rather than as a main dish.

calque

געהאַקטע לעבער

The French say they are chopped liver experts. But you will decide whether Mrs. Weinberg, her mother, her mother's mother and her mother's mother's mother knew the secret of real chopped liver—long before the French did.

1967, The National Jewish Monthly, Washington, D.C.: B’nai B’rith, →OCLC, page 50:

The traditional meal is a fine example of how to get the most from a chicken: the chicken, which is also the main course, produces the liver and the soup as well as the chicken fat which is essential to the flavor of the matzoh balls, the chopped liver and the grated radish.

1974, Molly Finn, Jeri Laber, Cooking for Carefree Weekends, New York, N.Y.: Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, page 81:

Despite the widespread performance and increasing popularity of the contemporary American bar mitzvah, exceedingly little serious secular study has been devoted to this uniquely tenacious ritual. Perhaps this lack of scholarly attention reflects the negative stereotypes of glitz and chopped liver center pieces, or the sense that this is, after all, a religious event "best left" to rabbis and Jewish educators.

1995, Judith Davis, “The Bar Mitzvah Balabusta: Mother’s Role in the Family’s Rite of Passage”, in Maurie Sacks, editor, Active Voices: Women in Jewish Culture, Urbana, Chicago, Ill.: University of Illinois Press, →ISBN, part IV (Ritual Voices), page 125:

I'm leaning against a General Electric fridge of such purring, juddering, aerodynamic aspect that were I to unsuck the rubber-flanged door and climb inside, settle myself comfortably in amongst the bowls of chopped liver, the packets of frankfurters, the crinkly heads of lettuce, it might well lift off for the Forbidden Planet.

2000 June 19, Will Self, How the Dead Live, London: Bloomsbury Publishing, →ISBN, page 68:

We had a run on chopped liver that morning, which was one of our biggest sellers. It was delicious, yes—more on that later—but people responded to the Yiddish saying that Uncle Murray had put in English next to the chopped liver platter listing on the menu, as he did with most of the entrées: Gehakteh leber iz besser vi gehakteh truris: Chopped liver is better than miserable troubles.

2015 January, Delia Rosen, chapter 2, in Fry Me a Liver, mass market edition, New York, N.Y.: Kensington Books, Kensington Publishing, →ISBN, pages 21–22:

A Jewish pâté-like food, usually spread on bread, made by mincing beef or chicken liver and onions which have been broiled or fried in schmaltz (“chicken fat”) together with hard-boiled eggs.


guido

From Italian Guido, a male given name. Doublet of Guy and guy.

In a way, he looked like one of those guidos from MTV's Jersey Shore, but he resembled them only in appearance.

2013, Nathan J Morissey, 62 Hot Gay Stories:

(slang, US, ethnic slur) A stereotypical working-class or lower-class and usually urban-dwelling Italian-American male; sometimes more generally a stereotypical Italian or person of Italian descent.


guido

guidos (plural)
Guido (alternative)
GUIDO (alternative)

While the Black Team continued to monitor current conditions, off-console retrofire officers (RETROs), flight dynamics officers (FIDOs), and guidance officers (GUIDOs) were at work calculating the exact short-burn maneuver […]

1999, Judy L. Hasday, The Apollo 13 Mission, page 79:

There were to be four Guidance Officers for Apollo 1. Two “Guidos” were to be on the console for launch phase and two for orbit phase.

2018, Manfred "Dutch" von Ehrenfried, Apollo Mission Control (page 255)

(US, aerospace, slang) A guidance officer.