rap sheet

From RAP (“record of arrest and prosecution”) + sheet.

af

Three counts of breaking and entering, four counts of assault, seven misdemeanors for carrying illegal substances, and a partridge in a pear tree,” Paul finished with a smirk, handing the rap sheet to Mason.

Seeking a new approach, he applied for an editor position at the Earth First! Journal, an environmental newsletter in Eugene, Ore. His application included a copy of his rap sheet; he was hired immediately.

2022 May 26, Matthew Wolfe, “The Rise and Fall of America’s Environmentalist Underground”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

(US, law, criminology) A printed police record of an individual's citations, arrests, convictions, and incarcerations, usually in a single jurisdiction.


Boot Hill

Every few days some unfortunate was buried on Boot Hill, a victim of his own inexpertness with the six-shooter.

1919, William MacLeod Raine, chapter 13, in A Man Four-Square:

Where have all the TV Westerns gone? A genre once adored by viewers lies dead, but not forgotten, in television's Boot Hill.

2008 May 23, Gail Pennington, “'60s upheaval shot down Westerns”, in St. Louis Post-Dispatch, retrieved 2008-06-08:

(chiefly US) Name used for many cemeteries in the American Old West; nickname for any cemetery.


LEA

law enforcement agency
w:law enforcement agency

(US) Initialism of law enforcement agency.


walk the line

en-verb

walk the line (third-person singular simple present walks the line, present participle walking the line, simple past and past participle walked the line)

walks the line (present singular third-person)
walking the line (participle present)
walked the line (participle past)
walked the line (past)

A Baldwin High School student will be able to wear slacks to her graduation ceremony, under an order from the Maui School District. . . . "I'm very glad she'll be able to walk the line with her graduating class," Rosaga said.

2002 May 7, Gary Kubota, “Maui girl wins right to forget the dress”, in Honolulu Star-Bulletin, archived from the original on 2006-04-09:

Montano's family, including her parents, sons and fiance, Thomas Gallegos, planned to be on hand to see her walk the line and be honored by the UNM-VC Advisory Board, faculty and staff and her fellow associate degree graduates.

13 May 2006, “Graduation 2006: Valedictorian seeks better life for her family”, in Valencia County News-Bulletin.com, archived from the original on 2007-08-16:

(idiomatic, US, education) To participate in the procession at a graduation ceremony; to graduate.


plew

From Canadian French, from French poilu (“hairy”). Doublet of poilu.

The cured "plew" of the adult beaver weighed about a pound and a half and at best would fetch from four to six dollars a pound at the mountain rendezvous

1967, John Arkas Hawgood, America's Western Frontiers: The Exploration and Settlement, page 96:

"The days when a good plew fetched six dollars, beaver or kitten, is over," he grumbled. "The beaver trade's rubbed out, Lank.

2001, Armstrong Sperry, Wagons Westward: The Old Trail to Santa Fe, page 7:

The price for a pint was a beaver plew or an Indian buffalo robe. Coffee and gunpowder were a plew or a robe a pound, blankets fifteen plews apiece,

2005, Ralph Moody, Stanley Galli, Kit Carson And The Wild Frontier, page 46:


disme

From Middle French dixme, Old French disme (“tenth, tithe”), from Latin decimus (“tenth”). Doublet of dime.

(US, dated, 18th century) A dime minted in 1792.


staycation

staycation (third-person singular simple present staycations, present participle staycationing, simple past and past participle staycationed)

staycations (present singular third-person)
staycationing (participle present)
staycationed (participle past)
staycationed (past)

The noun is a blend of stay (at home) + vacation. The verb is derived from the noun.

Plan a staycation: Enjoy your own house, your own backyard, your own town. [...] This was the third summer the Wyatts and their two children have staycationed in Virginia Beach.

2009 August 2, Krys Stefansky, “Getting away from it all in your own backyard”, in The Virginian-Pilot, Norfolk, Va.: Tribune Publishing, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2020-09-26:

If you're heading for the water today, or staycationing by the pool, you'll need something to read, right?

2020 August 4, Terri Schlichenmeyer, “‘Why We Swim’ offers a refreshing read”, in The Philadelphia Tribune, Philadelphia, Pa.: The Philadelphia Tribune Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2020-08-19:

(intransitive, informal) To spend a vacation at or close to home.

(US) To spend a vacation at one's own home without other overnight accommodation.


baby mama

baby mamas (plural)
baby-mama (alternative)
babymama (alternative)
baby momma (alternative)

Formed in African-American Vernacular English, attested since c. 1986 and popularized in the 2000s. Possibly from or influenced by same term in Jamaican English, from Jamaican Creole baby-mother (“pregnant woman”) (1966), alternatively due simply to grammatical similarities between AAVE and Jamaican Creole.

der

She's not his girlfriend now, but she's one of his baby mamas.

Except for Rasheena, the rest of the baby mamas was at least struggling to live halfway right. They used to clown and act shitty whenever they came by Noojie's and saw Carmiesha there. But every last one of them ended up being grateful to her for the things she did for their kids.

2006, Noire [pseudonym], Thug-A-Licious: An Urban Erotic Tale, New York, N.Y.: One World, Ballantine Books, →ISBN, page 128:

For men who must deal with these situations and others like them, the result is what has now been deemed as "baby-mama drama."

2008, Ebony Vol. 63, No. 8, Sidestepping Baby Mama Drama - Jun 2008, page 154

(US, slang, possibly derogatory) The mother of a child in common, particularly unmarried.

African-American Vernacular English
baby mama


food pyramid

The food pyramid surprised me by showing that we should eat lots of cheese.

(nutrition, US) Any pyramidal diagram giving advice on how to eat healthily, particularly those widely publicized by the United States government.

食物金字塔

pyramidal diagram giving advice for healthy eating


space alien

What would be the first question to ask a space alien newly arrived on planet Earth?

1997 July 1, Janet Maslin, “Oh, Aliens: Business As Usual”, in New York Times:

(chiefly US) An extraterrestrial being; a visitor from outer space.


fruit of the poisonous tree

en-noun

fruit of the poisonous tree (plural fruits of the poisonous tree)

(US, law, idiomatic) Evidence that has been obtained as the result of an illegal act on the part of law enforcement personnel (such as an unlawful warrantless search, or continued questioning of a witness who has invoked the right of counsel), and which is therefore excluded from being admitted as evidence in a trial.


warrantless search

warrantless search (plural warrantless searches)

(US, law) A search of someone's body or property conducted by law enforcement personnel without the issuance of a search warrant.


right of counsel

(US, law) The right of a person accused of a crime to consult with an attorney before speaking with police.


kabloona

kabloona (plural kabloonas or kabloona or kabloonat)

kabloonas (plural)
kabloona (plural)
kabloonat (plural)
kabluna (alternative)
kadloona (alternative)

Borrowed from Eastern Canadian Inuktitut ᖃᓪᓗᓈᖅ (qallunaaq, “foreigner”) or Greenlandic kablunâk (“white person, Dane”) (now spelled qallunaaq), or a combination of the two.

bor

After food and pleasantries had been exchanged, the old man asked what they were doing so far from the God-Walking People's northern lands, and when one of the hunters explained that they were looking for living or dead kabloona […]

(Canada, US) A non-Inuit person in Canada or Greenland, especially a European or someone of European descent.


machicote

Borrowed from Ojibwe majigoodenh (“dress”), from Proto-Algonquian *-iko·tay (“skirt”), with an empty prefix and contemptive suffix.

bor+

(US, Canada, historical) An underskirt worn by some Native American girls and women.


zowie

Zowie, what a walloping those Browns got in New York yesterday! A few more like that and the blow-up in Washington, then watch the anvil chorus in St. Louis.

1908 July 17, Thomas S. Rice, “Nationals Swat at Lively Clip Until New Orleans Steps Into Breach.”, in The Washington Times, Washington D.C., archived from the original on 2016-11-07, page 10:

(US, slang) An indication of astonishment or admiration.


unhyphenated

... when we shall recognize in our press and at the ballot box no votes but American votes, and no citizens but simply unhyphenated American citizens; when we shall insist that every man who places a ballot in our ballot box shall be able to read that ballot in the language of Lincoln and Grant, we shall have reached the hour when we may begin the most momentous and delicate task ever set before a people—the creation of a great nation out of the fragments of many diverse and even hostile nationalities.

1894, Rena Michaels Atchison, Un-American immigration: its present effects and future perils, C. H. Kerr & company, page 140:

For Pennsylvania yields to no State in the courage and virility of her sons—plain, unhyphenated Americans, not yet pushed by invaders off the soil; loyal men, whose fathers gave their blood like water for the Union.

1916, Agnes Repplier, quoted in "The Glory of Pennsylvania", American Lutheran survey, Volume 5, Lutheran Survey Pub. Co., page 78

First of all, and probably greatest of all in view of most present-day writers, they were "unhyphenated!" This is indeed wonderful! And again, most wonderful! Unhyphenated! So interesting a fact as this, and one so eminently desirable, invites most critical investigation, for the very breath of suggestion insinuates at once that "hyphenism" and "Americanism" are by the very nature of things contradictory, and that "hyphenism" must needs be on a par with, if not exactly the same as, treason. We are therefore very much interested in the new fact that Pennsylvania's glory lies in the giving of "unhyphenated" Americans to the new nation born of the travails of the Revolution.

1916, L. W. Rupp, "The Glory of Pennsylvania", American Lutheran survey, Volume 5, Lutheran Survey Pub. Co., page 78

Some believe it is an expression of Hebrew-Americanism, others think it is an expressio of Negro-Americanism, still other's think it is pure American, unhyphenated.

1922-10-26, "Leave jazz alone", The Musical Courier (reprinted in 2002, Karl Koenig, Jazz in print (1856-1929): an anthology of selected early readings in jazz history, Pendragon Press, page 210)

The concept that Canada was "one nation" and its citizens "unhyphenated", in Diefenbaker's words, had to be set aside.

1984, Janet Kerr Morchain, Mason Wade, Search for a nation: Canada's crises in French-English relations, 1759-1980, Fitzhenry & Whiteside, page 66:

The score for Unhyphenated white men, 36.0, falls just about midway between all white men and black men; the mean prestige score for Unhyphenated white women is 33.6, is considerably closer to the level for black women than all white women.

1985, Richard D. Alba, Ethnicity and race in the U.S.A.: toward the twenty-first century, Routledge & K. Paul, page 178:

Early on Trudeau scorned the idea of making everyone "good, clean, unhyphenated Canadians," and the Reform is explicitly opposed to the Trudeau government's bilingual and multicultural programs.

1992, R. Kent Weaver, The Collapse of Canada?, Brookings Institution Press, page 149:

Stanley Lieberson (1985) has used the term unhyphenated white to identify a growing group of Americans who lack any clear-cut identification with or knowledge of specific European origins.

1996, Wynetta Devore, Elfriede G. Schlesinger, Ethnic-sensitive social work practice, Allyn and Bacon, page 34:

Who—what—were African Americans becoming in relation to political change in America and Africa? Would they simply become unhyphenated Americans, or, in gaining formal equality, would they enact a transnational American citizenship in solidarity with African peoples and in so doing participate in the democratization of America?

2006, Kevin Kelly Gaines, American Africans in Ghana: Black expatriates and the civil rights era, UNC Press Books, page 76:

2007, Herb Duerr, The Unhyphenated Canuck: Reflections and Confessions of an Opinionated Immigrant, iUniverse.com
The Unhyphenated Canuck: Reflections and Confessions of an Opinionated Immigrant (title)

The color barriers in superhero comic books began to fall in 1969 when Marvel Comics introduced the Falcon, the first African-American superhero (the Black Panther, an unhyphenated African superhero preceded him three years prior) in Captain America #117.

2010, Steve Kenson, Mutants & Masterminds: Silver Age, Green Ronin Publishing, →ISBN, page 16:

(Canada, US) Of people, belonging to a single ethnicity or nationality.


squad car

Yesterday he was sleeping in his accustomed place beneath the strong arm squad car. A new driver was on duty and he failed to look underneath.

1922 July 24, “Loses All his Nine Lives: Bonny, Police Mascot and Champion, Crushed by Car”, in New York Times, page 16:

2008, 2 officers, 3 others hurt when van hits Chicago squad car," ChicagoTribune.com, 3 Jun. (retrieved 23 June 2008),
Five people were injured, including two Chicago police officers, when a squad car collided with a minivan while responding to an emergency call.

The gardai pulled in and were helping the male driver when another vehicle ploughed into the back of the patrol car. [...] Sources said that, to the shock of the arresting gardai, it later emerged that the driver that crashed into the squad car was an officer based at a garda station close to the Border.

2015 March 23, Ken Foy, Robin Schiller, “Garda is quizzed over squad car hit-and-run”, in The Herald, Dublin:


shoot first and ask questions later

en-verb

shoot<,,shot> first and ask<> questions later

shoot first and ask questions later (third-person singular simple present shoots first and asks questions later, present participle shooting first and asking questions later, simple past and past participle shot first and asked questions later)

shoots first and asks questions later (present singular third-person)
shot first and asked questions later (participle past)
shot first and asked questions later (past)

(idiomatic, US) To take hasty, immediate action with serious consequences, without first adequately investigating the situation.


autolyze

autolyze (third-person singular simple present autolyzes, present participle autolyzing, simple past and past participle autolyzed)

autolyzes (present singular third-person)
autolyzing (participle present)
autolyzed (participle past)
autolyzed (past)
autolyse (alternative)

(biology, said of a cell) To destroy itself: to be destroyed by its own enzymes.


SLUF

(US, military, aviation, slang)(dated) Short Little Ugly Fucker, nickname for the Vought A-7 Corsair II jet fighter-bomber


vomitous

en-adj

vomitous (comparative more vomitous, superlative most vomitous)

more vomitous (comparative)
most vomitous (superlative)

Their communications from the peace talks are vomitous torrents of insult and threat.

2020, Hilary Mantel, The Mirror and the Light, Fourth Estate, page 386:

(US) Characteristic of, or causing one to vomit.

disgusting

characteristic of, or causing one to vomit


Hamiltonian

(historical, chiefly US, of certain fiscal policies) Advocated by American politician Alexander Hamilton (1755–1804).


Hamiltonian

(historical, chiefly US) A member of the faction of the US government in the George Washington administration led by Alexander Hamilton.


job action

(chiefly US and Canada) A workplace protest by employees designed to inconvenience or disrupt the business of the employer, especially one which is limited in duration or severity.


Nobelist

(chiefly US) A person who has been awarded a Nobel Prize.


right to life

Texas Right to Life, a statewide, anti-abortion, anti-euthanasia organization, was organized last summer. Right to Life groups in Dallas and Houston have been active for some time.

1974-03, Martha Hume, "Abortions in Texas", Texas Monthly, page 65

That means women should have the right to be free about their own bodies. I believe a woman has a right to life. The opposition is an anti-freedom group, rather than, as they have very effectively called themselves, a right-to-life group.

1987-06, Dale Keiger, "The Quiet Minority", Cincinnati Magazine, page 68

(US, public policy, law, ethics) The moral or legal entitlement of an unborn child to be born, and not have its birth prevented through an abortion or other medical procedure.


viviparous eelpout

en-noun

viviparous eelpout (plural viviparous eelpouts)

Zoarces viviparus
Zoarces viviparus#Translingual

(US) A fish in the family Zoarcidae (Zoarces viviparus).


whap

en-verb

whap (third-person singular simple present whaps, present participle whapping, simple past and past participle whapped)

whaps (present singular third-person)
whapping (participle present)
whapped (participle past)
whapped (past)

(US, transitive) To strike hard and suddenly.

1844, Thomas Chandler Haliburton, Judge Haliburton’s Yankee Stories, Part Two, Chapter 22, Philadelphia: Lindsay & Blakiston, pp. 179-180,
He wears his hat a little a one side, rakish-like, whaps his cane down ag’in the pavement hard, as if he intended to keep things in their place, swaggers a few, as if he though he had a right to look big […]

TO WHAP OVER. To turn over. (New England.)

1848, John Russell Bartlett, Dictionary of Americanisms, New York: Bartlett & Welford, page 379:

And at last, as they wrestled and whapped together, they fell headlong in the stream.

1902, Henry Van Dyke, “The Mill”, in The Blue Flower, New York: Scribner, page 65:

Screen doors whapped throughout the night […]

1989, John Irving, chapter 9, in A Prayer for Owen Meany, New York: William Morrow, page 524:

She whapped down on the floor.

The fish whapped over.

(US, intransitive) To throw oneself quickly, or by an abrupt motion; to turn suddenly.


paraoptometric

(US) A person who assists an optometrist


smokie

(Canada, US) A type of smoked sausage, often used for hot dogs.


pocket veto

en-noun

pocket veto (plural pocket vetoes or pocket vetos)

pocket vetoes (plural)
pocket vetos (plural)

(US) A (de facto) veto of a bill by the US President by restricting Congressional action on the bill, as, figuratively, by carrying the bill in his pocket until the deadline for signing it has passed.


slop-jar

"All you fit to do is be Shug's maid... Take out her slop jar, maybe cook her food. You ain't even that good a cook."

"The stage ought to be here," said Miranda, glancing nervously at the tall clock for the twentieth time. "I guess everything's done. I've tacked up two thick towels back of her washstand and put a mat under her slop-jar; but children are awful hard on furniture. I expect we sha'n't know this house a year from now."

1903, Kate Douglas Wiggin, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm:

(US, dated) A container used for urinating or defecating when it is not possible or convenient to use a bathroom or toilet; a bedpan, a chamber pot. Commonly used in hospitals, where it is normally called bedpan. Formerly used in private residences that were without an indoor toilet or bathroom.


cover someone's ass

en-verb

cover someone's ass (third-person singular simple present covers someone's ass, present participle covering someone's ass, simple past and past participle covered someone's ass)

covers someone's ass (present singular third-person)
covering someone's ass (participle present)
covered someone's ass (participle past)
covered someone's ass (past)

Killian kept the files because "he was trying to cover his ass," Via said. "He was always worried something would come back on him."

2004 September 14, Jim Drinkard, Dave Moniz, “Secretary: Memos are forgeries”, in USA Today:

(Canada, US, idiomatic, vulgar) To make preparations or take precautions to ensure that a person is not blamed or punished for his or her conduct.


candy man

candy men (plural)
candy-man (alternative)
candyman (alternative)

“So your friend was into drugs, is that what you’re saying. He’s a Candy Man. That’s some friend to have, I don’t think.” She looked puzzled. “Candy Man,” she repeated. “I don’t understand.” A Candy Man is a slang term for a drug dealer,” I explained.

2015, John Holt, chapter 6, in The Candy Man, page 33:

(chiefly US, euphemistic, slang) A drug dealer.


consociate

consociate (third-person singular simple present consociates, present participle consociating, simple past and past participle consociated)

consociates (present singular third-person)
consociating (participle present)
consociated (participle past)
consociated (past)

Latin cōnsociātus, past participle of cōnsociō (“to associate, unite”).

(US) To unite in an ecclesiastical consociation.


sidebang

sidebangs (plural)
side bang (alternative)

(colloquial, US) A hairstyle that consists of long hair brushed forward over one eye, similar to a fringe haircut, but worn on one side only.


founding member

en-noun

founding member (plural founding members)

The United Nations had 77 founding members.

(US) A member of an organization that was involved in, or whose membership commenced with, the organization's foundation.

membre fundador

member of an organization that was involved in the organization's foundation — see also cofounder


SWIFT

(US, Colorado) Acronym of Statewide Interlibrary loan Fast Track.

(US, Colorado) Acronym of State Wildland Inmate Fire Team.


en-proverb

En-au-no matter how thin you slice it, it's still baloney.ogg

Some of our leading scholars trace it back to a favorite American saying of that time, "No matter how thin you slice it, it is still boloney."

1933 November 29, “Topics of the Times”, in New York Times, page 18:

"Do you have the ability," he asked another juror, "to discern between the truth and baloney?"
"I think so, definitely."
"No matter how thin you slice it, it's still baloney, right?"

2002, Dave Distel, The Sweater Letter, →ISBN, page 267:

(chiefly US) Regardless of how many clever points or fine distinctions one makes, what one is saying is still false or is still nonsense.


bloater

From bloat + -er, because they swell during preparation.

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

(Canada, US) A freshwater fish native to the Great Lakes (Coregonus hoyi).


discretionary spending

en-noun

discretionary spending (usually uncountable, plural discretionary spendings)

Perot would cut federal discretionary spending by 15 percent, chopping items that range from the space station to the Rural Electrification Administration.

1992, Bill Turque AND Ginny Carroll, "Ross Perot's New Tease," Newsweek, 31 Aug.

(US, government finances) US government expenditures which are subject to annual review and authorization by Congress, as distinct from expenditures authorized by existing laws.


Theta

(US, colloquial) A member of the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority.


homeplace

homeplaces (plural)
home-place (alternative)
home place (alternative)

(US) The part of a piece of land on which a home is built.


disincorporate

en-verb

disincorporate (third-person singular simple present disincorporates, present participle disincorporating, simple past and past participle disincorporated)

disincorporates (present singular third-person)
disincorporating (participle present)
disincorporated (participle past)
disincorporated (past)

/ˌdɪsɪŋˈkɔː(ɹ)pəɹeɪt/

/ˌdɪsɪŋˈkɔː(ɹ)pəɹət/

Four towns in the Quabbin Valley were disincorporated, and their residents relocated, to create a reservoir.

(US) To revoke the charter of an incorporated town or city.


not worth a dime

This vase is not worth a dime. Why did you pay so much for it?

His opinions aren't worth a dime.

Eight of the nine who got damages were not worth a dime, and all but six of those who failed to sustain their suits were worthless.

It is extremely vital, because without demonstrating performance and excellence, all the philosophies and reasoning discussed and embedded in the previous two phases are not worth a dime and will look hollow.

2011, Baldev Seekri, Organizational Turnarounds with a Human Touch, page 211:

(US, idiomatic) worthless, lacking in value.


jit

jits (plural)
git (alternative)
jhit (alternative)

When I jumped off the porch, I was wearing a tallis and the field was vicious
But none of this new to me, since a jit, I've been tryna preach unity

2024 July 12, “Hour Glass” (track 1, 0:44 from the start), in BLP Kosher (lyrics), Scarecrow:

(US, originally prison slang, derogatory) An inexperienced, foolhardy young man.


jit

En route home, I stop in a store to put a few dozen jits in a pinball machine. I am a slave of the flashing lights.

1942, Richard A. L. van Schwartz, "A Day in the Life of a Juvenile Fan", Boskonian (#1), page 2

"Well, what do you say, Vince? You'll let me take a jit, won't you? […] I'll give you the jit back with a nickel interest," coaxed Davey.

(US, slang, dated) A nickel (“5-cent coin”).


roached

From the noun roach (“curve, edge of a sail”).

(US) Having a style of trimming a horse's mane so that the hair stands straight up from the neck, similar to the natural growth pattern of a zebra's mane, or a mohawk haircut on a human.


caucus race

From caucus (“special party meeting for vote allocation”) + race (“contest between people”).

Mr. Gingrich, who is now the minority whip, announced last week that he had rounded up more than 100 commitments from House Republicans for the caucus race to come after the election next year.

1993 October 16, “Solomon Drops Out of Race To Be G.O.P. House Leader”, in New York Times:

(US, idiomatic) The competitive process in which a political party selects their candidate, especially presidential; a primary election via caucus.

[…] she was backing southern moderate John Spratt in his strong but unsuccessful caucus race for Budget Committee chairman.

1993, M. Barone, G. Ujifusa, R. E. Cohen, “The Almanac of American Politics 1994”, in National Journal, page 176:

(US, idiomatic) A political competition; the game of campaigning and one-upmanship to get votes and be elected.


swing for the fences

swing for the fences (third-person singular simple present swings for the fences, present participle swinging for the fences, simple past and past participle swung for the fences)

swings for the fences (present singular third-person)
swinging for the fences (participle present)
swung for the fences (participle past)
swung for the fences (past)
swing for the fence (alternative)

Don't swing for the fences unless it's an easy ball; be content with running part way.

(US, baseball, softball) To swing at the ball as hard as possible, with the aim of getting a home run.

I'm not going to swing for the fences tomorrow, but I'm hoping my speech will be warmly received.

“This is a very inexperienced government swinging for the fences in a situation where Labour is the strong favorite in the next election, if they don’t swing too far left,” said Kenneth S. Rogoff, a professor of economics at Harvard.

2022 September 27, Mark Landler, quoting Kenneth S. Rogoff, “Truss Takes a Bold Economic Gamble. Will It Sink Her Government?”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

(US, idiomatic) To do something extremely ambitious, especially rashly.


yellow jacket

yellow jackets (plural)
yellow-jacket (alternative)
yellowjacket (alternative)

From yellow + jacket.
* (pentobarbital sodium): Named after the yellow capsule of the Nembutal brand.

Yellowjackets (Vespula spp.) and paper wasps (Polistes spp.) are beneficial insects in that they are predators of house flies and insect pests that damage landscape trees and crops.

2002, Dennis R. Pittenger, California Master Gardener Handbook, page 183:

The eastern yellowjacket (V. maeulifrons) and the hybrid yellowjacket (V. flavopilosa) are major picnic and campsite pests, especially in the fall in the eastern United States.[…]Many people are stung while getting a drink of water from fountains frequented by yellowjackets seeking water.

2002, Roger D. Akre, Hal C. Reed, “19: Ants, Wasps an Bees (Hymenoptera)”, in Gary R. Mullen, Lance A. Durden, editors, Medical and Veterinary Entomology, page 398:

Vespula and Dolichovespula, collectively called yellowjackets, are broadly distributed in subarctic and temperate zones of the Northern Hemisphere, extending no farther into the tropics than high elevations at the temperate/tropical boundary (Hunt et al. 2001a).[…]The wasp in your summertime can of soda or beer is a yellowjacket.

2007, James H. Hunt, The Evolution of Social Wasps, page 61:

Rotting fruit lying on the ground in the back yard are drawing yellowjackets, got to get rid of them before one of the dogs get stung.

2010, Ray Schar, Wonderfully Weird World, page 33:

Yellow-jacket wasps breed quickly to maximise the use of available resources, and trying to outpace their productivity is nearly impossible. / For instance, a 2002 study showed that 80 traps around a 20-hectare water park failed to control yellow-jackets; and in 2006 after 42,367 yellow-jackets were slaughtered at a health spa, 91 stings were still reported.

2018 August 26, Hannah Hyam, “Letters: Wasp traps increase the risk of stings”, in The Guardian:

Mr. Barron immediately retreated, and later sprayed hornet killer on the nest with his son. He said that just angered the yellow jackets, the highly aggressive wasps that live in such colonies. Mr. Barron was stung 11 times.

2019 June 30, Mariel Padilla, “Officials Warn of Wasp ‘Super Nests’ in Alabama”, in The New York Times:

(chiefly US) A predatory wasp with alternating black and yellow stripes around the abdomen, usually of the genera Vespula or Dolichovespula.


assward

en-adv

assward (comparative more assward, superlative most assward)

more assward (comparative)
most assward (superlative)

(Canada, US, informal) Ass first; backward.


asswards

asswards (comparative more asswards, superlative most asswards)

more asswards (comparative)
most asswards (superlative)

(Canada, US, slang) Ass first; backwards.


warfighter

Training excellence inevitably returns to the leader— the warfighter. The warfighter is a special breed of soldier. From squad leader to corps commander, the warfighter knows how to fight on the battlefield.

1986, Military Review, volume 66, page 11:

Shay also wrote eloquently, from his experience treating Vietnam veterans with traumatic stress injuries, how the betrayal in war of the moral order—of basic beliefs about right and wrong—can ruin the character of young warfighters.

2011, Charles R. Figley, William P. Nash, Combat Stress Injury: Theory, Research, and Management, page 54:

Military operations in urban terrain (MOUT) present many unique and challenging conditions for the warfighter.

2011, Borko Furht, Handbook of Augmented Reality, page 681:

What will the future warfighter be like? What are the characteristics of the future battlefield on which he or she will fight? How must changes in military health care work to address emerging needs?

2013, Peter Ramsaroop, Marion J. Ball, David Beaulieu, Advancing Federal Sector Health Care: A Model for Technology Transfer:

(US) A soldier (especially of the United States military).

taistelija

soldier, especially in the military of one's own country


dast

Variant of darst, from Middle English darst, from Old English dearst.

They don't dast.

1951, Louis L'Amour, The Rustlers of West Fork, page 96:


SDO

(space science, US) Initialism of Solar Dynamics Observatory.


utilization review

en-noun

utilization review (plural utilization reviews)

(US, medicine, management) A review of the use of medical resources at a medical facility for purposes of cost control.


lawyer up

en-verb

lawyer up (third-person singular simple present lawyers up, present participle lawyering up, simple past and past participle lawyered up)

lawyers up (present singular third-person)
lawyering up (participle present)
lawyered up (participle past)
lawyered up (past)

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

By the time patrol cars got to the friend's house, so had her lawyer. With her attorney running blocker, police could not even ascertain if Grubman had been driving the car, says Suffolk County district attorney James Catterson. "She was lawyered up, as we like to say."

2001 July 15, Amanda Ripley, “Rage Of The Hamptons”, in Time, archived from the original on 2012-03-29:

In the summer of 2019, when the boys are involved in the death of the young woman at that swimming hole, the parents of Barton Hills do what any caregivers might do, if they are rich or rich-adjacent. They lawyer up, and when this strategy fails to provide a sufficient shield between their boys and whatever they may or may not have been party to, the families up their game.

2022 April 5, Elizabeth Wetmore, “How Far Will Parents Go to Protect Their Sons?”, in The New York Times:

(intransitive, chiefly US, informal) To exercise one's right to legal representation; to engage the services of a lawyer.

Whenever we do business with those guys, we lawyer up to protect ourselves.

And I'll bet what you hated the most was that they identified me as a co-founder of Facebook, which I am. You better lawyer up asshole, because I'm not coming back for 30%, I'm coming back for EVERYTHING.

2010, Aaron Sorkin, The Social Network, spoken by Eduardo Saverin (Andrew Garfield):

(intransitive, chiefly US, informal, business) To conduct matters in accord with legal formalities or so as to avoid legal risk.


highschooler

highschoolers (plural)
high schooler (alternative)
high-schooler (alternative)


ULA

United Launch Alliance
w:United Launch Alliance

(space science, US) Initialism of United Launch Alliance.


Imma

Written form of a relaxed pronunciation of I'm gonna. Includes a reduction of /mn/ to /m/ (see reduction of /mb/ and /mn/ on Wikipedia). Common in and possibly originated in African-American Vernacular English, but is used more broadly today. Harvard professor Sunn m'Cheaux says the term originated in the Gullah English creole language, where "a-" replaces "-ing" and indicates immediate future tense.

I'mma (alternative)
imma (alternative)
I'ma (alternative)
i'ma (alternative)
Ima (alternative)
ima (alternative)
Ima' (alternative)
I'm a (alternative)
I'm a' (alternative)
i'm a' (alternative)
I'm'a (alternative)
i'm'a (alternative)
I'm-a (alternative)

so Imma say 16 or 17, cool

Yo, Taylor, I'm really happy for you, Imma let you finish, but Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time! One of the best videos of all time!

2009, Kanye West, MTV Video Music Awards, Kanye West (actor):

I told you we should have gone with the mermaid costume. I'mma put this on -- 'cause I'm going to the race cause I feel better.

2017, Frankie Pamplemousse, “The No-Kart Race”, in The ZhuZhus:

(chiefly US, informal) Contraction of I'm gonna.


interservice

Interservice rivalry is often blamed for problems in the US military.

Interservice coordination in the field has improved due to electronic communications.

(US) Involving relationships between branches of the armed forces.


parkland

(Canada, US) A landscape characterized by a mixture of treed groves and open grasslands, akin to a Eurasian forest steppe.


on the cuff

The newspapers were jammed with ads inviting customers to buy on the cuff. Philadelphians could get a $269 television set for $5 down and $4 a week.

(chiefly US, idiomatic) On credit, with payment to be made later.


coochie

Possibly a clipping of hootchy-kootchy. Alternatively, possibly from cunt with influence from American slang term cookie (“vulva”). References to coochee dance (with various spellings) are attested from the end of the 19th century. The sense of “vagina or vulva” is attested from the early 20th century.

LITTLE EGYPT IN COOCHEE COOCHEE DANCE. A vision of gauze, lace and spangles, performing the famous danse-du-ventre

1899 January 25, “New Films for ‘Screen’ Machines”, in The Phonoscope, page 15:

(US, obsolete) The hootchy-kootchy, a type of erotic dance.

She’s the red hot mama from Bahama with the red hot cootchie-coo!
You get sweet infection in the deep hot section,
When that gal looks at you!

1937, Cab Calloway (lyrics and music), “My Gal Mezzanine”:

That fat sum bitch don’t even get coochie, yet he trust to tell me what to do with mine? Please.


Panther

(US) A member of the Black Panther Party, White Panther Party or Gray Panthers.


tire kicker

(Canada, US) Alternative form of tyre kicker


fish fry

(US) A meal, especially a cookout, featuring deep-fried, battered fish.


AWDWWITK

(law, US) Initialism of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill.


mittimus

From Latin mittimus (the opening word of such a document), first-person plural of mittō (“send”).

Away George, away, raise the watch at Ludgate, and bring a Mittimus from the Iustice for this desperate villaine.

1607 (first performance), [Francis Beaumont], The Knight of the Burning Pestle, London: […] [Nicholas Okes] for Walter Burre, […], published 1613, →OCLC, Act III, signature F2, verso:

But she pertinaciously refused to make any response. So that he was about to make her mittimus to Bridewell when I departed.

1749, Henry Fielding, chapter X, in The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC, book IV:

(law, archaic outside the US) A warrant issued for someone to be taken into custody.


blue book exam

blue book exams (plural)
blue book examination (alternative)

From the color of the book cover, chosen by Butler University in Indianapolis to match its school colors.

postsecondary school
postsecondary school

(US, education) A type of test that normally includes one or more essays or short-answer questions, used at many postsecondary schools.


lay up

lay up (third-person singular simple present lays up, present participle laying up, simple past and past participle laid up)

lays up (present singular third-person)
laying up (participle present)
laid up (participle past)
laid up (past)

(slang, US) To have sex; to have a sexual relationship.


spicebush

Lindera benzoin
Lindera benzoin#Translingual

(US) A common spicebush (Lindera benzoin), whose leaves have a distinctive strong citrusy aroma.


arrowwood

(US) Any of several species of genus Viburnum of eastern North America and other viburnums that have naturalized in North America.

downy arrowwood

viburnums native to or naturalized in eastern North America


blue-plate special

en-noun

blue-plate special (plural blue-plate specials)

blue-plate specials (plural)
blue plate special (alternative)

His big blue plate special, with meat course and three vegetables, is purchasable for a quarter.

1928 December 2, Bertram Reinitz, “Where New York Dines on Dime”, in New York Time, page 162:

Most had stayed at the convention hotel, but at dinner time many went across the street for the fifty-cent blue plate special.

1968, Erik Barnouw, A History of Broadcasting in the United States: The Golden Web: 1933 to 1953, Oxford, →ISBN, page 36:

(chiefly US, dated) A popular meal offered at a reduced price, usually in inexpensive eateries and often on a plate divided into compartments for different food items.


SES

It has often been suggested that Australian governments by adopting the SES model are gradually following United States practice where senior levels of the public service are staffed by political appointments of the president.

1999, Ciaran O'Faircheallaigh, John Wanna, Patrick Moray Weller, Public Sector Management in Australia: New Challenges, New Directions, page 152:

Senior Executive Service
w:Senior Executive Service

(US, Australia) Initialism of Senior Executive Service, a high-ranking position classification of the civil service (public service).


straw donor

(US) A person who makes political contributions provided by an anonymous third party


pillowbeer

pillowbeers (plural)
pillow bear (alternative)
pillowbere (alternative)
pillow-bere (alternative)
pillowbier (alternative)

/ˈpɪləʊˌbɪə/

/ˈpɪloʊˌbɪɚ/

From earlier pillowbere, from pillow + bear (“pillowcase”), from Middle English bēre (“pillowcase”), from Old English *bera (as in Old English hlēorbera (“cheek-cover”)), of obscure and uncertain origin.

unk

obscure and uncertain

When Zoylus was sicke, he knew not where / Saue his wrought night cap, and laune Pillow-bere:

1599, Joseph Hall, Virgidemiarum: The three last bookes : Of byting Satyres, page 85:

Ne was there such another Pardoner, For in his male had he a pillowbere, Which as he sayd was our Ladyes vayle.

1635, Simon Birckbek, The Protestants Evidence, taken out of good records, page 64:

she had so well covered herself with a pillowbeer which she there found, that her regard to decency was not in the least violated by the presence of so many men as were now in the room.

1749, Henry Fielding, Tom Jones, Folio Society, published 1973, page 337:

(now Northern England, US regional) A pillowcase.


French press

→ Persian: فرنچ پرس (ferenč peres)


snap in

en-verb

snap in (third-person singular simple present snaps in, present participle snapping in, simple past and past participle snapped in)

snaps in (present singular third-person)
snapping in (participle present)
snapped in (participle past)
snapped in (past)

(US, military) To practice aiming, adjusting and firing a rifle with no ammunition


bloviation

en-noun

bloviation (countable and uncountable, plural bloviations)

/bləʊvɪˈeɪʃən/

For doing my duty, I claim no credit—I seek no “bloviations”—I ask for no sacrifices—I desire no ovations— [...]

1850 June 29, J. McCormick, J. V. Smith (official reporter), “[Report No. 1 on the Judiciary]”, in Report of the Debates and Proceedings of the Convention for the Revision of the Constitution of the State of Ohio, 1850–51, Columbus, Oh.: S. Medary, printer to the Convention, published 1851, →OCLC, page 640, column 1:

Sects generally claim for their founders some successful speculators, who, whether deserving or not, had obtained reputations. Most commonly the reputation is dependant on the amount of bloviation that has been practiced, and certainly, in some instances, this has been extensive enough.

1857 January, G. W. L. Bickley, “History of the Eclectic Medical Institute of Cincinnati, and Its Ethical Peculiarities”, in R[obert] S. Newton, editor, The Eclectic Medical Journal, volume I (Fifth Series; volume XVI overall), number 1, Cincinnati, Oh.: Published by R. S. Newton, […], →OCLC, pages 13–14:

The members of this convention are neither fogies nor faddists nor men given to bloviation for the sole purpose of stimulating activities in real estate.

1909 December 7, J. W. Jeffrey, “Address”, in Proceedings of the Thirty-sixth Convention of the California State Fruit Growers, Held under the Auspices of the State Commission of Horticulture, at Watsonville, December 7, 8, 9 and 10, 1909, volume II, Sacramento, Calif.: W. W. Shannon, […], published 1910, page 16:

As critics saw it, the inaugural address of the twenty-ninth president [Warren Gamaliel Harding] was full of bloviation. Official newspaper reaction was positive if restrained.

1993, John T. Morello, “President Warren G. Harding’s Inaugural Address, 1921”, in Halford Ryan, editor, The Inaugural Addresses of Twentieth-century American Presidents (Praeger Series in Political Communication), Westport, Conn.: Praeger Publishers, Greenwood Publishing Group, →ISBN, →ISSN, pages 53–54:

The [New York] Times itself, though, is very much alive. The newspaper is less stenographic, more relevant, and in some ways an even more assuring and indispenable morning touchstone in a nonstop torrent of breaking news and a bottomless pit of bloviation.

2009 November, Sam Roberts, “Introduction”, in Only in New York: An Exploration of the World’s Most Fascinating, Frustrating, and Irrepressible City, New York, N.Y.: St. Martin’s Press, →ISBN, page 4:

(US, possibly originally Ohio, informal) A boastful or pompous manner of speaking or writing; a lengthy discourse delivered in that manner.

sõnavaht

lengthy discourse in a boastful or pompous manner


aspenglow

From Aspen + glow, modeled on alpenglow.

For quotations using this term, see Citations:aspenglow.

(US, Colorado) The glow on mountaintops at dawn and dusk.


irregardful

en-adj

irregardful (comparative more irregardful, superlative most irregardful)

more irregardful (comparative)
most irregardful (superlative)

Probably a parody of irregardless; analyzable as ir- + regard + -ful.

(slang, proscribed, chiefly US, humorous) Regardless.


whoopee pie

(US) A sweet snack consisting of a sandwich of two flat, round cakes with a cream filling


momo

The probability on one-four-reel machine is a million and a half to one. On three machines in a row, it's in the billions. It cannot happen… would not happen, you fuckin' momo!

1995, Nicholas Pileggi, Martin Scorsese, Casino, spoken by Ace (Robert De Niro):


JFTR

(government, US, military) Joint Federal Travel Regulation


jelly doughnut

jelly doughnuts (plural)
jelly donut (alternative)

(Canada, US) A doughnut filled with jam and usually topped with icing sugar.


file cabinet

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

(Canada, US) An item of office furniture comprising a set of either drawers, or shelves with individual doors or panels, sized to standard widths of file folders and traditionally used for the storage of files.


second-storey man

en-noun

second-storey man (plural second-storey men)

second-storey men (plural)
second-story man (alternative)

They were appalled by his idea of making a spy service out of a scattershot collection of Wall Street brokers, Ivy League eggheads, soldiers of fortune, ad men, news men, stunt men, second-story men, and con men.

2007, Tim Weiner, Legacy of Ashes, Penguin, published 2008, page 4:

For a brief period in Warsaw in the 1890s, Kornblum had been forced into a life of crime, as a second-story man, and the prospect of prizing the Golem out of its current home, unsuspected, awoke wicked old memories of gaslight and stolen gems.

2000, Michael Chabon, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Random House, page 16:

(slang, US) A thief, especially one who climbs into buildings above ground level.


buck private

Bedell Smith was a shopkeeper's son from Indiana who rose from buck private to general without the polish of West Point or a college degree.

2007, Tim Weiner, Legacy of Ashes, Penguin, published 2008, pages 15–16:

(US, military slang) A private soldier keen ("bucking") for promotion; an ambitious private.


white-shoe

For the noun, from their traditional footwear. For the adjective, from the preponderance of Ivy League graduates hired by such firms.

(US, slang) A stereotypical male Ivy League college student.


white-shoe

en-adj

white-shoe (comparative more white-shoe, superlative most white-shoe)

more white-shoe (comparative)
most white-shoe (superlative)

Dulles had been a junior diplomat after World War I and a white-shoe Wall Street lawyer in the Depression.

2007, Tim Weiner, Legacy of Ashes, Penguin, published 2008, page 26:

In “Reset: My Fight for Inclusion and Lasting Change,” Ellen K. Pao traces a journey of disillusionment that culminated in the lawsuit she brought against her employer, the white-shoe venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, for gender discrimination.

2017 September 19, Jennifer Szalai, “The Education of Ellen Pao”, in New York Times:

(US, slang) Establishment; pertaining to mainstream US social power-structures.


Johnny-jump-up

(Canada, US) Any of several violets or pansies.

Any of several violets or pansies.
Viola bicolor (American field pansy)

Any of several violets or pansies.
Viola cornuta (tufted pansy)

Viola pedunculata (California golden violet)

Viola tricolor
Viola tricolor#Translingual

Viola tricolor (heartsease, wild pansy, pansy, et al.)

He spoke almost dreamily, as if he was all by himself, out in the woods, picking johnny-jump-ups.

1940, Raymond Chandler, Farewell, My Lovely, Penguin, published 2010, page 6:


railroad spike

(rail transport, US) A type of large nail that fixes a railway line to a sleeper.


stem-winder

US, mid-late 19th century, originally referring to then-recent stem-wind watches (invented in 1840s, commercialized initially 1850s by Patek Philippe & Co.). These were expensive, top-notch watches, hence generalized (1892) to “top-notch”, particularly applied to speeches, or to the orator in question. Non-speech senses later fell out of use. Nuance of “rousing” speech possibly by analogy with watch being wound up (“tighten by winding, excite, rouse”).
Circa 2000, later sense of “interminable speech” a folk etymology, in sense “a speech that lasts so long one must wind one’s watch”.

(US) A rousing speech, especially by a politician.

(US) Someone who gives such speeches; a great orator.

Or – heaven forbid – the Bill Clinton of 1988, who gave a tedious stemwinder in 1988 that has gone down in the books as the worst nominating speech in recent memory?

2000, Bill Schneider and Keating Holland, “What to look for Thursday at the Democratic National Convention”, August 17, 2000, CNN, “Clinton comparisons”

(US, proscribed) A boring, interminable speech.

(US, obsolete) Something top-notch or first-rate.


railroad switch

en-noun

railroad switch (plural railroad switches)


chyron

Genericization of the trademark Chyron, from Chiron (“centaur of Greek mythology”).

Chyrons (electronically enlarged words or numbers superimposed on the screen) might be used to illustrate and compare budget figures or to emphasize a quote.

1982, Judy Woodruff, Kathleen Maxa, “This is Judy Woodruff at the White House”, Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, →ISBN, page 63:

Chyron recognition: A celebrity who needs no electronically inserted title or caption (a chyron) to identify him or her on television, especially news programs or interview shows.

1999, Rodger W[illiam] Claire, Entertainment 101: An Industry Primer, Beverly Hills, Calif.: Pomegranate Press, →ISBN:

The ABC broadcast also began to use Chyrons, which "generated brightly colored maps, charts, graphs, and illustrations and imposed text over pictures. A red slash, like the one on the cover of Time magazine, was superimposed on stories, in an effort to give ABC's newscast a distinctive identity."

2004, James T. Hamilton, All the News That's Fit to Sell: How the Market Transforms Information into News, Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, →ISBN, page 170:

In the days before desktop video production software, such as Final Cut Pro and After Effects, making even a simple black and white title was a tough business. Creating broadcast-quality video titles required a specialized piece of expensive equipment called a Chyron generator and a highly skilled Chyron operator to run it. In fact, there was a time when Chyron operators made a good living because they were the only ones who knew how to make good, professional quality titles.

2006, Ian David Aronson, DV Filmmaking: From Start to Finish, Sebastopol, Calif.: O'Reilly Media, →ISBN, page 168:

The TV images that would shake American politics like none had since Watts in 1965 began innocuously enough: on NBC, above a chyron reading taped, it looked like a busy New York rush hour, though some are holding handkerchiefs to their faces. […] [T]he hemmed-in cops threw tear-gas canisters across the street at the apex of the marchers' U-turn […] grant park, chicago, illinois, the chyron now reads, and a woman's voice says, "The kids are still marching, it looks like a whole gathering of people with terrible colds"; […]

2008 May, Rick Perlstein, Nixonland: The Rise of a President and the Fracturing of America, New York, N.Y.: Scribner, →ISBN, page 321:

Chyron. Words shown on a video screen. Also known as a super. A slash (/) indicates a line break in a Chyron message in a script.

2015, Charles Marsh, David W. Guth, Bonnie Poovey Short, “Broadcast/Podcast Writing”, in Strategic Writing: Multimedia Writing for Public Relations, Advertising, and More, 3rd edition, Abingdon, Oxon., New York, N.Y.: Routledge, →ISBN, page 13:

On the TV, a guest sits on the George Drudge couch. Below her a chyron reads: Chandice, Admits she eats her Kleenex. A chyron reads: Rick, Says he doesn't trust Amy, that's why he watches her poop. On the bus, someone shouts, 'I do dat, too!' On the TV, a chyron reads: Selena, Admits she's obsessed with burping.

2016, Michael Grothaus, Epiphany Jones, [London]: Orenda Books, →ISBN:

(US, television) A set of graphics or words at the bottom of a television screen, sometimes unrelated to the current viewing content.


chyron

en-verb

chyron (third-person singular simple present chyrons, present participle chyroning, simple past and past participle chyroned)

chyrons (present singular third-person)
chyroning (participle present)
chyroned (participle past)
chyroned (past)

(US, television, transitive) To display (material) on screen by this technology.


yellow dog

yellow dogs (plural)
Yellow Dog (alternative)
yaller dog (alternative)
yallar dog (alternative)

Carolina dogs were called yellow dogs because many had yellow coats. The fact that many mongrel dogs also had yellow coats lead to the term's application to any worthless item or person. For the etymology of the term Yellow Dog Democrat, see that entry.

(US, especially Southern US) A Carolina dog.

If I had a woman like that I'd trade her off for a yellow dog and then shoot the dog.

1877, Charles White with Andrew J. Leavitt, The coming man: an Ethiopian sketch in two scenes, page 5:

A respectable class of candidates for minor state offices, and for state senate and assembly, at this moment desire to run on the ticket with Roosevelt. As soon as there is a third ticket in the field no one but a yellow dog will consent to run on Platt's ticket.

1897, John Jay Chapman, editor, The Political nursery, volumes 1:10 - 4:10:

(US, informal) An item or person of low value.


en-proper noun

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

(US) A federal government agency dedicated to scientifically studying the oceans and atmosphere. The NOAA is a part of the United States Department of Commerce.


admiral of the fleet

en-noun

admiral of the fleet (plural admirals of the fleet)

(military, US, dated) Synonym of fleet admiral.


rear admiral (upper half)

rear admiral (upper half) (plural rear admirals (upper half))

United States Coast Guard
United States Coast Guard

rear admiral (lower half)
rear admiral (lower half)

(US, military, nautical) A flag officer in the United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps, or Public Health Service Commissioned Corps of a grade superior to a rear admiral (lower half) and junior to a vice admiral. A rear admiral (upper half) is equal in grade or rank to an Army, Marine Corps, or Air Force major general. A rear admiral (upper half) wears a two star insignia on most uniforms and a gold stripe above a broad gold stripe on the sleeve of certain dress uniforms.

(US, military, nautical) A naval officer of equivalent grade or rank in the navy of other countries.


rear admiral (lower half)

rear admiral (lower half) (plural rear admirals (lower half))

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps

rear admiral (upper half)
rear admiral (upper half)

(US, military, nautical) A commissioned officer in the United States Navy, Coast Guard, NOAA Corps, or PHS Corps of a grade superior to a captain and junior to a rear admiral (upper half). A rear admiral (lower half) is equal in grade or rank to an Army, Marine Corps, or Air Force brigadier general.

(US, military, nautical) A naval officer of equivalent grade or rank in the navy of other countries, such as commodore.


XP

Combination of prefix P and prefix modifier X.

(aviation, military, obsolete, US) eXperimental, Pursuit, fighter (prefix)


bat away

en-verb

bat away (third-person singular simple present bats away, present participle batting away, simple past and past participle batted away)

bats away (present singular third-person)
batting away (participle present)
batted away (participle past)
batted away (past)

(US, baseball, of a batter) To use one's own judgment to aggressively swing at pitches, rather than following a coaches instructions.

(US, circus slang) To use any means to take the money of participants in a circus gaming attraction.


dominee

Borrowed from Dutch dominee and Afrikaans dominee.

(US, dated) A minister in a Dutch Reformed church; a dominie.


mailpiece

From mail + piece; part of the business jargon of postal services and mail marketers for more than a century, but not common among the general public until the 21st century.

You have 0 mailpiece(s) and 1 inbound package(s) arriving soon. [U.S. Postal Service Informed Delivery email of the 2020s]

Each mailjob is composed of pages that go into a single envelope. These are called mailpieces.

1995 April, Anthony F. Stuart, Technical Association of the Graphic Arts, Proceedings, page 442:

The name and return address of the authorized nonprofit organization must be either on the outside of the mailpiece or in a prominent location

2002, Bruce R. Hopkins, The Law of Fundraising, page 316:

(chiefly Canada, US) (countable) A piece of mail, that is, an item of (physical) mail; especially, an item of flat envelope form factor as contrasted with an item of package form factor.


skunk ape

(US, cryptozoology) A hominid creature said to inhabit the Southeastern United States.


hant

“[…] Say, Mister, did you ever see a hant?”
The gentleman did not understand.
“A hant, a ghost, some calls ’em,” explained Jed.

1907, Harold Bell Wright, chapter I, in The Shepherd of the Hills, New York: A.L. Burt, page 20:

[…] he shivered as though a hant had touched him with its ghostly fingers, for night was near and he was alone in a depth of the swamp where he had never been before.

1934, Cecile Hulse Matschat, chapter 3, in Suwannee River: Strange Green Land, New York: The Literary Guild of America, page 52:

The term “hant” covers all malevolent and inexplicable sights and sounds. Primarily hants protect buried treasure and linger about ghoulish death spots.

1967, Richard M. Dorson, “Spirits and Hants”, in American Negro Folktales, Greenwich, Connecticut: Fawcett, page 213:

Naturally, I believed in hants and ghosts and “thangs.” Having been raised by a super-religious Southern Negro grandmother, it would have been abnormal had I not been superstitious.

1969, Maya Angelou, chapter 22, in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, New York: Bantam, published 1971, page 140:

(Scotland, US, colloquial, chiefly African-American Vernacular) Alternative form of haunt, haint (“ghost”)


officer-involved shooting

en-noun

officer-involved shooting (plural officer-involved shootings)

(US, euphemistic) An incident in which a police officer shoots at another person.


Astroturf

Astroturfs (plural)
astroturf (alternative)

An Astroturf campaign is a fake grassroots movement: it purports to be a spontaneous uprising of concerned citizens, but in reality it is founded and funded by elite interests. Some Astroturf campaigns have no grassroots component at all. Others catalyse and direct real mobilisations.

2010 October 25, George Monbiot, “The Tea Party movement: deluded and inspired by billionaires”, in The Guardian, retrieved 2021-09-26:

(US, politics) A campaign designed to appear like a genuine popular (or grassroots) movement, that does not have such popular support.


brokedown

But it's got a brokedown drive. It can only hobble along. They can't try to get but so far! What's the nearest sol-type star?

2012, Murray Leinster, A Matter of Importance, page 25:

(Canada, US, informal) Broken; not working properly.


done up

en-adj

done up (comparative more done up, superlative most done up)

more done up (comparative)
most done up (superlative)

Near-synonyms: effete, dissipated

(colloquial, obsolete, US) Ruined by excess, especially gambling.


black box warning

en-noun

black box warning (plural black box warnings)

(US) A warning, surrounded by a black border, affixed to a prescription drug to indicate that it may cause serious or life-threatening effects.


buttonology

From button + -ology. In the sense of pedantic systematization, a calque of Swedish knappologi with the same literal meaning.

“The [controller] that will go in theater . . . is just a tad bigger . . . but all the same buttonology, but it’s ruggedized for the environment,” Raulerson said.

2007 April 27, Carlo Munoz, “First round now under way”, in Inside the Air Force, volume 18, number 17, →JSTOR, pages 4–5:

Fielding the newer version of the system with or without the enclave is important to units slated to have DCGS-A because the newer version “is a lot more user friendly for our analysts, as it’s more in tune with Windows-type applications,” he said at the roundtable. What’s more, it features what he called new “buttonology” to which users are more receptive.

2013 January 3, Jen Judson, “Officials:: No Loss Of Capability For DCGS-A Without Top-Secret Enclave”, in Inside the Pentagon, volume 29, number 1, →JSTOR, page 11:

Any other adjustment concerns will pertain to the unique buttonology of the oscilloscope and will be covered in the owner's manual that comes with the scope when you purchase it.

2016, Steve V. Hatch, Computerized Engine Controls, page 191:


French Canadian

(US) The French language as spoken in Canada, Canadian French.


in the future

Please put the toilet seat down in the future.


banty

He strutted like a banty rooster.


fandub

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

The fandub Evangelion: ReDeath is shown every year at Fanime.

(US, anime) An anime title that has been dubbed by fans.


USO

HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO SUPPORT THE TROOPS IF I CAN’T REGALE THEM WITH TALES OF WHOREPUNCHING AND SKULLFUCKING? THREE WORDS: INDIETITS USO SHOW

2007, Jeph Jacques, Indietits: SUPPORT OUR TROOPS:


gandy dancer

gandy dancers (plural)
gandy-dancer (alternative)

Uncertain; see Wikipedia for various speculative etymologies.

Gandy dancer—A section hand or track laborer.

1929, Vernon W. Saul, “The Vocabulary of Bums”, in American Speech, volume 4, number 5, page 340:

The oddest gandy-dancer on the railroads in Manitoba during the summer of 1926 was a 6-ft. 4-in. American medical student named Ben Spock.

1959 May 18, “Bush Teachers”, in Time, retrieved 2008-09-14:

In railroad slang, a gandy dancer is a track worker, one who lays or maintains track.

1981 May 3, Edward C. Burks, “Amtrak Changes on Schedule”, in New York Times, retrieved 2014-06-11:

(chiefly US, idiomatic) A railway laborer, especially a member of a crew which carries rails and affixes them to ties.


D.O.

Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine
w:Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine

(US) Abbreviation of Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine.


fall off the turnip truck

en-verb

fall<,,fell,fallen> off the turnip truck

fall off the turnip truck (third-person singular simple present falls off the turnip truck, present participle falling off the turnip truck, simple past fell off the turnip truck, past participle fallen off the turnip truck)

falls off the turnip truck (present singular third-person)
falling off the turnip truck (participle present)
fell off the turnip truck (past)
fallen off the turnip truck (participle past)

Doesn't it strike you as funny that this city, which prides itself on its erudition and sophistication, can oftimes get suckered like a bumpkin who just fell off the turnip truck?

2006 February 14, “Opinion: The Picture of Stupidity”, in New York Daily News, retrieved 2008-09-16:

(chiefly US, stative, idiomatic) To be naive, uninformed, or unsophisticated, in the manner of a rustic person.


Buddyroll

Possibly originating from Boudreaux or Budreaux, a common family name in Louisiana (US).

Hey, Buddyroll, who you looking at?

(US, slang) An aggressive informal term of address to a stranger.


charette

charettes (plural)
charrette (alternative)
charret (alternative)

Borrowed from French charrette (“cart”).

(US) A period of intense work, especially group work undertaken to meet a deadline.


head cheese

en-noun

head cheese (countable and uncountable, plural head cheeses)

(US, Canada) A terrine made from the flesh of the head of a pig (such as the face).


break the buck

en-verb

break the buck (third-person singular simple present breaks the buck, present participle breaking the buck, simple past broke the buck, past participle broken the buck)

breaks the buck (present singular third-person)
breaking the buck (participle present)
broke the buck (past)
broken the buck (participle past)

Break (as in break the bank) + the + buck (“dollar (colloquial)”).

In 1994, during the Orange County bankruptcy, a few funds were poised to break the buck, until their parent companies stepped in.

2000, Charles A. Jaffe, Chuck Jaffe’s Lifetime Guide to Mutual Funds: An Owner’s Manual, Perseus Books Group, →ISBN, page 110, →ISBN:

"We were likely going to see more funds halt redemptions" and break the buck. The insurance program is part of a wider rescue package […]

2008 September 19, “Money-Market Funds Get $50 Billion Backstop From US (Update1)”, in Bloomberg:

(US, idiomatic, finance, of a money-market fund) To fall below the value of one dollar per share.


yech

Yech! This jelly donut is the worst on the planet!

The author in effect tells the reader it's OK to be gay if you're successful, handsome, well-hung and in no way effeminate. Yech!

1979 April 28, Allen Young, “The Joy of Gay Lit”, in Gay Community News, page 20:


antiblue

en-adj

antiblue (comparative more antiblue, superlative most antiblue)

more antiblue (comparative)
most antiblue (superlative)

Anyone who allowed banned activities to take place on his owned or rented property faced police citations and fines. It took only two years, however, for anti-blue law sentiment to arise, and various exceptions to the original ordinance were passed […]

Time Warner […] was also home to Ice-T, whose “Cop Killer” was pointedly and recklessly antiblue in the wake of the 1992 L.A. riots, even if the track had been intended as a statement against police brutality—a generation before the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement.

2017, David Friend, The Naughty Nineties:


C-rat

(US, military, slang) Clipping of C-ration.


clough

cloughs (plural)
cleugh (alternative)
cleuch (alternative)
cleugh (alternative)

From Middle English clough, clow, cloȝ, from Old English *clōh, from Proto-Germanic *klanhaz, *klanhō (“cleft, sluice, abyss”), of uncertain origin, possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gel- (“to form into a ball”).
Cognate with Scots cleuch (“gorge; ravine”), Old High German klāh (in placenames), Old High German klingo, klinga (“brook, cataract, gulf, rapids”). Perhaps conflated or influenced by Old Norse klofi (“a cleft or rift in a hill, ravine”); compare Dutch kloof (“a slit, crevice, chink”). See also cling, clove.

cog

The day-sky glimmered on the dew[…]
And lurked in heath and braken clough

These beds form no good escarpments southward of the clough; but they appear to be higher than the corresponding beds on the opposite side; there would thus seem to be a fault in the valley downthrowing on the west, but it is quite hidden by débris.

1875, Edward Hull, John Roche Dakyns, Richard Hill Tiddeman, The Geology of the Burnley Coal-field and of the Country Around Clitheroe, Blackburn, Preston, Chorley, Haslingden, and Todmorden, page 104:

The features of a clough fall well in with a Teutonic idea that Thor, their thunder-god, had smitten these places when in fits of fury and made the deep gashes in the hillsides.

1902, Yorkshire Dialect Society, Transactions - Volumes 1-4, page 20:

Now we've sorted that out, the easiest way is up the clough and along the bridleway.

2014, Malc Cowle, Trespassers! A Tribute to Fighters for the Freedom to Roam, page 189:

(Northern England, US) A narrow valley; a cleft in a hillside; a ravine, glen, or gorge.


lunch lady

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


sperm donor

(US, slang, derogatory) A man who is the father of a woman's child or children, but no longer has a relationship, or has a hostile relationship, with the woman, and is typically uninvolved with the children as well.


aggravated assault

en-noun

aggravated assault (countable and uncountable, plural aggravated assaults)

aggravated assaults (plural)
agg. assault (alternative)

(US criminal law) Assault with disregard for the value of life, or with a deadly weapon.


heavy cream

heavy cream (countable and uncountable, plural heavy creams)

(Canada, US) A rich cream, at least 36 percent of which is milkfat.

standards of identity
standard of identity

(US standards of identity) Pasteurized cream at least 36 percent of which is milkfat, optionally homogenized, and optionally containing added flavor, nutritive sweetener, emulsifier, or stabilizer.


light cream

The standard of identity is from 21 CFR §131.155.

(Canada, US) A cream at least 18 percent of which is fat.

(US standards of identity) Pasteurized cream at least 18 percent of which, but less than 30% of which, is milkfat, optionally homogenized, and optionally containing added flavor, nutritive sweetener, emulsifier, or stabilizer.


two-percent milk

(US) Milk containing two percent butterfat.


one-percent milk

(US) Milk containing one percent butterfat.


dutchy

en-adj

dutchy (comparative dutchier, superlative dutchiest)

dutchier (comparative)
dutchiest (superlative)

Possibly Dutch + -y. Compare double Dutch.

He is so dutchy that we can hardly understand him.

(US, dialect, regional to rural Central New York State) difficult to understand, slurred, imprecisely articulated


dunkadoo

(US, chiefly New Jersey) The American bittern.


bottomland

en-noun

bottomland (countable and uncountable, plural bottomlands)

(chiefly US) Flat land along a river, lying a few feet above normal high water, naturally fertile, and often consisting of alluvial deposits.


cross the aisle

en-verb

cross the aisle (third-person singular simple present crosses the aisle, present participle crossing the aisle, simple past and past participle crossed the aisle)

crosses the aisle (present singular third-person)
crossing the aisle (participle present)
crossed the aisle (participle past)
crossed the aisle (past)

It's voters who seem to want Republicans and Democrats in the next Congress to cross the aisle and try something different in Iraq.

2006 October 24, “Commentary: How this US election may help Iraq”, in Christian Science Monitor, retrieved 2008-09-27:

2008: Fareed Zakaria, The Post-American World, Chapter VI
The British prime minister doesn't need any support from the opposition party; he has a ruling majority by definition. The American system, by contrast, is one of shared power, overlapping functions, and checks and balances. Progress requires broad coalitions between the two parties and politicians who will cross the aisle.

(chiefly US, idiomatic, politics) To vote, unite, or otherwise co-operate with members of another political party in order to achieve governmental or political action.

bipartisanship

to vote, unite, or co-operate with members of another political party


Main Street

Thanks to a $700 billion TARP bailout and hundreds of billions of dollars in nearly free of charge loans by the Federal Reserve (a policy Soros himself told me was a "hidden gift" to the banks), Wall Street has surged back to pre-crisis levels of compensation even as Main Street continues to struggle.

2011 January–February, Chrystia Freeland, “The rise of the new global elite”, in The Atlantic, archived from the original on 2015-12-20:

(idiomatic, Canada, US, collective) Everyday working-class people and small business owners, especially with regard to their concerns, social views, etc.


plug nickel

plug nickels (plural)
plugged nickel (alternative)

Some early United States coins (minted in the 18th and 19th centuries) were made with a small silver disc added to the center of the coin in the planchet (blank metal) before striking. This was done to increase the value of the metal in the coin up to the coin's face value. A plug nickel or plugged nickel is a nickel (now a five-cent coin, but originally a one-cent coin and later a three-cent coin) where the "plug" (center disc) has been removed, thus decreasing the metal value of the coin. People would often examine their change after a cash transaction to ensure they did not receive such a coin.

Others estimate that each consumer's data is virtually worthless to the consumer; "Most of [consumers'] information, on an open market, is not worth a plug nickel," said Bruce Belair, a Washington-based lawyer.

1997 March 6, Neil Munro, “Putting a Price Tag on Privacy”, in washingtontechnology.com, retrieved 2008-09-28:

The Senate can easily release these MTA bonds to the financial markets to stop subway fare hikes—and it won't cost the state a plug nickel.

2002 February 19, “Opinion: State Must Fast-track MTA $ Plan”, in New York Daily News, retrieved 2008-09-28:

There's no additional money for saving the mural, he said. "I have no intention of spending another plug nickel on it."

2006 April 24, Steve Schultze, “Dolphins in mural could be rescued”, in Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, retrieved 2008-09-28:

(chiefly US, colloquial) A nearly worthless amount.


not worth a plug nickel

not worth a plugged nickel (alternative)

In the screenplay by Lorenzo Semple Jr., and David Rayfiel, Turner very early on stumbles upon the existence of a kind of super-C.I.A. within the C.I.A., after which his life is not worth a plug nickel.

1975 Sep. 25, Vincent Canby, "Redford a CIA Eccentric in Three Days of Condor" (film review), New York Times, p. 60

(chiefly US, idiomatic) Having no or almost no value; worthless.


CINC

(US, military) Abbreviation of commander-in-chief.


javelina

javelinas (plural)
jabalina (alternative)
javeli (alternative)

From Spanish javalina, jabalina, feminine form of jabalí (“wild boar”), from Andalusian Arabic جَبَلِي (jabalī) (in خِنْزِير جَبَلِيّ (ḵinzīr jabaliyy, “mountain pig”)), from Arabic جَبَل (jabal, “mountain”). Cognate with Portuguese javalina, and similar in other Iberian languages.

The Javelina (Peccari) is an animal peculiar so far as I know to Spanish America.

1831, Benjamin Lundy, editor, The Genius of Universal Emancipation, page 117:

Some well-mounted heads of deer and one of an enormous black javeli projected from the walls.

1903 February, O. Henry [pseudonym; William Sydney Porter], “Hygeia at the Solito”, in Everybody’s Magazine, volume VIII, number 2, New York, N.Y.: John Wanamaker, →ISSN, page 174, column 2:

We […] were ready to send some prickly pears to the next world when the most unfortunate group of javelina on earth walked into view.

2013, Philipp Meyer, The Son, Simon & Schuster, published 2014, page 264:

(Canada, US) The peccary, especially the collared peccary.


pedophiliac

en-adj

pedophiliac (comparative more pedophiliac, superlative most pedophiliac)

more pedophiliac (comparative)
most pedophiliac (superlative)


hepped up

hepped up (comparative more hepped up, superlative most hepped up)

more hepped up (comparative)
most hepped up (superlative)
hepped-up (alternative)

We Americans have a great way of getting all hepped up over a new idea.

1944 July 12, “Holds Millennium Is Long Way Off”, in New York Times, page 23:

Included in the program: a hepped-up version of the Volga Boat Song.

It was tough cramming for those midterms and finals, staying up 72 hours straight hepped up on caffeine and pizza.

2005 April 13, Robert MacMillan, “Steal This Song”, in Washington Post, retrieved 2008-10-03:

(chiefly US, informal) Excited; enthusiastic; invigorated; stimulated.


forfeiture fund

en-noun

forfeiture fund (plural forfeiture funds)

(US) A sum of money created by the Justice Department from seizures of the proceeds of criminal activity


dig out

en-verb

dig out (third-person singular simple present digs out, present participle digging out, simple past and past participle dug out)

digs out (present singular third-person)
digging out (participle present)
dug out (participle past)
dug out (past)

(intransitive, US, slang) To decamp; to leave a place hastily.


gas pedal

(Canada, US, automotive) An accelerator; a foot control for fuel flow.


baby daddy

baby daddies (plural)
baby-daddy (alternative)

African-American Vernacular English (General American would be baby's daddy) 1990s, popularized 2000s; compare baby mama. Possibly from or influenced by same term in Jamaican English, from Jamaican Creole baby-father, alternatively due simply to grammatical similarities between AAVE and Jamaican Creole.

My baby’s daddy, [sic] Barack Obama.

2004, Michelle Obama, Senate victory speech, November 2, 2004

The baby daddy many of us at one point or another have or will be in a relationship with someone who has a child or children, and with that child or children comes another parent.

2009, Stacye Branch M Msc, It's All in How You Look at It: Thoughts and Questions About Life, page 191:

“I'm so glad I only have one baby daddy.” “F'really.” “I feel sorry for those girls with more than one.”

2011, Michael Cornwall, Ticklenotes: More Voices from Cube Village, page 44:

The father of your child, whom you did not marry, and with whom you are not currently involved. That man isn't my boyfriend; he's my baby daddy.

2012, Aaron Peckham, Urban Dictionary: Freshest Street Slang Defined, page 16:

(slang, chiefly US) Father of child in common, particularly one who did not marry the mother and provides little or no support for the mother and child.


aviado

(US, Southwestern US) One who works a mine with means provided by another.


fugitive from justice

en-noun

fugitive from justice (plural fugitives from justice)

(US, law) A person who is convicted or accused of a crime and who then flees from law enforcement and runs across state lines to evade arrest.


clacker

Possibly a deformation of cloaca. Alternatively of imitative origin, from the sound of farting or testicles clacking.

(UK, US, vulgar, slang, often in the plural) A testicle.


square off

en-verb

square off (third-person singular simple present squares off, present participle squaring off, simple past and past participle squared off)

squares off (present singular third-person)
squaring off (participle present)
squared off (participle past)
squared off (past)

Hey, man, don't square off on me with some bullshit.

1984, Daniel Petrie Jr., Beverly Hills Cop, spoken by Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy), Paramount Pictures:

When James Baldwin Squared Off Against William F. Buckley Jr. [title]

2019 October 18, Thomas Meaney, “When James Baldwin Squared Off Against William F. Buckley Jr.”, in New York Times:

2023 September 7, “US, China square off on the South China Sea as Indonesia urges leaders to maintain peace”, in CNA:

(Canada, US) To get ready for a confrontation (debate, argument, fight).


stockgrower

(US) A person who raises livestock; a stockman.


sick to one's stomach

en-adj

sick to one's stomach (comparative more sick to one's stomach, superlative most sick to one's stomach)

more sick to one's stomach (comparative)
most sick to one's stomach (superlative)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-sick to one's stomach.wav

[H]e had torn the paper from one of his cigarettes and was chewing the tobacco. This was his last resort, an expedient which he fell back upon only in great extremity, as it invariably made him sick to his stomach.

1914, Frank Norris, chapter 17, in Vandover and the Brute:

You don't know how sick you make me / You make me fucking sick to my stomach / Every time I think of you I puke

2004, “Puke”, in Encore, performed by Eminem:

Tonight there was no roar from the Mini’s engine, rather that grinding noise. A deathly hush descended on the crowd. Frank felt sick to his stomach. Suddenly there was a huge explosion from Queenie’s exhaust pipe.

2017, David Walliams [pseudonym; David Edward Williams], Bad Dad, London: HarperCollins Children’s Books, →ISBN:

(chiefly US) Nauseated, queasy or vomiting, sick.


rectal varicosity

en-noun

rectal varicosity (plural rectal varicosities)

(pathology) haemorrhoid (British), hemorrhoid (US)


talk smack

en-verb

talk smack (third-person singular simple present talks smack, present participle talking smack, simple past and past participle talked smack)

talks smack (present singular third-person)
talking smack (participle present)
talked smack (participle past)
talked smack (past)

Just as long as they don't come around talking smack to us. But if they ain't in no gang and they live in our area, it's up to them if they join or not.

1988, Mary G. Harris, Cholas: Latino Girls and Gangs, page 110:

He kept talking smack, his story getting more and more depressing with each lie.

1992, Ricardo Cortez Cruz, Straight Outta Compton: A Dive Into Living Large, a Work Where Characters ..., page 10:

Jewish kids learned to distinguish between talking "shit," talking "jive," and talking "smack".

1996, Becky W. Thompson, Sangeeta Tyagi, Names We Call Home: Autobiography on Racial Identity, page 32:

A half-mile away, we slowed down and were slapping hands and talking smack, so impressed with ourselves.

1996, Christopher A. Darden, Jess Walter, In Contempt, page 49:

And I was talking smack, cracking jokes, playing with Mateo the host. He liked it.

because the rest of the table gets to see him talking smack, and he thus establishes himself as a bully without ever having played a hand.

2003, John Vorhaus, Killer Poker Online: Crushing the Internet Game, page 180:

He was talking smack about getting back together with his family, and everyone believed he was sincere; especially Kayla.

2007, Tina Brooks McKinney, Lawd, Mo' Drama, page 244:

On another blog, one commentator wrote: "To me it is like rumors and people talking smack; the more you yell about it the more truthful it seems to others.

2007, Daniel J. Solove, The Future of Reputation: Gossip, Rumor, and Privacy on the Internet, page 121:

"One of them, the white mask, the leader, was talking smack at me." / "Talking smack?" / "You know, talking smack, talking trash, giving me shit about being Indian."

2008, Sherman Alexie, Indian Killer, pages 187–188:

Eric was great at talking smack. He'd see a guy walking around who was bigger than all of us and tell me, "That guy can totally kick your ass," just to start up with me.

2008, Chuck Liddell, Chad Millman, Iceman: My Fighting Life, page 39:

(US) To talk trash; to make insulting comments about someone, especially in an aggressive or confrontational manner.


run interference

run interference (third-person singular simple present runs interference, present participle running interference, simple past ran interference, past participle run interference)

runs interference (present singular third-person)
running interference (participle present)
ran interference (past)
run interference (participle past)

(US) To handle problems or remove obstacles for another person, especially for a person in authority


bury the lede

bury the lede (third-person singular simple present buries the lede, present participle burying the lede, simple past and past participle buried the lede)

buries the lede (present singular third-person)
burying the lede (participle present)
buried the lede (participle past)
buried the lede (past)
bury the lead (alternative)

The news account started by recounting details of the candidate's appearance and buried the lede by not mentioning his new call for tax reform until the 19th paragraph.

(idiomatic, US, journalism) To begin a story with details of secondary importance to the reader while postponing more essential points or facts.


tostado

en-noun

tostado (countable and uncountable, plural tostados)

Breakfast around here is tostado (toast) and tea. Sit down, Sit down, I'll fix you some tostado.

1987, Mary A. Vanderweele, Pocketful of Dreams, →ISBN, page 212:

"Whatever you wish; but if you're tired and ... Hey, Angel!" he shouted at the individual who was already moving away, “tell your wife to prepare some tostado, our dessert wine, and some cake. Fancy that, my dear fellow, fancy that!”

2010, Emilia Pardo Bazn, Walter Borenstein, Mother Nature, →ISBN, page 104:

You have to understand something: Spanish tostado is nothing like a slice of crusty American carbohydrates pulled from a plastic bag and burnt beyond freshness. Tostado -- at least in Loli's house -- was a huge hunk of freshly baked bread, lightly toasted to perfection and smothered with whole-fruit mermelada that made store-bought jams and jellies back home seem flavorless.

2013, Jeff Goins, The In-Between: Embracing the Tension Between Now and the Next Big Thing, →ISBN:


red-baiting

(US, sometimes Philippines) The (ad hominem) practice of accusing someone of being a communist, socialist or anarchist with the intention of discrediting their political views.


red-baiter

On Feb. 9, 1950, notorious red-baiter Sen. Joseph McCarthy (R-WI) waved a piece of paper before the cameras that he claimed contained a list of 205 "card-carrying Communists in the State Department."

2003 February 17, Leslie Feinberg, “'Lavender scare'!”, in Workers World:

(US) A person who practices red-baiting.


rangeland

rangeland (countable and uncountable, plural rangelands)

(US) Unimproved land that is suitable for the grazing of livestock.


punch in

en-verb

punch in (third-person singular simple present punches in, present participle punching in, simple past and past participle punched in)

punches in (present singular third-person)
punching in (participle present)
punched in (participle past)
punched in (past)

I'm going to punch in a bit early today to get more work done.

(intransitive, US) To enter a workplace by punching a timecard.


hog waller

hog wallers (plural)
hogwaller (alternative)

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

From hog + waller (pig bed), akin to hog island and hog town, late 19th century. It appears to have developed as a portrayal of some parts of the American rural South no later than 1915, when a syndicated column called The Hogwallow News can be documented as running in some American newspapers.

(slang, US, derogatory) Any poor town or out-of-the-way place that is populated by hillbillies and their farm animals.


no matter

Shortened from earlier it makes no matter, it is no matter.

It seems that Doug's coat has gone missing. Oh, well, no matter: we can always buy a new one, now can't we?

"Did you fail your exam?" "Yes, but no matter. I'll just study harder next time."

My Aunt Rachel brought Jane's dresses for me to wear/Perfectly Good Clothes/And I should've been glad to get them/Perfectly Good Clothes/No matter they didn't fit quite right

1988, Kate Rushin, “The Black Back-Ups”, in Barbara Smith, editor, Home Girls: A Black Feminist Anthology:

(dated or US) It doesn't matter, it's unimportant, it doesn't make any difference.


oorah

hoorah (alternative)
oo-rah (alternative)
oohrah (alternative)

(US, military) The official yell for the US Marines.


mac 'n' cheese

(informal) Alternative spelling of mac and cheese


lemon cheese

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


chicken burger

chicken burgers (plural)
chickenburger (alternative)

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

(US) A sandwich consisting of a patty made from ground chicken, served in a bun, typically hot and often with other ingredients.


nearshore

(US, business) Non-US operations located near the US, for example in Mexico or the Caribbean.


nearshore

nearshore (third-person singular simple present nearshores, present participle nearshoring, simple past and past participle nearshored)

nearshores (present singular third-person)
nearshoring (participle present)
nearshored (participle past)
nearshored (past)

(US, business) To move operations to locations near the US, such as Mexico or the Caribbean.


grilled cheese

The syntax around the term's usage supports the idea that it originated as an ellipsis of grilled cheese sandwich.

I'll have a grilled cheese and a bowl of tomato soup, please.

—Do you like grilled cheese? —I love grilled cheese! Especially with [slices of] bacon and tomato added!

Third, when you go to lunch today, instead of ordering a steak, ask for a grilled cheese.

1970, “Time”, in Time Inc., volume 96, numbers 1-9, page 43:

A man of impeccable class, he also buys ready-made suits on sale and would as soon have grilled cheese and iced tea as coq au vin.

1973 September, Anne Crawford and Jack Keever, “John Connally Between the Acts”, in Texas Monthly, ISSN 0148-7736, Volume 1, Issue 8 (September, 1973), page 44

We sat out among the sidewalk tables, and I had a grilled cheese with bacon.

a. 2000, C. Bard Cole, “Young Hemingways”, in Briefly told lives, Macmillan, published 2000, →ISBN, page 120:

I passed on the healthy stuff and had a grilled cheese.

2001, Terry Bisson, The Pickup Artist, Macmillan, published 2002, →ISBN, page 23:

Stewie: Does anybody wanna buy my shirt? [pause] I'll trade you my shirt for a grilled cheese!

2008 March 2, Danny Smith, “Play It Again”, in Family Guy, season 6 episode 10, 14:44-14:50:

He lunched on grilled cheese in Toronto and sashimi in Tokyo and had the chance to stick his finger in a true-to-life Dutch dike in Almere, Holland.

2009 December, in Dwell, ISSN 1530-5309, Volume 10, Number 2 (December 2009/January 2010), page 28

(Canada, US, usually countable) A cheese sandwich typically toasted or fried in butter.


tallgrass

(US) Any of various tall grasses that flourish in prairie with relatively abundant water.


union bug

Printed matter circulated by the (US) Democratic Party inevitably displays a union bug.

(printing) A maker’s mark imprinted on a work to show that it is sanctioned by members of a trade union. It is often a tiny elongated rhomboid containing and surrounded by, in minuscule typeface, identifying names and the union’s local chapter number.


come to papa

/ˌkʌm tə ˈpɑːpə/

/ˌkʌm tə ˈpɑːpə/

PIE word
 *ph₂tḗr
From come + to + papa (“familiar or old-fashioned term of address to one’s father”), originally an invitation by a father for his child to come to him; later called out by gamblers when throwing dice to “invite” winning numbers.

Cut loose, let your hair down, honey / Unwind, turn the lights down low / Relax, let's uncork the stopper / Come to papa, come on, let's go

1962 August 30 and September 22 (dates recorded), Roy C. Bennett, Sid Tepper (lyrics and music), “Relax”, in It Happened at the World’s Fair (soundtrack), performed by Elvis Presley, New York, N.Y.: RCA Victor, published 10 April 1963, →OCLC:

(idiomatic, originally US) Used to encourage someone or something to approach, or an event to occur.

tule tänne vaan

used to encourage someone or something to approach, or an event to occur


parfleche

(US) A form of stiff leather made from rawhide

(US) A shield, bag or other item made from this material


pogue

(US, slang) A young, male, passive homosexual.


pogue

Alternative form: POGUE

2002, Jonathan Shay, Odysseus in America: Combat Trauma and the Trials of Homecoming
Although he is noteworthy for the staff jobs he does for the commander in chief, Agamemnon, he's no rear-echelon pogue.

(US, military slang) Alternative form of POG (“non-infantry member of the military”)


moke

Unknown. In the sense of a variety performer, comes from "The Lively Moke" (or "Musical Moke"), an 1860s blackface song, dance and multi-instrumental routine popularized by Johnny Thompson, William J. "Billy" Ashcroft and others.

I don't like the Minstrel folks, and I doesn't care for the endmen's jokes;
I has no use for the musical mokes, and I don't like a circus clown […]

1904, William Jerome, When Mr. Shakespeare comes to town:

(US derogatory slang, ethnic slur, now rare) A black person.

(US slang) A mixture of cannabis and tobacco, especially smoked from a bong or water pipe.


unpolite

en-adj

unpolite (comparative more unpolite, superlative most unpolite)

more unpolite (comparative)
most unpolite (superlative)

From un- + polite. Compare earlier unpolished.

[H]e has all along (by his threatening and unpolite behaviour to my friends, and whenever he speaks of them) given me reason to conclude, that there is more malice to them, than regard to me, in his perseverance.

1748, [Samuel Richardson], “Letter LVII”, in Clarissa. Or, The History of a Young Lady: […], volume (please specify |volume=I to VII), London: […] S[amuel] Richardson; […], →OCLC:

(now chiefly Canada, US) Lacking in good manners; impolite, discourteous.


do do

(US, colloquial, usually childish) Excrement, feces, dung.


cheeselet

From cheese + -let (diminutive suffix). Sense 1 has been reinforced by the word’s use as a calque of Maltese ġbejna (literally “little cheese”), a diminutive of ġobon (“cheese”).

calque

CHEESELET. […] Line a pudding dish with bread; then sprinkle cheese over; then bread and so on until the dish is full, having a layer of bread on top, buttered side down. […] Pour the custard over the bread and cheese and bake in a moderate oven for twenty or twenty-five minutes.

1898, “Cheese”, in The Puritan Cook-book. Composed of Contributed Recipes. […], Rochester, N.Y.: Union and Advertiser Press, →OCLC, page 84:

CHEESELET […] Line a buttered baking-dish with the bread, lay over the cheese, then bread until the dish is full, having top layer bread buttered side down. Make a custard of three beaten eggs, 1 pint of milk, 1 teaspoonful salt, pour over the bread and cheese, and bake twenty-five minutes.

1905 April, “‘Mother’s Way’”, in Mary Wood-Allen, Estelle M[inerva] H[atch] Merrill, editors, American Motherhood, volume XXI, number 1, Boston, Mass.: American Mother Company, →OCLC, page 42, column 2:

Cheeselet. Butter 4 slices of bread, fit them into a well-buttered pudding dish, sprinkle over them 1 cup grated cheese; prepare a custard of 3 eggs, 2 cups of milk, salt and pepper; pour over the bread and bake until the custard is set and the bread is brown like toast.

1908, “Luncheon Dishes”, in Choice and Tried Recipes […], Buffalo, N.Y.: Young Women’s Home Missionary Society of the Delaware Avenue Methodist Episcopal Church, →OCLC, page 57:

(US, archaic) A baked dish of bread and cheese covered with a mixture of eggs and milk.


bajada

(US) In the southwestern US, a slope, specifically part of a piedmont slope made of rocky detritus.


mustanging

(US) The hunting of mustangs (wild horses), either for military use or for slaughter as pet food


migradollar

(US, economics) A dollar sent home by a foreign migrant worker, especially to Mexico.


skeeter

Clipping of a variant pronunciation of mosquito. Compare tater, mater.

One day brought the rain and the rain stayed on
And the swamp water overflowed.
Skeeters and the fever grabbed the town like a fist
Doctor Jackson was the first to go.

1973, “Swamp Witch”, in Jim Stafford (lyrics), Jim Stafford, performed by Jim Stafford:


home school

home schools (plural)
homeschool (alternative)

I do not know of any home school for girls, East or West, which has a more thoroughly up-to-date equipment for heating its buildings[…].

1904, William Parker McKee, “Dean's Letter”, in Frances Shimer Quarterly, page 30:


Earle

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

(chiefly US) A male given name, variant of Earl.


Earlene

Outside of that, and having a name like Earlene, what’s her problem?

1991, Elmore Leonard, Maximum Bob, Dell, published 1992, →ISBN, page 232:

(US) A female given name from English derived from Earl.


Earline

He reached into the wallet he kept chained to his bell loop and pulled out two hundred 1-dollar bills. He said, "My given name's Earl. Earl for a boy, Earline for a girl." I don't know why I said okay, but I did.

2001, George Singleton, These People Are Us: Short Stories, River CityPress, →ISBN, page 27:


lunker

(US) Anything, especially a sport fish, that is especially large for its type; a whopper.


crossover vote

(US, politics) A vote by a person registered with one party in an election for a candidate in another


favorite son

After two decades in Silicon Valley creating a billion-dollar company, Ohio's favorite son returns home.

(US) A successful man from a particular area.


darkhorse candidate

en-noun

darkhorse candidate (plural darkhorse candidates)

(US) One who is nominated unexpectedly, without previously having been discussed or considered as a likely choice


Kool-Aid

Trademark, presumably from cool and -ade, influenced by aid.

(US) A sweet, non-carbonated drink made with artificial flavors.


direct primary

direct primary (plural direct primaries)

(US) A primary in which voters directly select candidates for office by popular vote


dual primary

(US, politics) Two primaries held concurrently.


regular coffee

regular coffee (countable and uncountable, plural regular coffees)

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

Coffee of the sort which is considered the default in a given area:

(US, dialectal) American coffee, as opposed to espresso, or a derived coffee drink (cappuccino, latte, iced coffee, etc).

tavallinen kahvi

American coffee, as opposed to espresso etc.


news anchor

(US, Canada) A presenter of news broadcasts.


sowbelly

The process consists of laying a side of bacon, profanely called "sowbelly," flat on the ground, and eliminating, by a dexterous use of the knife... — Collections of the Kansas State Historical Society (1918)

(US) Salted pork from the belly of a pig.


slapjack

slapjack (countable and uncountable, plural slapjacks)

(countable, US, dialect) A type of pancake, or flapjack.


center of curvature

center of curvature (plural centers of curvature)

centre of curvature
centre of curvature#English

US standard spelling of centre of curvature.


Kossack

From Daily Kos (derived in turn from Kos, nickname of the blog's founder Markos Moulitsas) and cossack.

Opined one Kossack: "His blood is also on Bush's hands."

2005 March 2, Dean Barnett, “Kos Party”, in The Weekly Standard:

The Kingpin had instructed his Kossack cultists to support Brown's Democratic primary rival, Paul Hackett.

2006 June 25, David Brooks, “Respect Must Be Paid”, in The New York Times:

(US, politics, Internet slang) A member of the leftist US blogging community Daily Kos.