grade

→ Japanese: グレード (gurēdo)

→ Swahili: gredi

Borrowed from Middle French grade (“a grade, degree”), from Latin gradus (“a step, pace, degree”), from Proto-Italic *graðus, from Proto-Indo-European *gʰradʰ-, *gʰredʰ- (“to walk, go”). Doublet of gradus.
Cognate with Gothic 𐌲𐍂𐌹𐌸𐍃 (griþs, “step, grade”), Bavarian Gritt (“step, stride”), Lithuanian grìdiju (“to go, wander”).

He got a good grade on the test.

I gave him a good grade for effort.

You need a grade of at least 80% in first-year calculus to be admitted to the CS major program.

(chiefly Canada, US, Philippines) Performance on a test or other evaluation(s), expressed by a number, letter, or other symbol; a score.

notë

performance expressed by a number, letter, or other symbol

Clancy is entering the fifth grade this year.

Clancy starts grade five this year.

(Canada, US, Philippines, education) A level of primary and secondary education.


grade

en-verb

grade (third-person singular simple present grades, present participle grading, simple past and past participle graded)

grades (present singular third-person)
grading (participle present)
graded (participle past)
graded (past)

(chiefly Canada, US) To assign scores to the components of an academic test, or to overall academic performance.


pizza bone

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

But the crust (or "pizza bone" as we refer to it at my house)IS the best part of a slice of pizza!

1998 July 29, Laurie , “Re: Raising children who eat everything”, in misc.kids (Usenet):

If the dough is elastic, rolling into balls and forming into "crusts" would probably yield better results. Besides, then you can regulate the crust's edge (aka the "pizza bone").

1999 January 26, Jerry Roush , “Re: Another pizza question”, in rec.food.baking (Usenet):

I had a couple of slices of leftover stuffed-crust pizza for lunch. The big dogs were outside, so I gave Scully a whole pizza bone (the outer crust edge) to have all to herself.

2000 September 14, Kathleen , “Re: RR: Gotham”, in alt.mountain-bike (Usenet):

We had pizza earlier nad^([sic]) after I ate a piece I caught myself about to call her name and offer my "pizza bone" to her.

2000 September 30, felica@my-deja.com, “Re: I miss my friend”, in alt.support.grief.pet-loss (Usenet):

I made a lovely arrangement of the empty shells and gave them back to the waiter....
Lol that sounds like me Sandra, we go to a great pizza buffet and I eat the toppings and start building pizza bone castles in the center of the table :)

2001 April 24, tinakaye@tinakaye.com, “Re: Hallelujah for Tacos....”, in alt.support.diet.low-carb (Usenet):

She laughed so hard the chair she was in went flying, she fell on the floor and so did the piece of pizza she was eating. She's laying on the floor laughing and the dog is looking at me, hoping the pizza now belongs to her....
let the dog have the pizza bone ;-)

2002 April 30, "MrEraser" , “Re: How playing The Sims affects the mind”, in alt.games.the-sims (Usenet):

Mostly veggies, cooked and raw, and the occassional^([sic]) small piece of meat, minced and mixed into the commercial feed. And now and then a pizza bone (edge of the crust for those of you who weren't educated by my kid sister).

2002 June 14, Jo Wolf , “Re: Dog food?”, in rec.pets.dogs.health (Usenet):

"Well, I bet our dog would like a pizza bone." With that he grabbed one of the crusts from Scully's plate. "Here Walter," he called to the pup as he held out the crust.

2002 August 5, nosmeagel@aol.com, “A Normal Life? (Part 6 of ?)”, in alt.tv.x-files.creative (Usenet):

2005 April 8, "loosbrew" , "Re: Another pet question", novell.community.chat, Usenet,
...give her a special treat one day, like a pizza crust(or pizza bones as we call em)....

(US, humorous) The thick, generally curved, crust end of a slice of pizza.


UDP

(military, US) Initialism of Unit Deployment Program.


charley horse

charley horses (plural)
charlie horse (alternative)
charley-horse (alternative)
charleyhorse (alternative)

The term may date back to American slang of the 1880s, and is possibly from the pitcher Charlie "Old Hoss" Radbourn, who is said to have suffered from cramps.

Of course there had been plenty of bruises—one mild case of charley-horse, several dislocated or sprained fingers, a wrenched ankle or two and any number of cuts and scrapes, […]

1914, Ralph Henry Barbour, Left End Edwards:

(idiomatic, US) A muscle cramp, usually a strong one, in the thigh, leg, arm, or core.

抽筋

a muscle cramp, usually in the thigh or leg


chigger

—He's not black, Stacia Jacobs who smelled like pee said. — He's yellow and black. He's a chigger. Do you know what a chigger is? It's a chink and a nigger.

2007, James Boice, MVP: A Novel, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN, page 37:

(US, slang, derogatory, offensive) An East Asian person who behaves in ways similar to a stereotypical urban African American.


candy striper

First appears in the US c. 1944, due to the red-and-white striped jumpers worn by hospital volunteers, which resembled stick candy (being candy-striped); originally worn by a group of high-school girls who volunteered as hospital workers at East Orange General Hospital in New Jersey.

(US) A volunteer worker in a hospital or hospice.


hickey

hickeys (plural)
hicky (alternative)
hickie (alternative)

But Louis Vuitton bras all over your breasts / Got me wanting to put hickeys all over your chest

2003, “Stand Up”, in Chicken-n-Beer, performed by Ludacris ft. Shawnna:

When it comes to hickeys, the best I can tell you is that a lot of girls cover them with makeup or a turtleneck shirt. But let me close with a final thought. Never be ashamed of your hickeys. Show them off proudly as badges of love.

2005, William Cane, The Art of Kissing, 2nd edition, St. Martin's Griffin, →ISBN, page 128:

(originally US, slang) A bruise-like mark made during petting by pressing the mouth to the skin on one’s partner’s body and sucking.

(slang; literally, "strawberry") 草莓 (cǎoméi)

take a hickey

Farmer Jones took a hickey on his soybean crop when the flood washed the seeds away.

(US, slang, business, finance) An unintended negative outcome or loss in regards to a deal or action.


pony

→ Belarusian: по́ні (póni)

→ Danish: pony

→ Dutch: pony
→ Indonesian: poni

→ Finnish: poni

→ French: poney
→ Romanian: ponei

→ Georgian: პონი (ṗoni)

→ German: Pony
→ Estonian: poni

→ Hungarian: póni

→ Irish: pónaí

→ Italian: pony

→ Japanese: ポニー (ponī)

→ Lithuanian: ponis

→ Maltese: poni

→ Norwegian: ponni

desc

→ Portuguese: pónei, pônei (Brazil), poney

→ Russian: пони (poni)

→ Spanish: poni

→ Swedish: ponny

→ Ukrainian: по́ні (póni)

1659 from Scots powny, apparently from Middle French poulenet (“little foal”), ultimately from Late Latin pullanus (“young of an animal”), from pullus (cognate to English foal). Sense “small serving of alcohol” from 19th century, both for small sizes generally and for a quarter pint specifically, from the small size.

uder

She kept the dates written down in her Latin 'pony', so she didn't have to bother about who it was.

1931, William Faulkner, Sanctuary, Library of America, published 1985, page 104:

(US, slang) A translation used as a study aid; loosely, a crib, a cheat-sheet.


snowbird

(US military slang) One who enlists in fall to desert after winter.


gondola

Borrowed from Italian gondola, from Venetan góndoƚa, from Byzantine Greek κοντούρα (kontoúra, “cutter, kind of ship”).

der

[on the outskirts of Stalingrad] The railroad paralelled the road, and along the track we saw lines of burned-out gondolas and freight cars which had been destroyed during the war.

1948, John Steinbeck, chapter 6, in A Russian Journal:

Coordinate term: hopper car

(rail transport, US) A type of open railway car with low sides, used to carry heavy freight such as crushed rock or steel.


dome

en-verb

dome (third-person singular simple present domes, present participle doming, simple past and past participle domed)

domes (present singular third-person)
doming (participle present)
domed (participle past)
domed (past)

Borrowed from Middle French dome, domme (modern French dôme), from Italian duomo, from Latin domus (ecclesiae) (literally “house (of the church)”), a calque of Ancient Greek οἶκος τῆς ἐκκλησίας (oîkos tês ekklēsías). Doublet of domus and duomo.

cal

οἶκος τῆς ἐκκλησίας

(transitive, US, African-American Vernacular, colloquial, slang) To perform fellatio on.


Jerry

A clipped form of German popularized during the First World War.

jerry (alternative)
geri (alternative)
gerri (alternative)

Phipps went on: “One of our chaps, out on a reccy over the Bulgarian front, thought he saw something in the snow. Something fishy. He dropped down to have a dekko and nearly had kittens. What d'you think? Jerry's got a mass of stuff there—tanks, guns, lorries, every sort of heavy armament. All camouflaged. White.”

2011 [1965], Olivia Manning, Friends And Heroes (The Balkan Trilogy), Random House, →ISBN:

[…] chucking your towel on the sunbed and making sure Jerry doesn't get there first.

2012, Bill Leckie, Penthouse and Pavement:

(UK, US, ethnic slur, dated) A personification of the German people.


Jerry

Jerries (plural)
jerry (alternative)
geri (alternative)
gerri (alternative)

But Robert had been cheeriness itself, had told them to buck up and think of England, reminding them that moaning wasn’t going to beat the Jerries.

2012, Margaret James, The Penny Bangle, Harpenden: Choc Lit, →ISBN, page 43:

(British, US, ethnic slur, dated) A German, particularly a male German.


casket

Probably from Norman cassette. Possibly reformed by analogy with cask, thus analyzable as cask + -et. Doublet of cassette.


cobbler

Uncertain; it has been suggested that the word derives from cobbler’s punch (“warm drink made of beer with added spirit, sugar, and spices”), or because the drink patches up (“repairs; makes better”) the drinker.

[H]e produced a very large tumbler, piled up to the brim with little blocks of clear transparent ice, through which one or two thin slices of lemon, and a golden liquid of delicious appearance, appeared from the still depths below, to the loving eye of the spectator. […] "This wonderful invention, sir," said Mark, tenderly patting the empty glass, "is called a cobbler. Sherry cobbler when you name it long; cobbler, when you name it short.[…]"

1842 December – 1844 July, Charles Dickens, “Martin Enlarges His Circle of Acquaintance; […]”, in The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1844, →OCLC, pages 223–224:

In the creed of Asirvadam the Brahmin, the drinker of strong drink is a Pariah, and the eater of cow's flesh is damned already. If, then, he can tell a cocktail from a cobbler, and scientifically discriminate between a julep and a gin-sling, it must be because the Vedas are unclasped to him; for in the Vedas all things are taught.

1858 June, “Asirvadam the Brahmin”, in The Atlantic Monthly. A Magazine of Literature, Art, and Politics, volume II, number VIII, Boston, Mass.: Phillips, Sampson and Company, […]; London: Trübner and Company, →OCLC, page 86, column 1:

It was very hot when Captain Littledale was here; he did nothing but drink sherry cobblers.

1878, Henry James, An International Episode:

(US, alcoholic beverages) An (iced) alcoholic drink containing spirit or wine, with lemon juice and sugar.


cobbler

(US) Condica sutor, an owlet moth native to North America.


cobbler

Uncertain. First attested in 1859; various suggested etymologies include:
* the top having the appearance of cobblestone rather than smooth rolled-out pastry;
* Middle English cobeler, some type of wooden bowl, dish, or vessel (mentioned in a 1385 list of wooden vessels)
* the dish having been cobbled together, as it is suggested it may have originated in the British colonies in America among settlers who lacked ingredients and tools to make make things like traditional suet pudding and so fit together pieces of other pastry-topping materials.

I have selected a few dishes, and made out a little bill of fare, which will go home in the steamer that precedes me, and be hot when I arrive—as follows: […] Apple puffs, Southern style. Peach cobbler, Southern style. Peach pie. American mince pie.

1880, Mark Twain [pseudonym] (Samuel L[anghorne] Clemens), “”, in A Tramp Abroad; […], Hartford, Conn.: American Publishing Company; London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC, pages 574–575:

(US) Often preceded by a descriptive word as in apple cobbler, peach cobbler, etc.: a kind of pie, usually filled with fruit, originally having a crust at the base but nowadays generally lacking this and instead topped with a thick, cake-like pastry layer.

плодов сладкиш

kind of pie, usually filled with fruit and topped with a thick, cake-like pastry layer


etiology

en-noun

etiology (countable and uncountable, plural etiologies)

See origins at aetiology § Etymology. By surface analysis, etio- + -logy.


public domain

From public (“able to be seen or known by everyone”) + domain (“field or sphere of activity, expertise, or influence”).

公有的

state of not being owned by anyone, and thus freely usable by everyone

(especially US) Land regarded as owned by the public, and not subject to a land patent or other forms of private ownership (for example, unowned prairie in the southwestern and western United States).

公地

land regarded as owned by the public, and not subject to a land patent or other forms of private ownership


a dime a dozen

As though twelve (a dozen) could be purchased for one dime (10¢).

People with your skills are a dime a dozen these days.

(Australia, US, idiomatic) So common as to be practically worthless.

dertien in een dozijn

so common as to be practically worthless


bust ass cold

It was bust ass cold out, but I still had to go in to work.

(rare, Canada, US, slang) Extremely cold.


rhubarb

en-noun

rhubarb (countable and uncountable, plural rhubarbs)

rhubarbs (plural)
rhubarb rhubarb (alternative)
rhubarb rhubarb rhubarb (alternative)

Attributed to the circa 1852 practice by the theatre company of English actor Charles Kean (1811–1868) at the Princess’s Theatre, London, of actors saying the word rhubarb repetitively to mimic the sound of indistinct conversation, the word having been chosen because it does not have harsh-sounding consonants or clear vowels.
The baseball senses are said to have been coined by the American sports writer Garry Schumacher and popularized by the American baseball commentator Red Barber (1908–1992). Barber also claimed to have started using the word in the 1940s, based on the practice in “early radio dramas” (presumably in the US, circa 1930) of actors repetitively voicing rhubarb. However, unlike the UK usage, he felt the practice applied to muttering by an angry mob, and so applied the word to arguments on the baseball field where he could not distinguish the words.

Out in the bullpen, Chip Hilton and Soapy Smith had stopped throwing to watch the argument—what ballplayers call a "rhubarb."

1953, Clair Bee, “The Fireman Arrives”, in Fence Busters (Chip Hilton Sports Series; 11), New York, N.Y.: Grosset & Dunlap, →OCLC; republished as Clair Bee, Randall K. Farley, Cynthia Bee Farley, Fence Busters, Nashville, Tenn.: Broadman & Holman, 1999, →ISBN:

Richie Ashburn slid into third, and Billy Cox, Dodger third baseman, made the tag, [Umpire Beans] Reardon yelled "safe" but raised his hand in the "out" sign. Naturally, a rhubarb.

1960, Joe Garagiola, “The Loners”, in Baseball Is a Funny Game:

(US, originally baseball, countable) An excited, angry exchange of words, especially at a sporting event.

But damned if it don't seem like killin' him would stir up an even bigger political rhubarb. I mean, it ain't like nobody'd have to be told who did it.

1973, Matthew Braun, El Paso, New York, N.Y.: St. Martin's Paperbacks, published July 1999, →ISBN, page 142:

(US, originally baseball, by extension, countable) A brawl.


flipper

From flip + -er. Compare Saterland Frisian Flappert (“flipper, wing”).

cog

(informal, US) Television remote control, clicker.


raft

Late Middle English, of North Germanic origin, from West Old Norse raptr, from Proto-Germanic *raf-tra-, from Proto-Indo-European *rap-tro-, from *rep- (“stake, beam”). See also Norwegian raft (“beam, rafter”), Danish raft (“thin pole”). Compare also Albanian trap (“raft, ferry”).

(US) A collection of logs, fallen trees, etc. which obstructs navigation in a river.

(US, slang, when ordering food) A slice of toast.


zigzag

Attested from 1712. Borrowed from French zigzag (attested from 1662), possibly from a Germanic source via Walloon ziczac (although German Zickzack is attested only from 1703). Also, possibly from the shape of the letter Z, which appears twice in the word.


ladino

en-noun

ladino (countable and uncountable, plural ladinos)

Borrowed from Spanish ladino (“Latinized; crafty”).

bor+

(US, Southeastern US, countable) A cunningly vicious, wild or unmanageable horse.


s-word

(euphemistic, US) The word spic, regarded as a vulgar word.


depression

en-noun

depression (countable and uncountable, plural depressions)

From Middle English depression, depressioun, from Old French depression, from Latin dēpressiō.

The Great Depression was the worst financial event in US history.

(economics, US) Four consecutive quarters of negative, real GDP growth. See NBER.

lama

economics: four consecutive quarters of negative real GDP development


gaum

en-verb

gaum (third-person singular simple present gaums, present participle gauming, simple past and past participle gaumed)

gaums (present singular third-person)
gauming (participle present)
gaumed (participle past)
gaumed (past)
gorm (alternative)

No, bubby, couldn't hev the wax. Gaum him all up so 't mammy 'd hafter nigh abaout skin him tu git him clean ag'in; […]

1894, Rowland Evans Robinson, Danvis Folks, chapter VI, The Paring-Bee, page 117

Isn't it horrible, mamma! One fly produces fifty-two billions of descendants in 60 days in June and July, and they go and crawl over sick people and wade through pus, and sputa, and foul matter exuding from sores, and gaum themselves with every kind of disease-germ, then they go to everybody's dinner-table and wipe themselves off on the butter […]

c. 1908, Mark Twain, “Little Bessie”, in Mark Twain's Fables of Man, published 1972:

Butter became in my eyes a gauge of character and gentility, almost of integrity. I watched these ravenous wretches "gaum" their batter-cakes with it, help themselves to more than they really wanted, leaving great golden chunks of it half melted and wholly useless, mixed as it was with gravy […]

1930, Marietta Minnigerode Andrews, Memoirs of a Poor Relation: Being the Story of a Post-war Southern Girl and Her Battle with Destiny, page 293:

Simply gaum them all over with thick claybank mud and throw them into the fire. The clay will bake hard.

1990, Appalachian Journal, volume 18, page 196:

(US and UK, dialects, chiefly Midlands, Southern US, Appalachia) To smear.


rush

Perhaps from Middle English ruschen, russchen (“to rush, startle, make a loud rushing noise”), from Old English hrysċan (“to jolt, startle”), from Proto-West Germanic *hurskijan, from Proto-Germanic *hurskijaną (“to startle, drive”), from *hurskaz (“fast, rapid, quick”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱers- (“to run, hurry”).
Cognate with Old High German hursken (“to hurry, speed, incite, accelerate”), Old English horsc (“quick, quick-witted, clever”).
etymology note
An alternative etymology traces rush via Middle English rouschen (“to rush”) from Old English *rūscian (“to rush”) from Proto-Germanic *rūskōną (“to rush, storm, be fierce, be cruel”), a variant (with formative k) of Proto-Germanic *rūsōną (“to be cruel, storm, rush”) from Proto-Indo-European *(o)rewə- (“to drive, move, agitate”), making it akin to Old High German rosc, rosci (“quick”), Middle Low German rûschen (“to rush”), Middle High German rūschen, riuschen (“to rush”) (German rauschen (“to rush”)), North Frisian ruse (“to rush”), Middle Dutch ruuscen (“to make haste”), Middle Dutch rūsen (“to rush”) (Dutch ruisen (“to rush”)), Danish ruse (“to rush”), Swedish rusa (“to rush”). Compare Middle High German rūsch (“a charge, rush”). Influenced by Middle English russhen (“to force back”) from Anglo-Norman russher, russer from Old French ruser, rëuser.
Alternatively, according to the OED, perhaps an adaptation of Anglo-Norman russher, russer (“to force back, down, out of place, by violent impact", "to pull out or drag off violently or hastily”), from Old French re(h)usser, ruser (although the connection of the forms with single -s- and double -ss- is dubious; also adopted in English ruse; French ruser (“to retreat, drive back”)), from an assumed Vulgar Latin *refūsāre and Latin refundō (“I cause to flow back”), although connection to the same Germanic root is also possible. More at rouse.

раш

video games: act of running at another player with large swarm of weak units — see also zerg

(US, dated, university slang) A perfect recitation.


rush

en-verb

rush (third-person singular simple present rushes, present participle rushing, simple past and past participle rushed)

rushes (present singular third-person)
rushing (participle present)
rushed (participle past)
rushed (past)

(US, slang, dated) To recite (a lesson) or pass (an examination) without an error.


notch

Recorded since 1577, probably a rebracketing of an + otch, which noun stems from Middle French oche (“notch”), itself from the Old French verb ochier (“to notch”), of uncertain origin, but possibly related to French hocher and English nick (“small cut, notch”).

These ladies from the west got game
Who got the best, VA, DC, Georgia, New York, Texas, Louisiana, or Florida
The Middwest got some super notches
You eva seen Cali's finest, man, who could top us

2003, “California Girls”, in Married to the Game, performed by Too $hort:


good evening

An ellipsis for an expression such as "I wish you a good evening.".

Good evening everyone and welcome to our 34th annual general meeting.

(generally formal in US, Canada) Used as a greeting in the evening.

ܪܲܡܫܘܼܟ݂ ܒܪܝܼܟ݂ܵܐ

ramšūḵ brīḵā

ܪܲܡܫܵܟ݂ܝ ܒܪܝܼܟ݂ܵܐ

ramšāḵ brīḵā

ܪܲܡܫܵܘܟ݂ܘܿܢ ܒܪܝܼܟ݂ܵܐ

ramšāwḵōn brīḵā


good afternoon

Probably a shortening of "I wish you a good afternoon."

Good afternoon everyone and thank you for coming to our special meeting today.

Jeeves: Good afternoon, madam.
Landlady: Don't you good afternoon me. I'm a respectable woman.
Jeeves: I have no reason to doubt it, madam.

1992 April 5, “The Full House”, in Jeeves and Wooster, Series 3, Episode 2:

(rather formal in US, Canada) A greeting or farewell said in the afternoon.


issue

From Middle English issue, from Old French issue (“an exit, a way out”), feminine past participle of issir (“to exit”), from Latin exeō (“go out, exit”), from prefix ex- (“out”) + eō (“go”).

drain

small incision etc. to drain excess bodily fluid

She has daddy issues, mommy issues, drug issues, money issues, trust issues, printer issues... I'm just sayin', girl's got issues.

Any question or situation to be resolved, particularly:

(US, originally psychology, usually in the plural) A psychological or emotional difficulty, (now informal, figurative and usually euphemistic) any problem or concern considered as a vague and intractable difficulty.

en:psychological or emotional difficulty, or any intractable problem


SDP

en-noun

SDP (countable and uncountable, plural SDPs)

(law, US) Initialism of sexually dangerous person.


aggie

(US, informal) An agricultural school, such as one of the state land-grant colleges.

(US, informal) A student or alumnus of such a school.


stash

stash (countable and uncountable, plural stashes)

Unknown. Perhaps a blend of stick + cache or stow + cache.

The dealers managed to store the dope in the stash just in time to avoid being caught by the police.

(countable, US, slang, informal, African-American Vernacular) A place where drugs are stored.


nizzle

Blend of nigga + -izzle. Popularized by the hip-hop culture in 1990s and 2000s, as a rhyme of shizzle, as in fo shizzle my nizzle (“for sure, my nigga”).

(slang, US, African-American Vernacular) Nigga, nigger.


total

en-verb

total (third-person singular simple present totals, present participle (UK) totalling or (US) totaling, simple past and past participle (UK) totalled or (US) totaled)

totals (present singular third-person)
totalling (UK participle present)
totaling (US participle present)
totalled (UK participle past)
totalled (UK past)
totaled (US participle past)
totaled (US past)
totall (alternative)

From Middle English total, from Old French total, from Medieval Latin tōtālis, from tōtus (“all, whole, entire”) + -ālis, the former element of unknown origin. Perhaps related to Oscan 𐌕𐌏𐌖𐌕𐌏 (touto, “community, city-state”), Umbrian 𐌕𐌏𐌕𐌀𐌌 (totam, “tribe”, acc.), Old English þēod (“a nation, people, tribe”), from Proto-Indo-European *tewtéh₂ (“people”). More at English Dutch, English thede.

cog

Honey, I’m OK, but I’ve totaled the car.

He acted real funny / He hocked up a rock and / It totaled my car!

1972, Frank Zappa (lyrics and music), “Billy the Mountain”:

(transitive, US, slang) To demolish; to wreck completely. (from total loss)


simoleon

simoleons (plural)
simolean (alternative)
Simoleon (alternative)

Most likely a late-19th-century blend of simon (“dollar”), from simon (“sixpence coin”) (17th-century British slang, perhaps related to simony?), and Napoleon (“French gold coin worth 20 francs, bearing the image of Napoleon III”). Perhaps from New Orleans.
The gaming sense may have been chosen for its similarity to Sim.

That'll cost you five simoleons.

"T'ought I was lyin' about the money, did ye? Well, you can frisk me if you wanter. Dat's the last simoleon in the treasury. Who's goin' to pay?"

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:

Another brother working in an Alabama city has not sent a cold simolean or any long green since January; he has ignored several letters, but at last a registered letter found him O.K. and working.

1909, The International Bookbinder - Volume 10, page 240:

We gladly did so with the result that we got a menu worth a dollar and a half or two dollars for a single simolean. Can you beat that?

1912, Delta Chi Quarterly, volume 10, page 286:

His Veteran's insurance came to ten thousand simoleons, rather more than he could bring on the hoof.

Abetted by market-wise agents and paperback publishers with an eye for the speedy simolean, these double-gaited gonzos are perpetrating a plague of best-selling takeoffs of innocent newspapers, defenseless magazines, helpless self-help books - even the Good Book itself.


ingress

en-verb

ingress (third-person singular simple present ingresses, present participle ingressing, simple past and past participle ingressed)

ingresses (present singular third-person)
ingressing (participle present)
ingressed (participle past)
ingressed (past)

From Latin ingressus, from the verb ingredior.

"We ingressed North Vietnam over Cam Pha on a westerly heading," reported Captain Madden.

1976, The United States Air Force in Southeast Asia: Aces and Aerial Victories, page 108:

We were ingressing the target area.

1998, Michael William Donnelly, Falcon's Cry, →ISBN, page 93:

(transitive, US, chiefly military) To enter (a specified location or area)


shanty

From Canadian French chantier (“lumberjack's headquarters”). An alternative theory that the word derives from Irish seantí (meaning "old house") is not considered likely by lexicologists.
* (unlicensed pub): New Zealand from 1848.

bor

That neighborhood is full of shanty Irishmen.

The Irish of the middle class were trying to live down the opprobrium derived from the brawling, hard-drinking, and raffish manners of the “shanty Irish” of an earlier generation. The shanty Irish might in some instances have been the individual′s own grandmother who did, indeed, smoke a clay pipe and keep a goat in what, forty years later, became Central Park. Or shanty Irish might be those fellow Irish who at the turn of the century still lived in slums and were poor, hard-drinking, and contentious.

1963, William V. Shannon, (Please provide the book title or journal name):

(US, derogatory) Living in shanties; poor, ill-mannered and violent.


curb

curbs (plural)
kerb (alternative)
kirb (alternative)

From Middle French courbe (“curve, curved object”), from Latin curvus (“bent, crooked, curved”). Doublet of curve.

der

(Canada, US) A sidewalk, covered or partially enclosed, bordering the airport terminal road system with adjacent paved areas to permit vehicles to off-load or load passengers.


wicket

From Anglo-Norman, Old Northern French wiket, from Old Norse (specifically, Old East Norse) víkjas, diminutive of vik. Compare modern French guichet, ultimately from the same Old Norse source.

make kindly welcome whatever forest wanderer happens to enter the wicket of the log hit

1873, Andrew Leith Adams, Field and Forest Rambles:

(US, dialect) A shelter made from tree boughs, used by lumbermen.


not in Kansas anymore

From the film The Wizard of Oz (1939), in which Dorothy states, “Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore.”

As soon as I walked into that party I thought, "I'm not in Kansas anymore."

John Crosbie? A Tory government? You could be forgiven if your first reaction was the feeling that you weren't in Kansas anymore.

1986 April, Gerald Hannon, “Leaving Kansas”, in The Body Politic, number 125, Pink Triangle Press, page 8:

The police action is rough and raw, like Hill Street Blues. But when a courtroom jury, asked for its verdict, breaks into song, we know we're not in Kansas anymore.

1990 October 1, “Critics' Voices”, in Time, archived from the original on 2013-03-05:

C++ meets all three of these classic criteria of object-orientedness, but once you really start to take advantage of them in your programs, you'll find you're definitely not in Kansas anymore.

1991 July, Ray Duncan, “Power Programming”, in PC Magazine, page 444:

(idiomatic, colloquial, US) No longer in quiet and comfortable surroundings.


chuck

en-noun

chuck (countable and uncountable, plural chucks)

“Hambone, how's for chuck?”
Hambone removed pipe from mouth, slowly. “Wal, I reckon I still got a few whistleberries left. Some sonofabitch stew mabbe. A few shot biscuits.”

1951, Frederick Feikema Manfred, Riders of Judgment, Second, published 2014, →ISBN:


tango

From translingual Tango (representing the letter T), from English tango (see above).

Tango down!

The two tangoes running toward the carnage at the prison door dropped simultaneously, dead in their tracks.

2005, Charles W. Sasser, Detachment Delta: Operation Aces Wild, New York, N.Y.: Avon Books, →ISBN, page 370:

The sharp crack of breaking glass preceded Emily's calm voice. "One tango dead and Marcus is down, John."

2017, Beth Rhodes, Strike Zone, →ISBN, page 210:

(US, law enforcement, military slang) A target; an enemy.


clamshell

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

Shut your clam-shell!

He was quickly silenced, however, by a burly individual, who "reckoned that it mout be jist as well for the stranger to keep his clam-shell shut."

"Shut your clamshell, Toby," grumbled the Baron.

1870, Henry Perry Leland, The Grey-bay Mare, and Other Humorous American Sketches:

Any object that, in (literal or figurative) resemblance to the shell of a clam, has a hinge on one edge and two surfaces that close together.


obligate

en-verb

obligate (third-person singular simple present obligates, present participle obligating, simple past and past participle obligated)

obligates (present singular third-person)
obligating (participle present)
obligated (participle past)
obligated (past)

Borrowed from Latin obligātus, past participle of obligō. Doublet of oblige, taken through French.

(transitive, Canada, US, Scotland) To cause to be grateful or indebted; to oblige.

(transitive, Canada, US, Scotland) To commit (money, for example) in order to fulfill an obligation.

obrigação

to commit (money, for example) in order to fulfill an obligation


fanny pack

She wears her fanny pack every day on her morning jog around Central Park.

(Canada, US) A small fabric pouch secured with a zipper and worn at the waist by a strap around the hips.


cadet

Borrowed from French cadet, from Gascon capdet, from Late Latin capitellum (“small head”). Attested in English from 1634.
Doublet of caddie, cadel, capital, capitellum, caudillo, and Kadet.

doublet

(archaic, US, slang) A young man who makes a business of ruining girls to put them in brothels.


boogie

(informal, US) A piece of solid or semisolid mucus in or removed from the nostril cavity.


proportional

en-adj

proportional (comparative more proportional, superlative most proportional)

more proportional (comparative)
most proportional (superlative)

This ensures consistency across your website design so that you don't end up with elements that are not adequately proportional with each other.

2014, Aravind Shenoy, Learning Bootstrap:

(chiefly US) In proportion (to), proportionate.


boomer

(US, mainly 1920–1930) A transient worker who would move from boom town to boom town in search of temporary work.

Distant contact, probably submerged. It's a wild guess, but I'd say we hit a boomer coming out of the barn. Could be a missile boat out of Polijarny.

(US, nautical, military, slang) A nuclear ballistic missile submarine, SSBN.

(US, historical) Alternative letter-case form of Boomer (“Oklahoma settler”)


drum

Perhaps back-formation of drumslade (“drummer”), from Middle Dutch trommelslach (“drumbeat”), from trommel (“drum”) + slach (“beat”) (Dutch slag).
Or perhaps borrowed directly from a continental Germanic language; compare Middle Dutch tromme (“drum”), Middle Low German trumme (“drum”) et al. Compare also Middle High German trumme, trumbe (“drum”), Old High German trumba (“trumpet”).

construction barrel
construction barrel#English


john school

john (“(slang) a prostitute's client”) + school

(US, colloquial) A police-run program in which men arrested for soliciting prostitutes agree to attend lectures from former prostitutes as an alternative to paying a fine or spending time in jail.


MDC

Metropolitan Detention Center
w:Metropolitan Detention Center

(US, law enforcement) Initialism of Metropolitan Detention Center.

Major Diagnostic Category
w:Major Diagnostic Category

(US) Initialism of Major Diagnostic Category.


MDC

Missouri Department of Conservation
w:Missouri Department of Conservation

(US) Initialism of Missouri Department of Conservation.

MUMPS Development Committee
w:MUMPS Development Committee

(US) Initialism of MUMPS Development Committee.


oh my heck

(US, Mormonism, euphemistic) for "Hell" from "Oh my hell" or "Oh hell!"


rear

rear (comparative rearer or more rear, superlative rearest or most rear)

rearer (comparative)
more rear (comparative)
rearest (superlative)
most rear (superlative)
reer (alternative)
rere (alternative)
rare (alternative)

From Middle English rere, from Old English hrēr, hrēre (“not thoroughly cooked, underdone, lightly boiled”), from hrēran (“to move, shake, agitate”), from Proto-Germanic *hrōzijaną (“to stir”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱroHs- (“to mix, stir, cook”). Related to Old English hrōr (“stirring, busy, active, strong, brave”), Dutch roeren (“to stir, shake, whip”), German rühren (“to stir, beat, move”), Swedish röra (“to touch, move, stir”), Icelandic hræra (“to stir”).

cog

Fred ordered a rear steak along with a glass of beer as he took a seat at an empty table

2017, Dr. Ardeshir Irani, Short Tales of the Old Wild West:


checkers

(board games, US, Canada, in the singular) A game for two players played on a chessboard; the players have 12 pieces each, and the object is to capture all the opponent’s pieces by jumping over them. Other European varieties have larger boards and more playing pieces.


double double

double doubles (plural)
double-double (alternative)

Norwegian Bokmål: dobbel-dobbel

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

(coffee): Used by the Tim Hortons restaurant chain.

(US) A double cheeseburger with cheese on each burger (i.e., double cheese).


gnarly

en-adj

gnarly (comparative gnarlier, superlative gnarliest)

gnarlier (comparative)
gnarliest (superlative)

From gnarl (“knot in wood”) + -y. The slang senses were particularly popularized by US surf culture in the 1970s.

a gnarly problem

When the swell struck, the North Shore got gnarly, and the wise ones hit the outer islands where the energy was just as juicy but a bit more organized.

Work that makes you unhappy is what I mean by "a gnarly problem." The trouble is, the market pays for solutions to gnarly problems, not solutions to easy problems. As the Yorkshire lads say, "Where there's muck, there's brass."

2008, [Avram] Joel Spolsky, More Joel on Software: Further Thoughts on Diverse and Occasionally Related Matters that will Prove of Interest to Software Developers, Designers, and Managers, and to Those who, whether by Good Fortune or Ill Luck, Work with Them in Some Capacity, Berkeley, Calif.: Apress, →ISBN, page 152:

(slang, US, dated) Dangerous; difficult.

We're not talking about a lame chick and a gnarly guy. We're talking about a couple of far-out dudes.

1981, Dan Jenkins, Baja Oklahoma, New York, N.Y.: Atheneum Books, ISBN 978-0-689-11173-0; reprinted New York, N.Y.: Pocket Books, 1982, ISBN 978-0-671-45163-9, page 269

Funky Kong: 'Those Snowmads are a gnarly bunch! I hear they're enjoyin' your island. Go get 'em, DK!'

2014 February, Retro Studios, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, Nintendo, level/area: Funky's Fly 'n' Buy:

[She] displays the same love of gnarly fuzztones and shout-it-out-loud choruses that began back in her daze^([sic]) with local all-girl rockers the Runaways.

(slang, US) Unpleasant, awful, ugly.
(slang, US) Of music or a sound: harsh.

Unpleasant, awful, ugly.
Of music or a sound: harsh.


condominium

en-noun

condominium (plural condominiums or condominia)

condominiums (plural)
condominia (plural)

condominium
condominium (international law)

gemeenschappelijk bestuurd gebied of eigendom

համատիրության մեջ ընդգրկված շենք

building in which each unit is owned by an individual, but the grounds is owned jointly

building waarbij iedere flat individuele eigendom is maar de gronden gemeenschappelijk

(US, Canada, Philippines) A building or complex of buildings that provides multiple residential units each of which is owned separately but whose grounds, structure, etc. (if any) are owned jointly.

(US, Canada, Philippines) The system of ownership by which such condominiums operate.

համատիրություն

the system of ownership by which such condominiums operate

(US, Canada, Philippines) An individual unit (such as an apartment) in such a complex.


proposition

proposition (countable and uncountable, plural propositions)

/ˌpɹɑpəˈzɪʃən/

From Middle English proposicioun, from Old French proposicion, from Latin prōpositiō, from the verb prōponō.

väite

math: assertion which can be considered true or false

constitutional amendment
constitutional amendment

(countable, US, politics) In some states, a proposed statute or constitutional amendment to be voted on by the electorate.

проект

in the US: proposed statute or constitutional amendment


athletics

From athletic: see -ics. Probably formed on the model of gymnastics.

The University of Phoenix, a for-profit educational institution, has turned the traditional relationship between athletics and higher education on its head, reducing it to its commercially exploitive essence.

2009 January 17, William C. Rhoden, “University Sells Itself During Playoffs”, in The New York Times:

(sports, especially US) Physical activities such as sports and games requiring stamina, fitness and skill.

atletikë

(chiefly US) physical activities such as sports and games requiring stamina, fitness and skill


que

que (countable and uncountable, plural ques)

Then about 1950 two German brothers who had a meat market began cooking BBQ in their market to use up left over meat. One got the idea to smoke a brisket as he was smoking sausage one weekend. He left it all weekend in his smokehouse and on Monday as they were serving their que, pork, sausage & chicken, he cut a slice […]

2009 December 25, Nick Cramer, “My "homemade" Italian meatball recipe - for Nick and Meir”, in soc.culture.jewish.moderated (Usenet):

Instead please join in the sharing of que methods and recipes, or questions.

2010 September 22, Nanzi, “Re: Yoy guys are killing this group”, in alt.food.barbecue (Usenet):

The back route I favor involves a long stretch on Highway 74 and brings me close enough to Lumberton for a barbeque detour. That was my target today. Being already in Lumberton, it only made sense to score some “que.”

2011, Kathy Reichs, Spider Bones: A Novel, →ISBN, page 57:

(US, informal, rare) Clipping of barbeque.


cowslip

cowslips (plural)
couslip (alternative)
cowslippe (alternative)

From Middle English cowslyppe, from Old English cūslyppe (“cowslip”), from cū (“cow”) + slyppe (“paste, viscid substance”), related to Old English slūpan (“to slip, glide, move softly”). Compare oxlip.

cog

Any of several other plants related or similar in appearance

(Canada, US, regional) marsh marigold, Caltha palustris, a plant in the buttercup family, growing in wet, boggy locations.

Caltha palustris
Caltha palustris#Translingual


misspeak

en-verb

misspeak (third-person singular simple present misspeaks, present participle misspeaking, simple past misspoke, past participle misspoken)

misspeaks (present singular third-person)
misspeaking (participle present)
misspoke (past)
misspoken (participle past)

From Middle English misspeken, mispeken, mysspeken, from Old English *misspecan, missprecan (“to murmur”), equivalent to mis- + speak.

Either I misspoke or you misheard.

The president’s comments on Wednesday came after Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, the chamber’s only Black Republican, said that “white supremacy should be denounced at every turn. I think he misspoke, I think he should correct it. If he doesn’t correct it I guess he didn’t misspeak.”

2020 September 30, “Trump Faces Torrent of Criticism From Fellow Republicans After Failing to Denounce White Supremacy”, in New York Times:

In July, both Labour leader Sir Kier Starmer and Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves appeared to contradict the commitment to public ownership - but then subsequently said they had misspoken.

2022 October 5, Conrad Landin, “Network News: Labour resolves to put rail "in the hands of the public"”, in RAIL, number 967, page 16:

(ambitransitive, chiefly US) To fail to pronounce, utter, or speak correctly.

verspreken

to fail to pronounce, utter, or speak correctly


niglet

From nig(ger) + -let, made to sound like piglet.

Coordinate term: niglette

(slang, US, offensive, derogatory, ethnic slur) A black child.


Washington

en-proper noun

Washington (countable and uncountable, plural Washingtons)

Washington (the town in Tyne and Wear, northeast England): probably from the Old English place name Hwæssingatūn (literally “a settlement of the household of Hwæssa”), from Hwæssa (a Saxon chieftain's name) + -ing (“belonging to”) + tūn (“homestead, settlement”). It was attested in 1096 as Wasindone. Hwæssa is of uncertain origin, said to possibly correspond to waþ (“hunt”) + sige (“victory”), or possibly related to hwæte (“wheat”). There are other theories; more on Wikipedia.
The surname derives from the town, and most places in the United States are named for George Washington.

DC

The federal district and city are coterminous and the city government administers the district, so are jurisdictionally equivalent

(US) A male given name transferred from the surname, popular during the first century of American independence, given in honor of George Washington.


Washington

(slang, US) a U.S. one-dollar bill, which features a portrait of George Washington

Alabama · Alaska · Arizona · Arkansas · California · Colorado · Connecticut · Delaware · Florida · Georgia · Hawaii · Idaho · Illinois · Indiana · Iowa · Kansas · Kentucky · Louisiana · Maine · Maryland · Massachusetts · Michigan · Minnesota · Mississippi · Missouri · Montana · Nebraska · Nevada · New Hampshire · New Jersey · New Mexico · New York · North Carolina · North Dakota · Ohio · Oklahoma · Oregon · Pennsylvania · Rhode Island · South Carolina · South Dakota · Tennessee · Texas · Utah · Vermont · Virginia · Washington · West Virginia · Wisconsin · Wyoming

American Samoa · Guam · Northern Mariana Islands · Puerto Rico · United States minor outlying islands · United States Virgin Islands


SEC

S.E.C. (alternative)
S. E. C. (alternative)

“Anyway, Kaspersky took her story to the SEC. I’m sorry, it’s rude to throw obscure acronyms around. I mean the Securities and Exchange Commission. They’re the people who look after my industry.” Vincent knew what the SEC was, because she made an effort to follow the financial news, but she only nodded.

2020, Emily St. John Mandel, The Glass Hotel, Picador (2021), page 71:

Burr sold $1.65 million in stock on February 13, 2020, previous court filings by the SEC revealed.

2023 January 6, Manu Raju and Devan Cole, “SEC closes insider trading probe into former Republican senator”, in CNN:

Securities and Exchange Commission
w:Securities and Exchange Commission

(US, government, finance) Initialism of Securities and Exchange Commission.

Southeastern Conference
w:Southeastern Conference

(US, college, sports) Abbreviation of Southeastern Conference, a college athletics conference


FED

So, the FED Chairman chose to reassure all concerns, promising "a lasting expansion in economic activity while continuing progress against inflation.

1982-3, National Farmers' Union Washington newsletter, v. 29-31, http://books.google.com/books?lr=&id=ajk9AAAAYAAJ&q=%22so%2C+the+FED+Chairman%22#search_anchor

The extent of independence of the Federal Reserve Board (FED) from the executive branch has been a topic of ongoing study by economists and political scientists.

1985, Caryl Ersenkal, Myles S. Wallace, and John T. Warner, "Chairman reappointments, presidential elections and policy actions of the federal reserve," Policy Sciences, Springer Netherlands, ISSN 0032-2687, vol. 18, no. 3, November, 1985, pages 211-225, pg. 211

Positive news was consolidated for economic performance, while the bond market diverged from the opinions expressed by the FED.

2003, Review of the economic situation of Mexico, Citigroup/Banco Nacional de México (Banamex), August 2003, vol. LXXIX, no. 932, pg. 3

Consolidates the Federal Reserve Banks (FED) and monetary authority functions undertaken by the central government.

2006, International Financial Statistics Yearbook 2006, International Monetary Fund, →ISBN, page 191:

(US, economics, banking, nonstandard) Federal Reserve System. Alternative spelling of Fed


strip

Brill Publishers
en:strip (disambiguation)

From alteration of stripe or from Middle Low German strippe, of uncertain ultimate origin, perhaps derived from a lost strong verb Proto-Germanic *strīpaną, with no clear cognates outside of Germanic except for Irish sríab (“line, stripe”).

(US) A street with multiple shopping or entertainment possibilities.


sucker

From Middle English souker, sokere, sukkere, soukere, equivalent to suck (verb) + -er. Compare Saterland Frisian Suuger, West Frisian sûker (“sucker”), Dutch zuiger (“sucker”), German Sauger (“dummy; vacuum”).

(US, informal) A lollipop; a piece of candy which is sucked.

There is a swarm of 'suckers,' 'hoosiers,' 'buckeyes,' 'corn-crackers,' and 'wolverines,' eternally on the qui vive, in those parts—a migratory race of bipeds—who float about from spot to spot, 'squatting,' for the nonce, wherever their fancy or interest may incline them; and a rougher set of men will rarely be met with, saving the genuine 'voyageurs,' or 'trappers'—so notorious for their hardihood.

1848, Francis Alexander Durivage, George P. Burnham, “How the Wolverine Discovered the Lead Mine—A Fact”, in Stray Subjects, Arrested And Bound Over, page 79:

A band of music was sent thirty miles to wake up the sleepy suckers, and draw them, by the magic of their music, to the Douglas gathering at Quincy, Illinois.

(US, obsolete) An inhabitant of Illinois.

(US, obsolete) A migrant lead miner working in the Driftless Area of northwest Illinois, southwest Wisconsin, and northeast Iowa, working in summer and leaving for winter, so named because of the similarity to the migratory patterns of the North American Catostomidae.

One poor sucker had actually given her his life’s savings.

This ſucker thinks nane wiſe. / But him that can to immenſe riches riſe:

1728, Allan Ramsay, “The General Mistake”, in The Poems of Allan Ramsay, new edition, volume 1, published 1800, page 352:

They had sorcerized me, and I were a done-over sucker; so I jist gin up. No sooner had we ’rove at the boat, instead o’ feastin’ me on gully-whompin oysters, they nabbed me quick as a snappin’ turtle

1859, Oliver Stanley, “The Escape from the Whale”, in Hardin E. Taliaferro, editor, Fisher's River (North Carolina): Scenes and Characters, page 126:

“George, them fellows took me for a sucker. Do I look like a sucker?” ¶ “No, Bill; you look like a nice, smart counter-hopper,” I replied.

1887, George Devol, Forty Years a Gambler on the Mississippi, page 221:

Then he burst into a stream of horrible profanity. "What's the game?" he cried, glaring round him. "Do you think I am easy and that you can play me for a sucker? Is it a frame-up, or what?

1925 July – 1926 May, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “(please specify the chapter number)”, in The Land of Mist (eBook no. 0601351h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg Australia, published April 2019:

“After twenty years you’re still a sucker for her lies? […]”

1934, Dashiell Hammett, chapter 13, in The Thin Man, New York: Vintage, published 1972, page 59:

The rates here were unbelievable - $30 a day each. As you walk through the front door, they stamp "sucker" on your forehead.

1966, Bruce Brown, director, The Endless Summer:

(US, slang) A person who is easily deceived, tricked or persuaded to do something; a naive or gullible person.


clever

en-adj

clever (comparative cleverer or more clever, superlative cleverest or most clever)

cleverer (comparative)
more clever (comparative)
cleverest (superlative)
most clever (superlative)

dull

antonym(s) of “smart, intelligent or witty”

ineffectual

antonym(s) of “resourceful, perhaps cunning”

→ German: clever

→ Limburgish: klevver

From East Anglian dialectal English cliver (“expert at seizing”), from Middle English cliver (“tenacious”).
* perhaps from Old English *clifer, clibbor (“clinging”);
* or perhaps from Dutch, Low German, or East/Saterland Frisian (compare kluftich (“clever, prudent”), probably derived from Proto-West Germanic *kleuban (“to cleave, split”));
* or dialectal Norwegian klover (“ready, skillful”), itself borrowed from Middle Low German klever, related to kleven (“to stick”), from Old Saxon klibōn, from Proto-West Germanic *klibēn, related to the Old English word above;
* possibly influenced by Old English clifer (“claw, hand”) (compare clawian (“to claw”)).
Related to cleave. Perhaps influenced by Welsh celfydd (“talented, dexterous, expert”).


La-La Land

Blend of LA (initialism for Los Angeles) and La La Land (metaphorical dreamland).

lalaland (alternative)
la-la land (alternative)
la-la-land (alternative)
Lalaland (alternative)
Lala land (alternative)

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

... back to her new home in Calabassas, near Los Angeles. Her years in Phoenix, where she started her own zoo, ended in divorce, "and now I'm back in La La Land," […]

1958, TV Guide, volume 35, numbers 36–39:

(slang, US, figuratively, humorous or derogatory) Los Angeles, California (or Hollywood).


PUC

Public Utility Commission
w:Public Utility Commission

(US) Initialism of Public Utility Commission, a regulatory body in various states.


defense

en-verb

defense (third-person singular simple present defenses, present participle defensing, simple past and past participle defensed)

defenses (present singular third-person)
defensing (participle present)
defensed (participle past)
defensed (past)
defence (alternative)

From Middle English defens, defense, from Old French defens, defense, from Late Latin dēfēnsa (“protection”). Displaced native Old English bewering. The verb is from the noun.

In fact, there is an increase in the effectiveness of the Five Cutter Offense when teams put pressure on, instead of sagging or switching in an attempt to defense the attack successfully.

1972, Robert Cimbollek, Basketball’s Percentage Offense, West Nyack, N.Y.: Parker Publishing Company, Inc., →ISBN, page 114:

But the Buffs’ coaching staff made some adjustments in the way they defensed the Heights’ vaunted veer-option offense, and after being bullied around for 271 yards in the first half, yielded only 140 in the second half.

2013 November 16, Brett Marshall, “The Garden City Telegram, Kan., Brett Marshall column”, in McClatchy - Tribune Business News, Tribune Content Agency:

“It was most important to start the second half right,” Tennessee coach Donnie Tyndall said. “They dug in and defensed the right way.”

2014 November 28, Associated Press, “Vols beat Santa Clara, face Kansas”, in The Tennessean, page 2:

(sports, chiefly US) To employ defensive tactics (so as to block).


wash up

wash up (third-person singular simple present washes up, present participle washing up, simple past and past participle washed up)

washes up (present singular third-person)
washing up (participle present)
washed up (participle past)
washed up (past)

Dinner is almost ready, so go and wash up.

(US, intransitive) To wash one's hands or face, often around mealtimes.


fender-bender

fender-benders (plural)
fender bender (alternative)

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

My insurance went up even though all my accidents were just fender-benders.

(chiefly US, slang) A minor accident involving at least one motor vehicle.


alphabetize

alphabetize (third-person singular simple present alphabetizes, present participle alphabetizing, simple past and past participle alphabetized)

alphabetizes (present singular third-person)
alphabetizing (participle present)
alphabetized (participle past)
alphabetized (past)
alphabetise (alternative)

It was almost impossible to locate specific books in the library until we had alphabetized them by the authors' surnames.

(US, Canada, transitive) To arrange words or items in order of the first (and then subsequent) letters as they occur in the alphabet.


cake-eater

And you fellows, if you find some cake-eaters trying to take advantage of your sister, what are you going to do?

1934, James T. Farrell, chapter 21, in The Young Manhood of Studs Lonigan:

"Nowadays, these cake-eaters all died young. They had no teeth. They all went to doctors who fixed teeth. But still they died young and without their teeth."

1956, Joseph Caruso, The Priest, →ISBN, page 158:

"'... We got us a cake eater, right here at the sink!' He turned to me. 'Have you ever had your hands dirty, new kid?'"

2004, Zac Unger, Working Fire: The Making of an Accidental Fireman, page 8:

(US slang, dated, usually endearing) A well-off person who indulges himself or herself; a playboy or playgirl.


fellow traveller

en-noun

fellow traveller (plural fellow travellers)

fellow travellers (plural)
fellow-traveller (alternative)
fellow traveler (alternative)
fellow-traveler (alternative)

Near-synonym: camp follower

Earlier in the year, Ohio Senator Robert Taft charged that Democratic congressional proposals "bordered on communism," while Joe Martin called for Republican victories in order to oust the Communists and fellow travelers from the federal government.

1978, Richard Nixon, RN: the Memoirs of Richard Nixon, Grosset & Dunlap, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 42:

The summary case files used by the Internal Security Council, now declassified and available at the British National Archives, reveal how flimsy many of the cases against the detainees were: classifications could be as vague as "suspected communist", "communist sympathiser", "suspected communist sympathiser" and even "fellow traveller".

2023 February 2, “Sixty years since Operation Coldstore”, in We the Citizens:

(US) One who sympathizes with the aims or beliefs of an organization without belonging to it; especially a Communist sympathizer.


mum

I don't know whether that's true or whether New Yorkers are being enjoined from watering the mums in their window boxes or whatever, but I do know that there hasn't been one rain-delay in the whole tournament so far […].

1996, David Foster Wallace, “Democracy and Commerce at the US Open”, in Both Flesh And Not, Penguin, published 2013, page 139:

(US, originally Texas) A decoration made originally of a real chrysanthemum but now usually an artificial (silk) flower combined with ribbons and marked with such indicators as the wearer's name, school name, the year, and so on; traditionally worn by girls at high school homecoming celebrations.


commit

→ German: Commit

→ Russian: комми́т (kommít)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Mélange a trois-commit.wav

Borrowed from Latin committō (“to bring together, join, compare, commit (a wrong), incur, give in charge, etc.”), from com- (“together”) + mittō (“to send”). See mission.

bor

(informal, sports, chiefly US) A person, especially a high school athlete, who agrees verbally or signs a letter committing to attend a college or university.


excess

en-verb

excess (third-person singular simple present excesses, present participle excessing, simple past and past participle excessed)

excesses (present singular third-person)
excessing (participle present)
excessed (participle past)
excessed (past)

From Middle English exces (“excess, ecstasy”), from Old French exces, from Latin excessus (“a going out, loss of self-possession”), from excedere, excessum (“to go out, go beyond”). See exceed.

der

In 2006, I was excessed because my program had to make a few cuts and a new, inexperienced supervisor decided that he couldn’t handle a knowledgeable older teacher so he removed me.

2008 May 3, “When New York Teachers Don’t Teach”, in New York Times:

(US, transitive) To declare (an employee) surplus to requirements, such that he or she might not be given work.


dresser

From Middle English dressure, dressor, dressour, a borrowing from Old French drecëur, drecëure, from the verb dresser.

(US) An item of bedroom furniture, like a low chest of drawers (bureau), often with a mirror.


commuter

forens

a person who regularly travels to and from work and home

pendel

transport system or vehicle in such systems

How can an operator be, at the same time, top for overall satisfaction and bottom for value for money? I turned to Anthony Smith for the answer, leaning on his 20 years running Transport Focus and its predecessors.
It's commuters, he explained. "You can't please commuters, you can only not displease them."

2024 October 2, Philip Haigh, “Different types of passengers require different types of fare”, in RAIL, number 1019, page 54:

(transport) A person who regularly travels between two places.

(US, UK, Canada) To and from work and home.


review

en-verb

review (third-person singular simple present reviews, present participle reviewing, simple past and past participle reviewed)

reviews (present singular third-person)
reviewing (participle present)
reviewed (participle past)
reviewed (past)
re-view (alternative)

From Middle English revewe, reveue, from Old French reveüe, revue (Modern French: revue), feminine form of reveü, past participle of reveoir (French: revoir), from Latin revideō, from re- +videō (“see, observe”) (English: video). Equivalent to re- + view. Compare retrospect. Doublet of revue.

(transitive, US, Canada) To look over again (something previously written or learned), especially in preparation for an examination.


attitude

en-noun

attitude (countable and uncountable, plural attitudes)

From French attitude, from Italian attitudine (“attitude, aptness”), from Medieval Latin aptitūdō (“aptitude”) and actitūdō (“acting, posture”), from Latin aptō and actitō. Doublet of aptitude.

der

He doesn't take attitude from anybody.

I asked the waiter for a clean fork and all I got was attitude.

And if a nigga get a attitude / Pop it like it's hot

2004, “Drop It Like It's Hot”, performed by Snoop Dogg ft. Pharrell Williams:

(Canada, US, UK, Philippines, informal) Unpleasant behavior.


horizon

Inherited from Middle English orisonte, orisoun, from Middle French horizon, horizonte, from Old French orisonte, orison, via Latin horizōn, from Ancient Greek ὁρίζων (horízōn), from ὅρος (hóros, “boundary”).

(archaeology, chiefly US) A cultural sub-period or level within a more encompassing time period.


submersible

(US) A very small "baby" submarine designed for specific localized missions, usually while tethered to a submarine or ship for life support and communications. Slang synonyms: midget-submarine, anchor.

submergible

very small submarine designed for specific localized missions and usually tethered


motor car

The 20 sets of B.W. [British Westinghouse] equipment, including motor bogies and traction motors, were refitted to 20 new motor cars, similar in design to the 1913 stock, again at the railway company's Neasden Works.

1951 January, “The Inner Circle and its Rolling Stock”, in Railway Magazine, page 59:

A motor car is provided with two self-ventilated series-wound G.E.C. traction motors, each having a continuous rating of 80 h.p. at 575 V. 116 A. at a field strength of 66 per cent.

1960 February, “The first of London's new Piccadilly Line trains is delivered”, in Trains Illustrated, page 94:

(rail transport, US) Synonym of railcar (“self-propelled railway vehicle”).


fierce

en-adj

fierce (comparative fiercer or more fierce, superlative fiercest or most fierce)

fiercer (comparative)
more fierce (comparative)
fiercest (superlative)
most fierce (superlative)

From Middle English fers, fiers, borrowed from Old French fers (“wild", "ferocious”), nominative of fer, from Latin ferus (“wild", "untamed”).

Tyra said to strike a pose and make it fierce.

(US, LGBTQ slang, fashion) Of exceptional quality, exhibiting boldness or chutzpah.


nemesis

From the Greek goddess of retribution Nemesis (Ancient Greek Νέμεσις (Némesis)).

Batman is in constant conflict with his nemesis, The Joker.

The roofer stayed in touch, committed to the downfall of his nemesis, Mikey. One week after his initial phone call, we were on our way to raid Mikey's trite home armed with a federal search warrant. There were six of us.

2001 June 1, Mark Hunter, The Powder, Their Paper and Pools of Blood, iUniverse, →ISBN, page 186:

They were different in many ways but what was it about opposites attracting... […] She was his opposite, but not his nemesis, and they worked well together. She hoped he liked working with her.

2009 April 7, Paul Daffinrud, The Janitor Solves a Murder, iUniverse, →ISBN, page 16:

Jack took many hits to his body from his nemesis, but to his surprise he barely felt it. Jack's nemesis looked at him with anger in his eyes, clinching his fist to throw the next blow and without hesitation he threw another punch[…]

2020 January 30, Prince Edderson Charlton Jr, The 8 Wundas of the World: Volume One, Lulu Press, Inc, →ISBN, page 4:

(chiefly Canada, US) An enemy, especially an archenemy.


Casey

en-proper noun

Casey (countable and uncountable, plural Caseys)

Anglicisation of an Irish surname Ó Cathasaigh (“descendant of (a person named) Watchful”).

Planned Parenthood v. Casey
w:en:Planned Parenthood v. Casey

(US, law, US politics, informal, uncountable) Ellipsis of Planned Parenthood v. Casey. A 1992 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that reaffirmed the right to having an abortion; and reaffirmed the existence of a right to privacy under due process following the 14th Amendment.


bunker

Clipping of mossbunker, a variant of mossbanker, from Dutch marsbanker (“common scad or Atlantic horse mackerel (Trachurus trachurus)”), from Marsdiep (“deep tide-race between Den Helder and Texel in the Netherlands”) + bank (“shallow part of the sea near a coast”) + -er (suffix forming nouns denoting male inhabitants of a place).

der

Ten hours of footage revealed the young [shark's] habits, such as diving for squid up to 150 feet deep, then moving closer to shore to feast on huge schools of bunker fish.

2024 June 24, Melanie Haiken, “Baby great white shark reveals huge nursery near NYC in scientific first”, in National Geographic:

(US, regional) The menhaden, any of several species of fish in the genera Brevoortia and Ethmidium.


blank

From Middle English blank, blonc, blaunc, blaunche, from Anglo-Norman blonc, blaunc, blaunche, from Old French blanc, feminine blanche, from Frankish *blank (“gleaming, white, blinding”), from Proto-Germanic *blankaz (“white, bright, blinding”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰleyǵ- (“to shine”). Akin to Old High German blanch (“shining, bright, white”) (German blank), Old English blanc (“white, grey”), blanca (“white steed”), Spanish blanco. More at blink, blind, blanch. Doublet of blanc.

cog

(now chiefly US) A document, paper, or form with spaces left blank to be filled in at the pleasure of the person to whom it is given (e.g. a blank charter, ballot, form, contract, etc.), or as the event may determine; a blank form .

An empty form without substance; anything insignificant; nothing at all .

An unprinted leaf of a book [20th century].

[…] and the freemen signified their approbation by an inscribed vote, and their dissent by a blank.

1859, John Gorham Palfrey, History of New England, volume 1:


LP

(US, politics, uncountable) The Libertarian Party of the United States.


shylock

From the character Shylock in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice (1600).

Eventually, their gambling debts grow so big that they are cut off from making any more bets, eliminating the chance that they can make enough money to satisfy their shylocks.

2005, Joe Pistone, The Way of the Wiseguy, page 45:

If a guy got into hock with several shylocks from different crews and was unable to keep up with his weekly payments, a sit-down would have to be called with all of the shylocks involved and their respective capos.

2009, G. T. Harrell, For Members Only: The Story of the Mob's Secret Judge, A True Story, page 229:

After Caspian's father killed his credit lines at all the big casinos, he ran up a six-figure tab with a couple of shylocks in Miami, then couldn't make the vig.

2013, James Lee Burke, Light of the World, page 429:


shylock

en-verb

shylock (third-person singular simple present shylocks, present participle shylocking, simple past and past participle shylocked)

shylocks (present singular third-person)
shylocking (participle present)
shylocked (participle past)
shylocked (past)

I wanted to know whether shylocking is a legal business or not, and if it is legal, under which Act does it operate?

2004 December 8, Kenya National Assembly Official Record (Hansard), page 4928:

When you've accumulated a good stash of money, you may want to go into the nightclub business, or shylocking. Shylocking is free. There is no ten percent vig on loan sharking.

2005, Tom Layne, The Assassination of Rush Limbaugh, page 151:

Lori said it sounded outright felonious, but Dad said all he was doing was outsmarting the fat-cat bank owners who shylocked the common man by charging usurious interest rates.

2005, Jeannette Walls, The Glass Castle, published 2010:

Do you recall this question having been put to you—the shylocking business you were involved in continued right up until the time that you were arrested, correct?

2011, John Nicholas Iannuzzi, Handbook of Cross Examination: The Mosaic Art, 3rd edition, page 312:

(intransitive, US) To lend money at exorbitant rates of interest.


jug

en-noun

jug (countable and uncountable, plural jugs)

→ Welsh: jwg, jẁg, siwg

From Middle English jugge, of uncertain origin. Possibly a variant of Middle English jubbe, jobbe, iubbe, geobbe, itself of unknown origin; or perhaps continuing (in altered form) Old English ċēac (“pitcher; jug”). Compare also jug (“a low woman, maidservant”), from Jug, familiar form of Joanna.

the jug goes to the well until it breaks

(US, slang) The P-47 Thunderbolt fighter aircraft.


jug

Probably from Latin jugum (“yoke, tether”). A folk etymology claims that it is an acronym for "justice under God" or "judgment under God". https://www.ignatius.edu/news/september-2017/jug-em-with-a-jugumhttps://catholicphilly.com/2021/10/news/local-news/local-priest-moves-closer-to-sainthood/

“Take a week’s Jug,” he said, “and keep your nose clean.”

1970, Kenneth H. Brown, The Narrows, New York City: The Deal Press, via Google Books:

I had another role that earned me almost no appreciation at all: I served as the master after classes in the JUG room, where students appeared when they received detention.

2017 June 12, Stephen, N., S.J. Katsouros, Come To Believe: How the Jesuits are Reinventing Education (Again), Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books, via Google Books, →ISBN, page 27:

In days gone by jugs included the memorization of Shakespeare or the writing out of some well-known document like the Constitution.

2017 September 25, Tom Healey, “Jug 'Em with a Jugum”, in Lessons from Loyola Hall, Cleveland: Saint Ignatius High School, retrieved 2021-11-24:

A common infraction that landed pupils in jug was getting caught using a stairwell that was reserved for use by faculty and other adults.

2018 October 16, Ted Slowik, “Slowik: Reunion reveals changes to high school, people and places in 35 years”, in Chicago Tribune, retrieved 2021-11-24:

In addition to JUGs and disciplinary lectures, spats and hacks, paddles used to smack misbehaving students, often went with receiving a JUG.

2020 March 8, Steele Clevenger, “A Look Back at JUGs”, in The Jesuit Chronicle, Beaverton, Oregon: Jesuit High School, retrieved 2021-11-24:

(US, Roman Catholicism, countable or uncountable) detention (after-school student punishment)


jug

en-verb

jug (third-person singular simple present jugs, present participle jugging, simple past and past participle jugged)

jugs (present singular third-person)
jugging (participle present)
jugged (participle past)
jugged (past)
JUG (alternative)

Students would say they “got JUGged,” meaning they’d been disciplined by a teacher. Most of the time punishment entailed memorizing a passage of a text or an obscure snatch of poetry.

2007 June 19, Julia Flynn Siler, The House of Mondavi: The Rise and Fall of an American Wine Dynasty, New York City: Penguin Group, →ISBN, page 60:

The first time I met Ben was in after-school detention. He’d been jugged for faking his mom’s signature, and I was serving for clapping erasers in the hallway.

2009, Anthony Varallo, This Day in History, Iowa City, Iowa: University of Iowa Press, via Google Books, →ISBN, page 6:

(US, Roman Catholicism, transitive) to issue a detention (to a student)


twin

PIE word
 *dwóh₁
From Middle English twinne, twynne, from Old English ġetwin, ġetwinn (“twin, multiple”, noun) and twinn (“twin, two-fold, double, two by two”, adjective), from Proto-Germanic *twinjaz, *twinahz (“two each”), from Proto-Indo-European *dwino- (“twin”), from *dwóh₁ (“two”). Cognate with Scots twyn (“twin”), Dutch tweeling (“twin”), German Zwilling (“twin”), Danish tvilling (“twin”), Swedish tvilling (“twin”), Faroese tvinnur (“a double set”), Icelandic tvenna (“duo, pair”), Lithuanian dvynys (“twin”), Russian двойня (dvojnja, “twin”).

(US) A twin size mattress or a bed designed for such a mattress.


telly

Shortened form of (ho)tel and/or (mo)tel + -y.

I'm staying at the telly this weekend.

(US, Canada, chiefly MTE, slang) A hotel or motel.


banc

(US, business) Used to associate a non-banking affiliate of a bank with the bank's brand name without using the word bank


gangbanger

After a turbulent youth — the bookish, asthmatic child became a teenage gangbanger, juvenile offender and drug addict — Coolio worked as a volunteer firefighter.

2022 September 29, Eduardo Medina, McKenna Oxenden, “Coolio, ‘Gangsta’s Paradise’ Rapper, Dies at 59”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

(US, slang) A member of a violent gang; a violent person.


ways

a little ways out

We walked a ways from my house to the mall.

“We still have a ways to go with patterns.”
“You still have a ways to go with everything,” I told him.

2007, Aryn Kyle, The God of Animals, Simon and Schuster, page 41

(informal, US, sometimes figurative, usually preceded by a) A distance.


chicory

en-noun

chicory (countable and uncountable, plural chicories)

chicories (plural)
chiccory (alternative)
chickory (alternative)

From Late Middle English cicoree, cicory, cicorea, sicory, sycory (“common chicory (Cichorium intybus); heliotrope”), from Old French cicoree (modern French chicorée (“common chicory; endive; coffee substitute made from common chicory”)), or directly from its etymon Medieval Latin cicorea, cichorea, *cichōria, from Latin cichorium, cichoreum (“common chicory; endive”), from Ancient Greek κίχορα (kíkhora), κιχόρεια (kikhóreia), neuter plural of κιχώριον (kikhṓrion, “chicory”). The English word is cognate with Italian cicórea, and is a doublet of succory.

cog

The leaves of the cultivated chicory, endive, when blanched, form an ingredient in early spring salads.

1821, A. F. M. Willich, Thomas Cooper, “CHICORIUM INTUBUS”, in The Domestic Encyclopedia; or, Dictionary of Facts and Useful Knowledge, Chiefly Applicable to Rural & Domestic Economy. […] In Three Volumes, 2nd American edition, volume I, Philadelphia, Pa.: Printed and published by Abraham Small, […], →OCLC, page 447, column 1:

In the beginning of May, 1870, we sowed some seed of this Dandelion in a well prepared bed, in which the roots could easily develope themselves without meeting with any obstacle. The young plants soon appeared above ground, and in autumn we were able to cut from them great quantities of long and large leaves, which made an excellent salad. Others were cooked the same as Chicory (Endive), and were found to be very good.

1873 January 11, “The Kitchen Garden. [Improved Dandelion.]”, in William Robinson, editor, The Garden: An Illustrated Weekly Journal of Gardening in All Its Branches, volume III, London: Office, 37, Southampton Street, Covent Garden, W.C., →OCLC, page 37, column 2:

Cichorium endivia
Cichorium endivia#Translingual

(countable) Either of two plants of the Asteraceae family.

(chiefly Canada, US) Endive (Cichorium endivia), the source of escarole and frisée.


coriander

en-noun

coriander (usually uncountable, plural corianders)

→ Japanese: コリアンダー (koriandā)

/ˌkɒɹiˈændə/

/ˈkɔɹiˌændɚ/

/ˌkɔɹiˈændɚ/

From Middle English coriandre, from Anglo-Norman coriandre, from Old French corïandre, from Latin coriandrum, from Ancient Greek κορίανδρον (koríandron), of uncertain origin. Doublet of cilantro.
cognates, etc.
Compare Ancient Greek κορίαννον (koríannon), κορίαμβλον (koríamblon), Mycenaean Greek 𐀒𐀪𐁀𐀅𐀙 (ko-ri-a2-da-na), 𐀒𐀪𐀊𐀅𐀙 (ko-ri-ja-da-na), 𐀒𐀪𐀊𐀈𐀜 (ko-ri-ja-do-no), 𐀒𐀪𐀍𐀅𐀙 (ko-ri-jo-da-na), Akkadian 𒌑𒄷𒌷𒌝 (^úḫurium) Aramaic כסברה (kusbara, “coriander”), Classical Syriac ܟܽܘܣܒܰܪܬܳܐ (kūsbartā, “coriander”) and Arabic كُزْبَرَة (kuzbara).
Beekes supposes that cluster -dn- implies a Pre-Greek word, and hypothesizes that *koriaⁿdro- may have dissimilated to *koriaⁿdno-.

cog

Vietnamese coriander (Persicaria odorata

(US) The dried fruits thereof, used as a spice.


valet

Borrowed from Middle French valet, from Old French vaslet, from Medieval Latin *vassellittus, diminutive of Late Latin vassallus (“manservant, domestic, retainer”), from vassus (“servant”), from Gaulish *wassos (“young man, squire”), from Proto-Celtic *wastos (“servant”) (compare Old Irish foss and Welsh gwas).

der

(US) A person employed to clean or park cars.


valet

en-verb

valet (third-person singular simple present valets, present participle valeting, simple past and past participle valeted)

valets (present singular third-person)
valeting (participle present)
valeted (participle past)
valeted (past)

I asked Giacomo if he ever valeted his car, and he twisted his face into a grimace as he replied, “Rarely, but I have done it. Nervous time.”

2012 May 30, Jay Weston, “One of the Most Eligible Bachelors in L.A. Has 55 Ferraris.. and Takes Me for a Drive in One!”, in The Huffington Post:

“‘Is this a date?’” Ms. Ludbrook recalled thinking during dinner. “I had valeted my car, and he hadn’t. He said, ‘Bye,’ and went to his car. Clearly this was not a date.”

2017 February 11, Rosalie R. Radomsky, “Emma Ludbrook and Tom Windish: Their First Date Was a Big Production”, in The New York Times:

(transitive, US) To leave (a car) with a valet to park it.


cut red tape

cut red tape (third-person singular simple present cuts red tape, present participle cutting red tape, simple past and past participle cut red tape)

cuts red tape (present singular third-person)
cutting red tape (participle present)
cut red tape (participle past)
cut red tape (past)

from cut "to remove" + red tape "excessive bureaucratic procedures"

This insurance company is an expert at cutting red tape to process your claim faster.


grande

Borrowed from Italian grande. Doublet of grand and grandee.

(chiefly US) Of a cup of coffee: smaller than venti but larger than tall, usually 16 ounces (~ 455 ml).


grande

As she went to work the only concern prominent in her mind was a strong desire for a couple of grandes from Starbucks.

1997, J. H. Marks, Conspiracy Theory, Signet, →ISBN, page 148:

Kevin considered bumming a cig, but he doubted any of them would part with one. Clutching their Starbucks grandes, guarding their garment bags with practiced eyes—how much sympathy could they be expected to muster?

1998, Doug Guinan, California Screaming, Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, page 287:

“Harrumph,” Daddy said, flipping through the morning’s deliveries – the L.A. Times, the New York Times and two grandes from Starbucks: decaf Colombian for my stressed superior, and a nonfat capp with a double espresso shot for me.

1999, Elizabeth Lenhard, Bettypalooza, Pocket Books, →ISBN, page 80:


spatula

en-noun

spatula (plural spatulas or spatulae or spatulæ)

spatulas (plural)
spatulae (plural)
spatulæ (plural)

/ˈspæt͡ʃʊlə/

/ˈspæt͡ʃələ/

Borrowed from Latin spatula (“a flat piece”), the diminutive form of spatha (“broad or flat tool”), from Ancient Greek σπάθη (spáthē, “a broad wood or metal blade”). Doublet of spauld; compare spatha and spathe.

der

(Canada, US) A kitchen utensil consisting of a flexible surface attached to a long handle, used for scraping the sides of bowls.


son of a bitch

en-noun

son of a bitch (plural sons of bitches or sons of a bitch)

sons of bitches (plural)
sons of a bitch (plural)
son-of-a-bitch (alternative)
sonofabitch (alternative)
sonovabitch (alternative)
sonuvabitch (alternative)
son of bitch (alternative)
sumbitch (alternative)

Alteration of an earlier phrase represented by Middle English biche-sone (“son of a bitch”, literally “bitch's son”), calqued from Old Norse bikkju-sonr (“son of a bitch”).

der

My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son of a bitch.

You twisted son of a bitch! You're going to torture somebody!

You’re one fury son of a bitch.

Those sons of bitches don’t stand a chance.

There's that snarling cur, and son of a Bitch Boccaline.

1685, John Eachard, The grounds & occasions of the contempt of the clergy and religion enquired into, 9th edition, London, page 252:

He had the insolence obliquely to give me the name of Son of a Bitch.

1691, Thomas Shadwell, The Humorists, a Comedy, London, page 22:

[…] Count Davia, like a Son of a Bitch as he is, Chop'd upon mine and the Duke of Mantuu's Equipage, and rubb'd off with our Plate, Jewels, and other Knicknacks of Inestimable Value.

1703, Thomas Brown, Letters from the living to the living, relating to the present transactions both Publick and Private, page 105:

But ya ought to thank me, before I die / For the gravel in ya guts and the spit in ya eye / Because I'm the son-of-a-bitch that named you Sue

1969, Shel Silverstein (lyrics and music), “A Boy Named Sue”, performed by Johnny Cash:

(derogatory or offensive, slang, vulgar, usually referring specifically to a man, chiefly US, Canada) An objectionable, despicable person.

"This son of a bitch won't move!" Marty exclaimed as he grappled with the supermarket cart.

Get that son of a bitch generator started before it will get issues!

Lift garage door open this son of a bitch before it gets closed!

Push this son of a bitch buggy to the trailer.

(derogatory or offensive, slang, vulgar, chiefly US, Canada) Any objectionable thing.


apple juice

en-noun

apple juice (countable and uncountable, plural apple juices)

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

мыӏэрысэпсы

the juice of apples, often used as a drink

The juice of apples, often used as a drink. (This entry is a translation hub.)

(US) Filtered and pasteurized juice of apples, as opposed to apple cider and hard cider.


high tea

high tea (countable and uncountable, plural high teas)


Metis

Metis (plural)
Métis (alternative)
metis (alternative)
métis (alternative)

Borrowed from French métis, from Old French mestis, from Late Latin mixtīcius. Métis originally referred to Francophone and Cree-speaking descendants of the French-Catholic Red River Métis in Manitoba. Compare mestizo.

Gabriel Du Pre is a Metis, a descendent^([sic]) of the Cree, Chippewa and Ojibwe tribes mixed with French.

2003, Joan Beam, Barbara Branstad, The Native American in Long Fiction: An Annotated Bibliography : Supplement, 1995-2002, Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press:

(chiefly Canada, US) A member of one of these three Canadian Aboriginal peoples.


blowhard

blowhards (plural)
blow-hard (alternative)

Essentially deverbal in nature, albeit not from a unitary phrasal verb; from blow hard.

The merchants are the most ultra Secessionists, one of the secret springs of action among this class being the heavy indebtedness owing to Eastern creditors. Some men of Northern origin were the most rabid. A "blow-hard," named JAMES PATTERSON, of Augusta, Jackson County, was originally from Pennsylvania. He stumped the county and was elected to the Convention, and cast his vote for secession.

1861 October 20, “Interesting from Arkansas. Correspondence of the Missouri Democrat.”, in The New York Times, page 2:

[T]he loud-mouthed blowhard seemed just the man to flinch when real danger confronted him; […]

1896, Robert Barr, “The Shadow of the Greenback”, in Revenge!, New York, N.Y., London: Frederick A. Stokes Company, →OCLC, page 182:

Oh, this bellowing, blatant, bellicose, belligerent, bombastic blowhard […]

1941 November 17, “Political Notes: Republican Rift?”, in Time, archived from the original on 2016-04-16:

In my profession, I have seen more than my share of blowhards who use volume to intimidate the weak, fool the feeble-minded, or control the insecure or lazy who would just as soon have someone do their thinking for them anyway.

1999, Jo-Ellan Dimitrius, Wendy Mazzarella, “Learning to Ask the Right Questions—and Listen to the Answers”, in Reading People: How to Understand People and Predict Their Behavior—Anytime, Anyplace, London: Vermilion, Ebury Press, →ISBN, page 109:

David Davis, Liam Fox, Boris Johnson and the other Brexit blowhards know they have no chance of achieving their stated aims, such as a £350m weekly NHS payback.

2017 March 27, “The Observer view on triggering article 50: As Britain hurtles towards the precipice, truth and democracy are in short supply”, in The Observer, London, archived from the original on 2017-08-30:

(Canada, US, derogatory) A person who talks too much or too loudly, especially in a boastful or self-important manner.


porker

From pork + -er.
* (obese person; police officer): Carried over from the same senses of pig.
* (a lie): Extension of the rhyming slang pork pie.

(US, slang, derogatory) A police officer.


un-American

en-adj

un-American (comparative more un-American, superlative most un-American)

more un-American (comparative)
most un-American (superlative)
unamerican (alternative)


extend

en-verb

extend (third-person singular simple present extends, present participle extending, simple past and past participle extended)

extends (present singular third-person)
extending (participle present)
extended (participle past)
extended (past)

From Middle English extenden, from Anglo-Norman extendre, estendre, from Latin extendō (“I stretch out”).

Two years later, back to amtracs, this time at Camp Schwab, Okinawa, and I liked it so much I extended.

1993, The Leatherneck, volume 76, page xxxvi:

(intransitive, US, military) To reenlist for a further period.


schwag

Unknown. Possibly related to shag (“shredded tobacco”). The "marijuana" noun sense is attested since the 1980s in the United States, the adjective since the 1990s. The "trinkets or items given away" sense is a variant of swag from 19th century thieves' cant.


meridian

The noun is derived from Late Middle English meridian, meridien (“midday, noon; position of the sun at noon; the south; longitude of a place; (astronomy) celestial meridian”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman meridien (“midday”), Middle French meridien (“midday; the south; terrestrial meridian; (astronomy) celestial meridian”) (modern French méridien), and Old French meridiane, meridiiene, and from their etymon Latin merīdiānum (“midday; position of the sun at noon; the south”), a noun use of the neuter form of merīdiānus (“relating to midday; southern”); see further at etymology 1.
Sense 1.1 (“celestial meridian”) is ultimately modelled after Latin merīdiāna līnea (“meridian line”). Sense 5.2 (“midday rest; siesta”) is modelled after Late Latin meridiana (“midday; midday rest”), probably short for Latin merīdiāna hōra (“midday time”).
The verb is derived from the noun.

nb...

meridene, meridiane, meridien, meridyan, meridyen, merydien, merydyen,

cog

(US, printing, dated) The size of type between double great primer and canon, standardized as 44-point.


haul

en-verb

haul (third-person singular simple present hauls, present participle hauling, simple past and past participle hauled)

hauls (present singular third-person)
hauling (participle present)
hauled (participle past)
hauled (past)

→ Welsh: halio

From Middle English hālen, hailen, haulen, halien (“to drag, pull; to draw up”), from Old French haler (“to haul, pull”), from Frankish *halōn (“to drag, fetch, haul”) or Middle Dutch halen (“to drag, fetch, haul”), possibly merging with Old English *halian (“to haul, drag”); all from Proto-Germanic *halōną, *halēną, *hulōną (“to call, fetch, summon”), from Proto-Indo-European *kelh₁- (“to call, cry, summon”). The noun is derived from the verb.
Cognates
The word is cognate with Danish hale (“to haul”), Middle Dutch halen (“to draw, fetch, haul”), Dutch halen (“to fetch, bring, haul”), Old Frisian halia, Saterland Frisian halen (“to draw, haul, pull”), Low German halen (“to draw, pull”), Old High German halôn, holôn, German holen (“to fetch, get”), Norwegian hale (“to haul”), Old Saxon halôn (“to fetch, get”), Swedish hala (“to hale, haul, pull, tug”), and related to Old English ġeholian (“to get, obtain”).

cog

“How fast was he goin’?” / “I don’t know exactly, but he must’ve been haulin’, given where he landed.”

(intransitive, US, colloquial) To haul ass (“go fast”).


parish

From Middle English parisshe, from Old French paroisse (compare the obsolete variant paroch, from Anglo-Norman paroche, parosse), from Late Latin parochia, from Ancient Greek παροικία (paroikía, “a dwelling abroad”).

der

General American, Mary–marry–merry merger

(US) An ecclesiastical society, usually not bounded by territorial limits, but composed of those persons who choose to unite under the charge of a particular priest, clergyman, or minister; also, loosely, the territory in which the members of a congregation live.


maverick

en-verb

maverick (third-person singular simple present mavericks, present participle mavericking, simple past and past participle mavericked)

mavericks (present singular third-person)
mavericking (participle present)
mavericked (participle past)
mavericked (past)

Named after Texan lawyer and politician Samuel Maverick (1803–1870), who refused to brand his cattle. For probable origin and meaning, see Maverick.
The poker noun sense (“a queen and a jack as a starting hand in Texas hold 'em”) may be from the theme song of the US Western television series Maverick (1957–1962), which says of the eponymous protagonist that “[g]amblin’ is his game” and that he is “livin’ on jacks and queens”.

named-after

The court permitted the State to prove, over defendant's objections, that Thedford met Noon Tucker and Calvery driving the yearling over to Bachelor's for delivery. Thedford inquired of Noon "if that [meaning the yearling] was one he had mavericked?"

1887, A. M. Jackson, A. M. Jackson, Jr., Reports of Cases Argued and Adjudged in the Court of Appeals of Texas, Austin, Tx.: Hutchings Printing House, →OCLC, page 514:

For the capricious and uncertain favor of this the only marriageable young lady in the district, all the susceptible and unattached cowboys (of which class the population almost wholly consisted) strove together eagerly and without ceasing, mavericking right and left everything they could lay their hands on, with a running brand L I L, until, when the tenderfoot she had all along been engaged to came out and married her, she brought him great herds of L I L cattle, with which they gayly set up a ranch beneath the noses of the forlorn celibate community.

1894 July, Alice MacGowan, “The Heraldry of the Plains”, in McClure’s Magazine, volume III, number 2, New York, N.Y., London: S[amuel] S[idney] McClure, Limited, →OCLC, page 115:


duds

I looked at what I could see of my rough blue duds, which I had plenty of opportunity of contrasting with the gay attire of the citizens we had come across; […]

1890, William Morris, News from Nowhere, in the journal The Commonweal. (First published in book form 1890.)

“I don't know how you and the ‘head,’ as you call him, will get on, but I do know that if you call my duds a ‘livery’ again there'll be trouble. […]”

1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter VII, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y., London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:

They grab his duds and his picks as well. They hoy him down to the pit of hell. Down you go and fare ye well. You dirty blackleg miner.

1970 June 25, traditional (lyrics and music), “The Blackleg Miner” (track 4), in Hark! The Village Wait, performed by Steeleye Span:

We were hard-pressed to find anyone who actually skis in these designer duds, but someone's buying the stuff: Hilfiger's ski and boardwear line grosses around $25 million per year […]

JESSE:Badger? Where you been keeping yourself? Nice duds.

2008 October 26, Vince Gilligan,Patty Lin, directed by Tricia Brock, Breaking Bad (Gray Matter) (1), episode 5 (TV), spoken by Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul):

Scavenger: Nice duds. Better watch your back. There's probably already a dozen people planning to kill you for them.

2017, BioWare, Mass Effect: Andromeda, Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →OCLC, PC, scene: Elaaden:

(US, British, informal, dated) Clothing, especially for work or of rough appearance.

Klamotten

clothing, especially those for work or of rough appearance


transportation

en-noun

transportation (usually uncountable, plural transportations)

Nice transportation, dude, but your brake lights are busted.

Sybil: [..] That reminds me, I haven't got my passes yet! Have you the transportation here from Cheyenne to San Francisco for Mrs. S. Johnston?"
(Agent looks grave, goes back and fumbles at the papers on his desk, returns to the window with a slip of paper in his hand.)
Agent: "We had transportation here made out for such a person, but it was called for several hours ago."

1898, Willa Cather, The Westbound Train:


unleaded

From un- + leaded. The US standard of identity comes from 40 CFR §79.32.

standards of identity
standard of identity

(US standards of identity, of gasoline) Containing no more than 0.05 grams of lead per gallon.

I order a draft beer and a decaf coffee for Cha. The bartender tells me in a nice way they don't have unleaded coffee.

1999, Chuck Fair, Deviants, →ISBN, page 31:

“Could I get you a drink, coffee, or something?” “Unleaded coffee if Alex has any.”

2016, Charles L. McGranaghan, The Patriot Group, an American novel, →ISBN, page 368:


unleaded

unleaded (usually uncountable, plural unleadeds)

And while you may enjoy your morning coffee buzz, caffeine is active in the bloodstream for up to nine hours, so it is best to switch to unleaded after noon.

2012, Sarah Samaan, Best Practices for a Healthy Heart, →ISBN:


wagon

wagons (plural)
wagan (alternative)
waghen (alternative)
waggon (alternative)

→ Dutch: wagon

→ French: wagon (see there for further descendants)

→ German: Waggon

→ Japanese: わごん, ワゴン (wagon)

→ Polish: wagon

→ Spanish: vagón

Borrowed from Middle Dutch wagen, from Old Dutch *wagan, from Proto-West Germanic *wagn, from Proto-Germanic *wagnaz (“wagon”), from Proto-Indo-European *woǵʰnos (“wagon, primitive carriage”), from *weǵʰ- (“to transport”). Doublet of wain. Related also to way, weigh.
Sense 8 (“woman of loose morals; obnoxious woman”) is probably a derogatory and jocular reference to a woman being “ridden”, that is, mounted for the purpose of sexual intercourse.
The verb is derived from the noun.

wa

four-wheeled cart for hauling loads — see also cart

(US, chiefly New England) A shopping cart.

The woman had been photographed in the driver's seat of a late-model Jeep wagon; walking across what appeared to be a large parking lot; inside her kitchen and her bedroom, blissfully unaware that her privacy was being invaded by binoculars and telephoto lenses in the hands of a slob like Thigpen.

2002 October, Sandra Brown, The Crush, New York, N.Y.: Warner Books, →ISBN; republished New York, N.Y.: Grand Central Publishing, 2017, →ISBN:

sport utility vehicle
sport utility vehicle

(chiefly Australia, US, slang) Short for station wagon (“type of car in which the roof extends rearward to produce an enclosed area in the position of and serving the function of the boot (trunk)”); (by extension) a sport utility vehicle (SUV); any car.


wagon

en-verb

wagon (third-person singular simple present wagons, present participle wagoning, simple past and past participle wagoned)

wagons (present singular third-person)
wagoning (participle present)
wagoned (participle past)
wagoned (past)

The ore is firſt waggoned to the river, a quarter of a mile, then laden on board of canoes, and carried acroſs the river, which is there about 200 yards wide, and then again taken into waggons and carried to he furnace.

1781–1782, Thomas Jefferson, “Query VI. A Notice of the Mines and Other Subterraneous Riches; Its Trees, Plants, Fruits, &c.”, in Notes on the State of Virginia. […], London: Printed for John Stockdale, […], published 1787, →OCLC, page 39:

Bar iron, of the first quality; pig metal and castings, of various denominations; wheat in large quantities; other grain, whiskey, gin, clover-seed, flax-seed, beeswax, butter et cetera, are wagoned to these points, and others on the streams mentioned, and taken down the Susquehanna.

1822, “Bellefonte and Philipsburg Turnpike Road Company”, in Documents, Accompanying the Report of the Committee, on Roads, Bridges and Inland Navigation, Read in the Senate of Pennsylvania, on the 23d of March, 1822, Harrisburg, Pa.: C. Mowry, printer, →OCLC, paragraph 35, page 15:

In compliance with the positive injunction of the 4th section of the internal improvement act of 1836, which expressly declares that the canal shall be constructed and completed "to the Ohio river at Lawrenceburgh," and to exempt the opening trade from the expense and delay of wagoning to and from the river, as stated in the report of the board, the necessary steps were taken to connect the trade of the canal with the navigation of the river.

1840 January 14, N. Noble, “Report of the Board of Internal Improvements”, in Journal of the House of Representatives, at the Twenty-fourth Session of the General Assembly of the State of Indiana, […], Indianapolis, Ind.: J. Livingston, printers, published 1839–1840, →OCLC, page 746:

Around 1903, smallpox and typhoid became so bad at the new Kirby mill town of Silsbee that the company doctor ordered wives to keep their children inside, lest they be infected by germs shaken from the pine coffins of disease victims wagoned through town on their way to the cemetery.

1998, Thad Sitton, James H. Conrad, “Panoramas”, in Nameless Towns: Texas Sawmill Communities, 1880–1942, Austin, Tex.: University of Texas Press, →ISBN, page 43:

(transitive, chiefly US) To load into a wagon in preparation for transportation; to transport by means of a wagon.

[T]he toll was taken off freight on ninety miles of the canal between Huntingdon and Duncan's Island, and subsequently off passengers, to enable the companies to meet the unexpected and heavy expense necessarily incurred by staging and wagoning across the breach in the line.

1838, [Joseph Ritner], Message from the Governor to the General Assembly of Pennsylvania. Read in Senate, Dec. 27, 1838, Harrisburg, Pa.: Printed by E[manuel] Guyer, →OCLC, pages 13–14:

(intransitive, chiefly US) To travel in a wagon.


dweeb

From 1968 US college slang, probably related to feeb.
The 1980s backronym Dim-Witted Eastern-Educated Boor derives from apparent social and attitudinal differences between West Coast and East Coast US, and describes a stereotypical Ivy League graduate from Harvard, Yale, etc.
Etymology tree
Anglo-Norman feblebor.
Middle English feble
English feeble
English mind
English -ed
English minded
English feeble-minded
English feebinflu.
English dweeb

etymon

I may be dumb, but I'm not a dweeb.

1994, Dexter Holland (lyrics and music), “Self Esteem”, in Smash, performed by The Offspring:

There never is a Keanu but a dweeb looking at me.

1996, Richard Stannard, Matt Rowe (lyrics and music), “If U Can't Dance”, in Spice, performed by Spice Girls:

No way, man, the biggest dweeb of them all with . . . Marilyn!

2005 June 13, Edmund White, “My Women”, in The New Yorker:

(US, dated, originally university slang, now general slang, derogatory) A boring, studious, or socially inept person.