kike

Thought to be from Yiddish קײַקל (kaykl, “circle”). In the early 20th century, non-English-speaking Jews that immigrated to the United States would sign papers with a circle as opposed to a more common X. The latter symbol was associated by these Jews with the Christian cross, a symbol that represented to them millennia of persecution. This is the dominant etymological theory, but there are others, in particular a contraction from the documented phrase ‘Ikey-Kikey’, an American-origin reduplication of Ikey, British-English pejorative for Jews after the prevalence of the name Isaac.

"Now you quit kidding me! What's the nice little name?" "Oh, it ain't so darn nice. I guess it's kind of kike. But my folks ain't kikes. My papa's papa was a nobleman in Poland, and there was a gentleman in here one day, he was kind of a count or something--"

(US, offensive, ethnic slur, religious slur) A Jew.

That greedy kike would not give me any money when I was starving and needed food.

(US, offensive) A miser; a contemptible, stingy person, particularly a well-endowed one.


gook

First attested in the 1890s in reference to Filipinos (in particular, it is defined in an 1893 citation in Slang and Its Analogues as referring to prostitutes who followed army camps; it is defined similarly in a 1914 work). The word was used of Nicaraguans during the US military occupation there in the 1910s, and Haitians during the US invasion there, when Herbert Seligman noted in 1920 that "The Haitians … are nicknamed 'Gooks'".
Other early uses in the 1920 and 30s still refer to people from the Philippines (a 1921 work refers to the Philippines as "Gook Land"), and the term seems to be connected to goo-goo (“a Philippine person”), for which a variety of etymologies have been proposed; see that entry for more. (A later folk etymology suggests that during the Korean War, North Korean soldiers would shout Korean 美國 (Miguk, “America”) at Americans, who interpreted it as "me gook", as if identifying themselves as "gooks"; this ignores the many earlier examples of the word outside Korea.) Gook was used of Pacific Islanders by World War II, and Koreans and Vietnamese people by the time of the 1950s and 60s US military interventions there, which cemented the shift to meaning "Asian".

A few days later he had a 'damned good party' at NORMASH, drinking brandy, and he then 'beat up a Gook [Korean] village.' This resulted in an 'awful hangover all day', […] Later, he walked back to his unit, alone at three o'clock in the morning, having 'swiped a Gook torch.'

2002, Colin Baker, Wild Goose: The Life and Death of Hugh Van Oppen, pages 59–60:

(slang, vulgar, derogatory, offensive, ethnic slur) A person of (South) East Asian descent; originally a native of the Philippines, but now especially:

(US, derogatory) A Korean person (especially during the Korean War).

Of course, I've got so many confirmed kills I lost count. Nobody believes me because the gooks drag off their dead.

1979, Gustav Hasford, The Short-Timers, New York: Bantam Books, published 1980, →ISBN, page 57:

(US, derogatory) A Vietnamese insurgent in the Vietnam War, particularly a member of the Vietcong.


super

(informal, US) Short for superintendent, especially, a building's resident manager (sometimes clarified as “building super”).


fix

en-verb

fix (third-person singular simple present fixes, present participle fixing, simple past and past participle fixt or fixed)

fixes (present singular third-person)
fixing (participle present)
fixt (participle past)
fixt (past)
fixed (participle past)
fixed (past)
fix (infinitive)
fixe (alternative)

→ Dutch: fixen, fiksen

From Middle English fixen, borrowed from Old French *fixer (attested only as ficher, fichier; > English fitch), from fix (“fastened; fixed”), from Latin fīxus (“immovable; steady; stable; fixed”), from fīgō (“to drive in; stick; fasten”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeygʷ- (“to jab; stick; set”). Related to dig.

der

Rover stopped digging under the fence after we had the vet fix him.

(transitive, US, informal) To surgically render an animal, especially a pet, infertile.


fix

→ French: fixe, fix

(US) Fettlings (mixture used to line a furnace)


relative

[ˈɹɛl.ə.ɾɪv]

From Middle French relatif, from Late Latin relātīvus, from Latin relātus, perfect passive participle of referō (“to carry back, to ascribe”), from re- (“again”) + ferō (“to bear or carry”).

In 1924 it moved to a commonious campus at Stockton. Like other Californian colleges, however, it decided to remain a relative small institution.

1961, Earl Leon Werley Heck, The Rise of Higher Education in California, 1834–1910:

Mr. Schneebell. Instead of the relative small number of cases, you should phrase it probably differently.
Professor Brazer. I accept that correction.

1974, Select Committee on Small Business, United States Senate, Small Business Tax Reform, 1970–74, page 175:

In addition to the typical external disturbances faced by small open economies, such as shocks to terms of trade, to capital flows, or to the rest of the world’s demand, it is subject to a number of idiosyncratic shocks stemming from its relative big neighbors Brazil and—especially—Argentina.

2010, Sebastian Sosa, The Influence of “Big Brothers:” How Important are Regional Factors for Uruguay?, page 3:


senior

en-adj

senior (comparative more senior, superlative most senior)

more senior (comparative)
most senior (superlative)
seniour (alternative)

From Middle English senior, from Latin senior (“older”), comparative form of senex (“old”); see senate. Doublet of seigneur, seignior, senhor, señor, senyor, signore, sir, and sire.

doublet

(US) Of or pertaining to a student's final academic year at a high school (twelfth grade) or university.


senior

Grave and reverend seniors seemed to have caught the prevailing spirit as badly as the students, and I saw white-bearded men rising and shaking their fists at the obdurate Professor.

1912, Arthur Conan Doyle, “‘Question!’”, in The Lost World […], London; New York, N.Y.: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC, page 77:

(US, Philippines) A final-year student at a high school or university; a finalist.


junior

en-adj

junior (not generally comparable, comparative more junior, superlative most junior)

more junior (comparative)
most junior (superlative)
juniour (alternative)

Borrowed from Latin junior, a contraction of iuvenior (“younger”) which is the comparative of iuvenis (“young”); see juvenile.

(not comparable, chiefly US) Of or pertaining to a third academic year in a four-year high school (eleventh grade) or university.


junior

en-noun

junior (countable and uncountable, plural juniors)

(countable, chiefly US, Philippines) A third-year student at a high school or university.


AstroTurf

From astro- + turf, from its namesake trademark, in turn a reference to the Astrodome stadium in Houston, the first major sports venue to install artificial turf in 1966. The venue was named by its developer Roy Hofheinz, presumably a reference to the emerging identity of Houston as Space City.
Originally marketed as ChemGrass.

Astroturf (alternative)
astroturf (alternative)

(US, politics) Alternative form of Astroturf.


duplex

PIE word
 *dwóh₁
Borrowed from Latin duplex (“double, two-fold”), from duo (“two”) + plico (“fold together”); compare the roots of διπλόος (diplóos, “double”); compare also πλέκω (plékō, “twist, braid”). By surface analysis, duo- + -plex.

The house had been renovated into a duplex and he’d put in a phone line.

2020, Akwaeke Emezi, The Death of Vivek Oji, Faber & Faber Ltd, page 53:

(US, Canada, Australia) A house made up of two dwelling units.


stella

Borrowed from Latin stēlla (“a star”). Doublet of estoile, étoile, and stelo; related to aster and star.

(US, numismatics) Alternative letter-case form of Stella.


auntie

Tok Pisin: anti

Torres Strait Creole: anti

→ Burmese: အန်တီ (anti)

⇒ Chinese: 安娣 (āndī)

→ Pennsylvania German: Aendi

→ Scottish Gaelic: antaidh

→ Yoruba: àǹtí


barf

→ Dutch: barf

bath (non-rhotic, trap–bath split, th-fronting)

Uncertain. Probably of imitative origin.


barf

en-verb

barf (third-person singular simple present barfs, present participle barfing, simple past and past participle barfed)

barfs (present singular third-person)
barfing (participle present)
barfed (participle past)
barfed (past)

Dutch: barfen


get up

get up (third-person singular simple present gets up, present participle getting up, simple past got up, past participle (UK) got up or (US) gotten up)

gets up (present singular third-person)
getting up (participle present)
got up (past)
got up (UK participle past)
gotten up (US participle past)

(slang, US) To meet with or get to know (someone); to hang out with someone.


bun

From Middle English bunne (“wheat cake, bun”), from Anglo-Norman bugne (“bump on the head; fritter”), from Old French bugne (hence French beignet), from Frankish *bungjo (“little clump”), diminutive of *bungu (“lump, clump”), from Proto-Germanic *bungô, *bunkô (“clump, lump, heap, crowd”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰenǵʰ- (“thick, dense, fat”). Cognate with Dutch bonk (“clump, clot, cluster of fruits”). More at bunch.

bolletjie

a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced

couldn't organise a bun fight in a bakery

nice buns;   tight buns

(Canada, US, slang, chiefly in the plural) A buttock.


frag

en-verb

frag (third-person singular simple present frags, present participle fragging, simple past and past participle fragged)

frags (present singular third-person)
fragging (participle present)
fragged (participle past)
fragged (past)

One guy? I fragged a couple of hundred in 'Nam.

1974 January 13, Peter S. Fischer, “Publish or Perish” (00:03:23 from the start), in Columbo, season 3, episode 5, spoken by Eddie Kane:

Cowboy says in a low voice: “Never turn your back on Mother. Never cut him any slack. He fragged Mr. Shortround.”

1979, Gustav Hasford, The Short-Timers, New York: Bantam Books, published 1980, →ISBN, page 173:

fragmentation grenade
fragmentation grenade

(transitive, US military slang) To deliberately kill (one's superior officer) with a fragmentation grenade.


dirt

en-noun

dirt (usually uncountable, plural dirts)

From Middle English drit (“excrement”), from Old Norse drit (“excrement”), from Proto-Germanic *dritą, *dritō (“excrement”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰreyd-, *treydʰ- (“to have diarrhea”). Cognate with Norwegian dritt (“excrement”), dialectal Swedish dret (“shit”), Icelandic drit (“bird excrement”), Dutch drijten (“to defecate”), drits (“dirt, mud, filth”) and drijt, dreet (“excrement”), Low German drieten (“to defecate”), Driet (“shit”), regional German Driss (“shit”), Old English ġedrītan (“to defecate”).


filth

filth (usually uncountable, plural filths)

From Middle English filth, from Old English fȳlþu, from Proto-West Germanic *fūliþu, equivalent to foul + -th.

Grampa remembers when he had to cut filth with a scythe.

(US, agriculture, dated) Weeds growing on pasture land.


raise

From Middle English reysen, raisen, reisen, from Old Norse reisa (“to raise”), from Proto-Germanic *raisijaną, *raizijaną (“to raise”), causative form of Proto-Germanic *rīsaną (“to rise”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁rey- (“to rise, arise”). According to Kroonen (2013), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃er- (“to stir, rise”).
Cognate with Old English rāsian (“to explore, examine, research”), Old English rīsan (“to seize, carry off”), Old English rǣran (“to raise”). Doublet of rear.

cog

The boss gave me a raise.

(US) Ellipsis of pay raise.: an increase in wages or salary.


zucchini

zucchinis (plural)
zucchini (plural)
zucchina (alternative)
zucchino (alternative)

→ Japanese: ズッキーニ

Borrowed from Italian zucchini, plural of zucchino, diminutive of zucca (“squash”). Ultimately related to courgette through the original Latin cucurbita. Compare Sicilian cucuzza.

Cucurbita pepo
Cucurbita pepo#Translingual

(Australia, New Zealand, Canada, US, Philippines) A courgette; a variety of squash, Cucurbita pepo, which bears edible fruit.

(Australia, New Zealand, Canada, US, Philippines) The edible fruit of this variety of squash.


bugger

From Middle English bougre (“heretic”), from Old French bougre, from Medieval Latin Bulgarus (“Bulgar”), from Old Church Slavonic блъгаринъ (blŭgarinŭ, “Bulgarian”), used in designation of heretics (especially the Bogomils, who arose around the 10th century AD in the First Bulgarian Empire), to whom various sexual practices such as anal sex were ascribed. Doublet of Bulgar.

der

What is that little bugger up to now?

(slang, UK, US) A whippersnapper, a tyke.


ma'am

The noun is a contraction of madam, and represents a regional pronunciation of that word in the United Kingdom. The verb is derived from the noun.

(archaic) (US, education) A female schoolteacher; a schoolmarm.


albo

(US, offensive, ethnic slur) An Albanian.


cage

→ Zulu: ikheji

From Middle English cage, from Old French cage, from Latin cavea. Doublet of cadge and cavea and related to jail.


enter

en-verb

enter (third-person singular simple present enters, present participle entering, simple past and past participle entered)

enters (present singular third-person)
entering (participle present)
entered (participle past)
entered (past)
enter (infinitive)
entre (alternative)

From Middle English entren, from Old French entrer, from Latin intrō (“enter”, verb), from intrā (“inside”). Has been spelled as "enter" for several centuries even in the United Kingdom, although British English and the English of many Commonwealth Countries (e.g. Australia, Canada) retain the "re" ending for many words such as centre, fibre, spectre, theatre, calibre, sombre, lustre, and litre.

it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God

Under existing laws governing the qualifications of an alien to enter 160 acres or more of the public domain he is only required to file his declaration of intent to become a citizen.

1887, United States General Land Office, Annual Report of the Commissioner of General Land Office, US Government Printing Office, page 82:

(transitive, US, dated, historical) To file, or register with the land office, the required particulars concerning (a quantity of public land) in order to entitle a person to a right of preemption.


dike

In 1574, the duke of Alva laid siege to Leiden to gain control of Holland's most beautiful and prosperous city. To relieve the siege, William of Orange and his followers opened the city's protective dikes to flush out—literally—the surrounding Spanish forces.

1994, John H. Makin, Norman J. Ornstein, Debt and Taxes: How America Got into Its Budget Mess and What We Can Do about It, New York, NY: Times Books, →ISBN, page 52:

(chiefly US) Alternative form of dyke: ditch; embankment; waterway; etc.


dike

dike (third-person singular simple present dikes, present participle diking, simple past and past participle diked)

dikes (present singular third-person)
diking (participle present)
diked (participle past)
diked (past)

Lakeside water-filtration plants, an 11,000-acre diked airport east of 55th Street, slash-and-bulldoze highway projects through Jackson and Lincoln parks—these and many another grandiose project leapt from the sketchbooks of city planners.

1996 September 27, Michael Miner, “WVON Won't Take the Bait”, in The Chicago Reader:

In 1983, dictator Nicolae Ceausescu decreed that the Romanian Danube delta, one of Europe's largest wetlands, be diked for growing rice and maize.

2001 November 16, Karen F. Schmidt, “Ecology: A True-Blue Vision for the Danube”, in Science, volume 294, number 5546, →DOI, pages 1444–1447:

(chiefly US) Alternative form of dyke: to dig a ditch; to raise an earthwork; etc.


dike

Of uncertain etymology, first attested in mid-19th century Virginia. Possibly a variant of deck and deck out or influenced by them.

(US dialect slang, obsolete) To be well dressed.


dike

Alternative form of deck: (US dialect slang, obsolete) A well-dressed man.

deck

(US dialect slang, obsolete) Formalwear or other fashionable dress.


yay

yayo (alternative)
yay-yo (alternative)
yeyo (alternative)

In Billy Corben's engrossing new documentary, Cocaine Cowboys (Magnolia Pictures), self-described "assassin" Jorge "Rivi" Ayala (among others) give up the goods on Miami's explosive early '80s yay trade.

2006 December, “They Shootin'”, in Vibe:

I'm in charge of a whole city block, and I always wear gloves when I touch the yay, cuz traces of cocaine show up on my u. a., when I touch it with my bare hands.

2009, Tyrone Pierson, Murder in the Moonlight, AuthorHouse, published 2009, →ISBN, page 339:

I don't do yay, but if you want to, fine

2012, Azealia Banks, “Liquorice”, in 1991:


bupkis

Borrowed prior to 1931 from Yiddish באָבקעס (bobkes), plural of באָבקע (bobke, “goat or sheep dropping”), from באָב (bob, “bean”) + ־קע (-ke) calquing Polish bobek (“oval-shaped turd”), ultimately from Proto-Slavic *bobъ (“bean, fava bean”). Popularized by American Jewish writer Sam Denoff in mid-1960s The Dick Van Dyke Show.

bobkes (alternative)
bobkis (alternative)
bopkes (alternative)
bopkus (alternative)
bubkes (alternative)
bubkess (alternative)
bubkis (alternative)
bubkiss (alternative)
bumpkiss (alternative)
bupkas (alternative)
bupkass (alternative)
bupkes (alternative)
bupkiss (alternative)
bupkus (alternative)

We searched for hours and found bupkis.

But we did nothing, absolutely bupkis that day / And I say, what the hell am I doing drinking in L.A. at 26?

1997, “Drinking in L.A.”, performed by Bran Van 3000:

She answered her own question. “Without the connection to other people,” she said, “you have bupkis.”

2022 April 20, John Leland, quoting Robin Solod, “How Loneliness Is Damaging Our Health”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

(US, slang) Absolutely nothing; nothing of value, significance, or substance.


punch list

Perhaps from the practice of punching holes in a list to indicate completion of individual items.

The building opened on schedule, but it took them another three months to get through the punch list.

(US) The list of repairs and finish work required to complete a project, such as the construction of a building; a list of problems to correct.

任務清單 /任务清单

list of items required to complete a project

no exact equivalent exists; "to-do list"


para

(US, education, informal) Clipping of paraprofessional educator.


soon

en-adj

soon (comparative sooner, superlative soonest)

sooner (comparative)
soonest (superlative)

From Middle English sone, from Old English sōna (“immediately, at once”), from Proto-West Germanic *sān(ō), from Proto-Germanic *sēna, *sēnô (“immediately, soon, then”), from *sa (demonstrative pronoun), from Proto-Indo-European *só (demonstrative pronoun).
Cognate with Scots sone, sune, schone (“soon, quickly, at once”), North Frisian san (“immediately, at once”), dialectal Dutch zaan (“soon, before long”), Middle Low German sân (“right afterwards, soon”), Middle High German sān, son (“soon, then”), Old High German sār (“immediately, soon”). Compare also Gothic 𐍃𐌿𐌽𐍃 (suns, “immediately, soon”), from Proto-Germanic *suniz (“soon”).

cog

Late in the evening we arrived at Quincy where we bivouacked for the night and taken a soon start the next morning to march to the arsenal.

1992, W. H. Andrews, A Paul Green Reader, page 129:

Got up pretty early, ate a soon breakfast, had the sulky and was about to start to Newtown when it commenced raining..

1997, Dorothy Stanaland Samuel, Taliaferro Leslie Samuel, The Samuell/Samuel Families of Tidewater Virginia, page 148:

They were different from colored folks who had to be out to get a soon start.

2000, Laurence G. Avery, A Paul Green Reader, page 220:


zee

tlb

(chiefly US, Newfoundland, Philippines, increasingly Canada)

→ Tagalog: zi

1670s US variant of zed (which see for more), by analogy with other letters such as bee, dee, tee and vee, and standardized by Noah Webster.

zee-bar.

Time to get some zees.

(colloquial, usually in the plural) Sleep.


zee

en-verb

zee (third-person singular simple present zees, present participle zeeing, simple past and past participle zeed)

zees (present singular third-person)
zeeing (participle present)
zeed (participle past)
zeed (past)

(intransitive, informal) To sleep or nap. (Compare zzz, catch some z's.)

(intransitive, rare) To zigzag; to move with sharp alternating turns.


vampire

vampires (plural)
vampyre (alternative)
wampyr (alternative)

desc

ভ্যাম্পায়ার

→ Bengali: ভ্যাম্পায়ার (bhêmpaẏar)

→ Irish: vaimpír

→ Japanese: ヴァンパイア (vanpaia), バンパイア (banpaia)

→ Marathi: व्हॅम्पायर (vhĕmpāyar)

→ Thai: แวมไพร์ (wɛm-paai)

→ Scottish Gaelic: bhampair

→ Swahili: vampiri

→ Turkish: vampir

→ Welsh: fampir

From French vampire, from German Vampir, via Hungarian from a Slavic word, probably Serbo-Croatian вампир (vàmpīr), proposed to be a variant of unattested *upir, from Proto-Slavic *ǫpyrь, ultimately from Proto-Turkic *ōpur (“witch, gluttonous beast”) q.v. Compare Russian упы́рь (upýrʹ), Polish upiór, Polish wąpierz, Turkish obur, Chuvash вупӑр (vup̬ăr), Kazakh обыр (obyr, “tumor, cancer”) etc. Doublet of oupire.

der

Only one technician in the hospital lab, in all we have encountered, uses it. […] Eric makes no complaints other than those directed at the vampires. Brenda and I do.

"I draw blood from patients, and then I take it back to the lab and analyze it. Sometimes, the vampires do all the sticks, that is to say the lab assistants do all the blood collections." He grinned. "We have our own language at the lab."

2000, Tracie Peterson, Colorado Wings, page 373:

(US, slang) A medical technician who works with patients' blood.

Vampire. Vampire. Vampire. Battle stations.

anti-ship missile
anti-ship missile#English

(US naval jargon) Synonym of anti-ship missile (ASM), particularly an incoming hostile one.


dime

From Middle English dime, from Anglo-Norman disme (“one tenth, tithe”) (modern French dîme), from Medieval Latin decima, from Latin decima (pars) (“tenth (part)”). Doublet of decim, decima, and decime.

(US, Canada) A coin worth one-tenth of a dollar.

ten-cent piece

Used in other countries with dollar-and-cent currencies

She didn't spend a dime.

(US, Philippines, basketball) An assist.

Make a couple of nuns a couple of dimes.

2005, “Stay Fly”, in Jordan Houston, Darnell Carlton, Paul Beauregard, Premro Smith, Marlon Goodwin, David Brown, Willie Hutchinson (lyrics), Most Known Unknown, performed by Three 6 Mafia (featuring Young Buck, 8 Ball, and MJG), Sony BMG:

Wait in line for drinks, it’s another time out / Made out on the floor with a couple dimes

2008, “House Music”, in Afterparty Babies, performed by Cadence Weapon:

(US, slang) A beautiful woman (10 on a 10-point scale).


dime

en-verb

dime (third-person singular simple present dimes, present participle diming, simple past and past participle dimed)

dimes (present singular third-person)
diming (participle present)
dimed (participle past)
dimed (past)

From the use of the coin in a payphone to report a crime to the police. US payphones charged 10¢ in almost all jurisdictions until the late 1970s.

Somebody dimed on me and I got arrested for selling marijuana.

(US, slang, with "on") To inform on, to turn in to the authorities, to rat on, especially anonymously.

I get the best-sounding sustain and smooth harmonic distortion when I run the amp dimed.

(US, slang) To operate an audio amplifier (especially an electric guitar amplifier) at level "10" (typically the highest amplification level).


web

From Middle English webbe, from Old English webb, from Proto-Germanic *wabją, from Proto-Indo-European *webʰ- (“weave”).

what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive

[…] the first big move toward a contract for television performers was made Friday (20) when the webs agreed to pay them according to the length of the show. […] Altho the major TV webs — NBC and CBS — may fall in line soon, an agreement may possibly be held up by the opposition of DuMont […]

1950, Billboard, volume 62, number 43, page 9:

(dated, US, radio, television) A major broadcasting network.


protest

protest (third-person singular simple present protests, present participle protesting, simple past and past participle protested)

protests (present singular third-person)
protesting (participle present)
protested (participle past)
protested (past)

PIE word
 *tréyes
From the Middle English verb protesten, from Old French protester, from Latin prōtestārī, from prō + testor, from testis (“witness”).

They protested the demolition of the school.

(transitive, chiefly Canada, US) To object to; to protest against.


zap

zap (third-person singular simple present zaps, present participle zapping, simple past and past participle zapped)

zaps (present singular third-person)
zapping (participle present)
zapped (participle past)
zapped (past)

Catalan: zàping

Dutch: zappen

Esperanto: zapi

French: zapping, zapper

Galician: zapear, zapping

German: zappen

Portuguese: zapear, zapar, zapping

Spanish: zapping, zapear

Swedish: zappa

1920s, American English, of imitative origin.

onomatopoeic

imitative

Says a U. S. officer: "We zapped the enemy, now we intend to stick around. […]

1966, U.S. News & World Report, volume 61, page 32:

(US, military, slang, transitive) To kill; to eliminate.


flan

Borrowed around 1846 from French flan (“cheesecake, custard tart, flan”), or in some uses (in reference to Spanish/Latin American flans) later from Spanish flan (itself from the French), both from Old French flaon (whence also Middle English flaon, flaun (“pie; cake”)), from Late Latin fladō (“flat cake”), from Frankish *flaþō (“flat cake”), from Proto-Indo-European *pleth₂- (“broad, flat”); compare German Fladen. Akin to Old High German flado (“flat cake, offering cake”). Doublet of flathe.
Although the -n is generally believed to derive from the Late Latin accusative form (fladonem) of fladō (“flat cake”), it might alternatively derive from an inflected form of the Frankish word (such as the Frankish accusative *flaþan, or the like). For a similar case, see garden.

cog

(chiefly US, Belize) A dessert of congealed custard, often topped with caramel, especially popular in Spanish-speaking countries.


dude

dudes (plural)
dood (alternative)
dewd (alternative)

American Speech
James Caldwall
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Wellcome Library
dude

Uncertain, though likely a clipping of doodle (“fool, simpleton, mindless person”), perhaps with reference to the fashionable “Yankee Doodle dandy” in the 18th-century lyrics of the song “Yankee Doodle”; the word is first attested in 1883 as a New York City slang term of contempt for a “fastidious man, fop”. If so, then related to German Low German Dudeldop, Dudendop (“fool, dunce”), Saterland Frisian Duddigegen (“idiot”).
It has also been suggested that the word is derived from dudes (“old rags”; compare duds) and dudesman (“scarecrow”), or possibly related to dawdle; It has also been suggested the word derives from the Irish dúid.
The common claim that the term derives from (or is) a word for a camel's foreskin (or some other vulgar thing, like a hair on a cow, horse, donkey, or elephant's bottom) is false.

clipping

So we were at the mall and these two dudes just walk up to us and say "hi".

A very pretty little dudine of Fifth Avenue is much admired by the dudes in her neighborhood, and it has been observed on several occasions that she appeared to be able to discriminate between them, and not only shows a preference for one dude over another; but is able to recognize the dudes she likes after an interval of separation. It is said, also, that in accepting the attentions of her dude wooers, she shows a peculiar mimicry of the coquettish manners of human girls.

1883 March 7, “Animal Intelligence: Facts Tending to Throw Light on the Question: ‘Do Dudes Reason?’”, in Puck, volume XIII, number 313, New York, N.Y.: Keppler & Schwarzmann, →OCLC, page 299:

At first sight it may seem odd that the character-reader should in any case declare himself incapable of distinguishing sex in writing. […] The most prevalent reason for this probably lies in the so-called "emancipation of women," who, on aping the masculine pursuits and propensities, really acquire the virile tone of character. In a similar way the "dude" of the day becomes androgynous; and the result in one case is a masculine soul in a woman's shape, and in the other a feminine soul in the degraded form of the so-called "dude".

1896, J. Harington Keene, “Directions for Reading Character from Handwriting”, in The Mystery of Handwriting: A Handbook of Graphology, Boston, Mass.: Lee and Shepard Publishers, 10 Milk Street, →OCLC, page 19:

At first Europeans didn't realize what chocolate could be—poor guys! [Christopher] Columbus saw cacao beans in 1503, but he didn't have a clue. (No surprise—dude thought he was in India!)

2014, Tim J. Myers, “Choc Rocks”, in Rude Dude's Book of Food: Stories behind Some of the Crazy-Cool Stuff We Eat, [Sanger, Calif.]: Familius, →ISBN:

Though the term "dude" originated as a term to describe a certain type of male, and then later to refer to men in general, today it is often used to refer to both genders, at least in certain parts of the United States. Dudeism doesn't recognize "dude" as a gender-specific word. We consider both women and men who exhibit dude-like qualities to be "dudes," and assert that the word "dude" can mean many different things depending on the context.

2016, Oliver Benjamin, “Additional Notes from the Author”, in The Dude De Ching, new annotated edition, [s.l.]: Abide University Press; Dudeism, LLC:

(chiefly US, Canada, colloquial) A man, generally a younger man.


dude

en-verb

dude (third-person singular simple present dudes, present participle dudeing or duding, simple past and past participle duded)

dudes (present singular third-person)
dudeing (participle present)
duding (participle present)
duded (participle past)
duded (past)

It seemed that the fellas couldn't get enough girlin' and racing fast cars and grooving to rock and dudeing around in city-slick suits from St. Louis.

1980, John G. Mitchell, The Hunt, New York, N.Y.: Knopf, →ISBN, page 229:

"Speaking of being duded out …" He shrugged, then handed her the bag. "Here. This is for you." / She reached inside and gasped as she pulled out a white suede western style hat. A glittering gold braid encircled the brim. / "Oh, Zack! It's beautiful. Thank you."

1994, Sydell I. Voeller, chapter 8, in Her Sister's Keeper, New York, N.Y.: Avalon Press, ISBN 978-0-8034-9063-5; republished Amherst Junction, Wis.: Hard Shell Word Factory, February 2002, ISBN 978-0-7599-0223-7, page 81

"Ol' Clint's all duded up, too," Cully announced as Savannah opened the door to the only Culhane she had eyes for. "All duded up" meant Clint had on a pair of gray slacks that no Savile Row tailor could have made fit any better; a crisp, blindingly white Western dress shirt with pearl snaps down the front; and a black string tie held together with a small silver CC […]

1998, Victoria Pade, Cowboy's Love (Silhouette Special Edition; 1159), New York, N.Y.: Silhouette Books, →ISBN:

1990, Bob Gale & Robert Zemeckis, Back to the Future Part III, screenplay:

Buford Tannen: Especially not some duded-up egg-sucking piece of gutter trash!

(US) Usually followed by up: to dress up, to wear smart or special clothes.


goof

Perhaps from dialectal English goff (“foolish clown”), from earlier goffe, in which case further etymology is uncertain.
Perhaps from Middle English goffen (“to speak in a frivolous manner”), possibly from Old English gaf, ġegaf (“base; wanton; lewd”, adj), ġegaf (“buffoonery; scurrility”, noun), gaffetung, golfettung (“buffoonery; mockery”). Compare English dialectal gauffin (“lightheaded; foolish; giddy”), Scots gaff, gawf (“to talk loudly; babble”), Scots gaffaw (“a loud laugh”).
Alternatively, perhaps from Middle French goffe (“awkward; stupid”). Compare also Spanish gofo, Italian goffo.

inh

I made a goof in that last calculation.

(US, cinematography, informal) An error made during production which finds its way into the final release.

coquille

an error made during production which finds its way into the final release

Your little brother is a total goof.

(US, Canada, MTE, informal) A foolish and/or silly person; a goofball.


goof

en-verb

goof (third-person singular simple present goofs, present participle goofing, simple past and past participle goofed)

goofs (present singular third-person)
goofing (participle present)
goofed (participle past)
goofed (past)

It's my fault. I goofed.

GCN is in a sticky situation because we goofed and bought 10 pounds of a type of wax that we cannot use.

1986 August 9, “Attention Art World”, in Gay Community News, page 13:

We were just goofing by painting the neighbor's cat green.


dab

→ Irish: daba

Late Middle English dabbe, of unknown origin; perhaps related to sense 1 (“to press against lightly”) as in "a soft mass dabbed down."

(US) A sand dab, a small flatfish of genus Citharichthys.


coupe

Borrowed from French coupe. Doublet of cup, hive, and keeve.

(US, Canada, automotive) A car with two doors (variant of coupé).


moot

en-adj

moot (comparative more moot, superlative most moot)

more moot (comparative)
most moot (superlative)

From Middle English mōt, ȝemōt, from Old English *mōt, ġemōt (“meeting”), from Proto-Germanic *mōtą, from Proto-Indo-European *meh₂d- (“to encounter, come”). Cognate with Scots mut, mote (“meeting, assembly”), Low German Mööt (“meeting”), Moot (“meeting”), archaic Dutch (ge)moet (“meeting”), Danish møde (“meeting”), Swedish möte (“meeting”), Norwegian møte (“meeting”), Icelandic mót (“meeting, tournament, meet”). Related to meet.

cog

[…] :indeed we were obligd to hawl off rather in a hurry for the wind freshning a little we found ourselves in a bay which it was a moot point whether or not we could get out of: […]

1770, Joseph Banks, The Endeavour Journal of Sir Joseph Banks, January 4, 1770 (published 1962)

[T]he uncertain, unsettled condition of this science of Cetology is in the very vestibule attested by the fact, that in some quarters it still remains a moot point whether a whale be a fish.

1851 November 14, Herman Melville, “Chapter 32”, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC:

1903, Walter Crane, Lewis F. Day, Moot Points: Friendly Disputes on Art and Industry Between Walter Crane and Lewis F. Day:

The extent to which these Parisian radicals ‘represented’ the French people as a whole was very moot.

2002, Colin Jones, The Great Nation, Penguin, published 2003, page 477:

(current in UK, rare in the US) Subject to discussion (originally at a moot); arguable, debatable, unsolved or impossible to solve.

(Canada, US, chiefly law) Being an exercise of thought; academic.

That point may make for a good discussion, but it is moot.

The question [whether certain poetry was present in the original Hebrew Psalms] in our own time is moot, since various considerations have made it certain that, of all the hazards presented by biblical translation, a dangerous excess of beauty is not one of them.

2007, Paul Mankowski, “The Languages of Biblical Translation”, in Adoremus Bulletin, volume 13, number 4:

(Canada, US) Having no practical consequence or relevance.

por gusto & por las puras & por las [puras] huevas & por las puras brevas


moot

en-verb

moot (third-person singular simple present moots, present participle mooting, simple past and past participle mooted)

moots (present singular third-person)
mooting (participle present)
mooted (participle past)
mooted (past)

From Middle English moten (“to speak, talk, converse, discuss”), from Old English mōtian (“to speak, converse, discuss”), from Proto-Germanic *mōtijaną (“to meet, encounter”), a suffixed derivative of *mōtą (“meeting”). Related to etymology 1. See also mutter (which is a frequentative of moot).


jab

Originally a Scottish (unclear if Scots or Scottish English) form of English job (“peck, poke, thrust”), from Middle English jobben.


bloviate

en-verb

bloviate (third-person singular simple present bloviates, present participle bloviating, simple past and past participle bloviated)

bloviates (present singular third-person)
bloviating (participle present)
bloviated (participle past)
bloviated (past)

1845, US, Ohio, from blow (“speak idly, boast”) + -i- + -ate, by analogy with deviate.

Peter P. Low, Esq., will with open throat…bloviate about the farmers being taxed upon the full value of their farms, while bankers are released from taxation.

1845 October 14, Huron Reflector, Norwalk, Ohio:

His passion when bloviating was furious and terrible to look upon; but there was nothing to it more than sound and pretense.

1887, James O'Meara, The Vigilance Committee of '56:

“The cost of appearing with this bloviating ignoramus is obvious, it seems to me,” he said on “This Week,” the ABC News program.

2012 May 31, Clyde Haberman, quoting George F. Will, “Trying to Solve the Great Trump Mystery”, in New York Times:

And in turn, more complex ones: could his son have become Boris Johnson, bloviating commentator and one-time prime minister of Britain, without one [a nanny]?

2023 April 29, Lou Stoppard, “Inside the world of the elite nanny”, in FT Weekend:

(intransitive, US) To speak or discourse at length in a pompous or boastful manner.

United States presidential election, 2000

oreren

to speak or discourse at length in a pompous or boastful manner


mac

(UK, US, Canada, Australia, slang, offensive, derogatory, ethnic slur) A person of Scottish descent, used in driving culture to denigrate someone for poor/slow/amateurish driving responses, a reference to the frugality of Scottish people.


mac

Is there any mac and cheese left?

Who wrote "kick me" on my back?
Who put a spider in my mac?

1998, Dennis Doyle, edited by Alison Sage, Treasury of Children's Poetry, Shirley Said, page 177:

Nothing tastes better to me than a big ol' bowl of super creamy, cheesy mac!

2019, Gail Green, Marci Peschke, Lunch Recipe Queen (Kylie Jean), North Mankato, Minn.: Picture Window Books, Capstone, →ISBN, page 6:

(Canada, US, slang) Clipping of macaroni.


beater

From Middle English beter, betere, bettere, from Old English bēatere (“a beater; boxer, fighter; champion”), equivalent to beat + -er. Related to beetle (“a type of mallet”).

inh

Packed merrily into my friends’ beater, an old Ford Pinto, we headed into Jennings, a mostly Black North St. Louis County community heavily patrolled by white officers, to pick up one more college friend.

2020 July 14, Ron Stodghill, “Black Behind the Wheel”, in New York Times:

(US, informal) An old or dilapidated automobile in poor operating condition.

wrak

an automobile in poor operating condition


det

(military, US) Abbreviation of detachment.


nonillion

As we have seen that one nought goes to each potency, for the thirtieth potency we will have for the denominator one followed by thirty noughts; or the original drop of drug in one nonillion drops of alcohol!

1922 August, S. E. Chapman, “Potentiality of the Infinitesimals”, in The Pacific coast journal of homœpathy, volume 33, number 8, page 244:

Do ya not be knowin' that there are 10 nonillion atoms within the likes of us?

2001, Raymond E. Fowler, The Melchizedek Connection →ISBN, [books.google.co.uk/books?id=rVbXhvS6C1oC&pg=PA70#v=onepage&f=true page 70]

The figure is 1,267,700,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000. In layperson's terms, that's a little over 1.2 nonillion ancestors in the 100th generation.

2011, Desmond Walls Allen, Family History Detective: A step-by-step guide to investigating your family tree, Family Tree Books, →ISBN, page 9:

Hugh: Just think of the tremendous gravity in a star like the sun. Its mass is a few nonillion pounds. / Henry: Nonillion? Are you making that up? / Hugh: No, it's just one of those things that sticks in my hyperactive brain. A nonillion is a number to the 30th power,...

2012, Jim Berge, Prayer, Quantum Physics and Hotel Mattresses: Dissolving the Barrier Between the Seen and Unseen, Destiny Image Publishers, →ISBN, page 44:

Making certain bold assumptions, my assistant Una determined that chilling the sun’s core to below 10 million degrees would require an ice cube 562,000 miles on a side. If you were planning on using standard-sized cubes from your kitchen freezer, you’d need about 45 nonillion of them.

2012 September 21, Cecil Adams, "The Straight Dope" (syndicated column)

(US, modern British & Australian, short scale) 10³⁰.

modern British & Australian; short scale; modern British & Australian; short scale


sockdolager

sockdolagers (plural)
socdolager (alternative)
sockdologer (alternative)
sogdolloger (alternative)

[ˌsɑkˈdɑːɫ.ə.d͡ʒɚ]

Unknown, 1827 US, presumably fanciful variant of sock (“to hit”); compare contemporary fanciful American coinages.
Various speculative etymologies have been suggested, such as corruption of doxology, due to this occurring at the end of church worship, hence “finality”.

He’ll come off as badly as a feller I once hit a sledge hammer lick over the head—a real sogdolloger.

1831, James Kirke Paulding, Lion of the West:

There is but one ‘sogdollager’ in the universe, and that is in Lake Oswego.

1838, James Fenimore Cooper, Home as Found:

"I gave the fellow a socdolager over his head with the barrel of my gun,"

1859, Bartlett's Dictionary of Americanisms:

The thunder would go rumbling and grumbling away, and quit—and then rip comes another flash and another sockdologer.

1884 December 10, Mark Twain [pseudonym; Samuel Langhorne Clemens], chapter 20, in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: (Tom Sawyer’s Comrade) […], London: Chatto & Windus, […], →OCLC:

“If punching parrots on the beak wasn't too painful for pleasure, I'd land you a sockdolager on the muzzle that ud lay you out till Christmas.”

1918, Norman Lindsay, The Magic Pudding, page 68:

(US, slang, dated) A hard hit, a knockout or finishing blow, or conclusive argument.

Hey, Al, thought I'd call you from the locker room out here at Green Hills. Just made a sockdolager hole in one! A hole in one, Al! (etc.)

(US, slang, dated) Something large or otherwise exceptional; a whopper.

(US, fishing) A combination of two hooks which close upon each other, by means of a spring, as soon as the fish bites.


selective

en-adj

selective (comparative more selective, superlative most selective)

more selective (comparative)
most selective (superlative)

In the USA, military conscription is controlled by the Selective Service.

(chiefly US, not comparable) Having the authority or capability to make a selection.


counselor

counselors (plural)
in Canada (US alternative)
counsellor (alternative)
counselour (alternative)
counsellour (alternative)
counseller (alternative)

From Middle English conseillour, counseiler, from Anglo-Norman cunseiler, cunseiliour, from Old French conseillier, from Latin consiliator, agent noun from cōnsilior (“I take counsel”), from cōnsilium (“plan, council, wisdom, advice”). Compare councilor. Displaced native Middle English redere, Middle English redesman, and Middle English redyeve, from Old English rǣdġiefa (literally “advice giver”).

ncog

(US) A children’s supervisor, usually at camp.


situation

situations (plural)
scituation (alternative)

From Middle English situacioun, situacion, from Middle French situation, from Medieval Latin situatio (“position, situation”), from situare (“to locate, place”), from Latin situs (“a site”). By surface analysis, situate + -ion.

der

This survey includes all key situations (including Paramount Gulf Theaters) as well as suburban runs and small-town situations.

1950, United States. Congress. House. Committee on Ways and Means, Revenue Revision of 1950: Hearings Before the Committee, page 1805:

[…] Craterian theatre, with a full-scale advance campaign and preliminary screenings held for opinion-makers. Results and reactions will be closely studied and, if popular, the idea will be extended to other situations.

1960, Motion Picture Herald, volumes 218-219, page 14:

(US, film industry) An individual movie theater.


foreign

en-adj

foreign (comparative more foreign, superlative most foreign)

more foreign (comparative)
most foreign (superlative)
forane (alternative)
forraine (alternative)

domestic

antonym(s) of “from a different country”

From Middle English foreyn, forein, from Old French forain, from Vulgar Latin *forānus (“outsider, outlander”), from Latin forās (“outside, outdoors”) or forīs (“outside, outdoors”).
Displaced native Old English elþēodiġ (“foreign”) and now-dialectal English fremd, from Old English fremde (“strange, foreign”).
The silent -g- added perhaps by analogy with reign (compare also sovereign which was similarly altered).

der

(US, state law) From a different one of the states of the United States, as of a state of residence or incorporation.


diner

ваго́н-рестора́нт

a small and inexpensive type of restaurant which may be modelled to resemble a dining car

(US) A typically small restaurant, historically modeled after a railroad dining car, that serves lower-class fare, normally having a counter with stools along one side and booths on the other.


conk

From congolene, the brand name of a hair-straightening product.

(US, dated) A hairstyle involving the chemical straightening and styling of kinky hair.


conk

en-verb

conk (third-person singular simple present conks, present participle conking, simple past and past participle conked)

conks (present singular third-person)
conking (participle present)
conked (participle past)
conked (past)

The barbecue cook, wearing a dirty white apron, his conked hair reddish and metallic in the pale sun, and a cigarette between his lips, stood in the doorway, watching them.

1957, James Baldwin, “Sonny’s Blues”, in Going to Meet the Man, Dial, published 1965:

(US, dated) To chemically straighten tightly curled hair.

kiegyenesít

to chemically straighten tightly curled hair


hooter

(slang, especially US, usually in the plural) A woman's breast.


coup

Reborrowed in modern times from modern French coup (“blow, strike”), from Old French coup, colp, from Late Latin colpus, from Latin colaphus. Doublet of cope and colpus. The same Old French word had been borrowed into Middle English as coupe, caupe (with different pronunciation).

Among the Blackfeet the capture of a shield, bow, gun, war bonnet, war shirt, or medicine pipe was deemed a coup.

1892, George Bird Grinnell, “The Blackfoot in War”, in Blackfoot Lodge Tales: The Story of a Prairie People, New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, page 248:

Thus, for a horseman to ride over and knock down an enemy, who was on foot, was regarded among the Blackfeet as a coup, for the horseman might be shot at close quarters, or might receive a lance thrust.

2007, James Mooney, George Bird Grinnell, Edmund Nequatewa, Native American Ways: Four Paths to Enlightenment, page 316:

(US, historical, of Native Americans) A blow against an enemy delivered in a way that shows bravery.


get off

get off (third-person singular simple present gets off, present participle getting off, simple past got off, past participle (UK) got off or (US) gotten off)

gets off (present singular third-person)
getting off (participle present)
got off (past)
got off (UK participle past)
gotten off (US participle past)

sundat

to move from being on top of (something)

afhalen van ...

to move (something) from being on (something else)

lakata koskemasta

to stop touching or interfering with something or someone

(dated, slang, US, transitive) To steal (something).

(dated, slang, US, intransitive) To perform a musical solo; to play music well.


bachelor party

en-noun

bachelor party (plural bachelor parties)

(US, Canada, South Africa) A party held for a man who is about to be married, normally attended only by male friends and relatives.


bachelorette party

bachelorette party (plural bachelorette parties)

(US, Canada) A party held for a woman who is about to be married.


dough

dough (usually uncountable, plural doughs)

doughs (plural)
dow (alternative)
doff (alternative)
duff (alternative)

From Middle English dow, dogh, dagh, from Old English dāg, from Proto-Germanic *daigaz (“dough”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeyǵʰ- (“to knead, form, mold”). Cognate with Scots daich, dauch, doach (“dough”), West Frisian daai (“dough”), Dutch deeg (“dough”), Low German Deeg (“dough”), German Teig (“dough”), Norwegian Bokmål deig (“dough”), Danish dej (“dough”), Swedish deg (“dough”), Icelandic deig (“dough”).
The derivation of the second meaning (of money) is obscure, but dates to the mid 19th century.

inh

(US military slang, countable) clipping of doughboy, infantryman


bake

From Middle English baken, from Old English bacan (“to bake”), from Proto-West Germanic *bakan, from Proto-Germanic *bakaną (“to bake”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₃g- (“to roast, bake”).
Cognate with West Frisian bakke (“to bake”), Dutch bakken (“to bake”), Low German backen (“to bake”), German backen (“to bake”), Norwegian Bokmål bake (“to bake”), Danish bage (“to bake”), Swedish baka (“to bake”), Ancient Greek φώγω (phṓgō, “roast”, verb).

cog

The central episode is the temporary burial of the novitiate; a shallow pit is excavated, and in this a fire is made, as for a fish bake; […]

1904, Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology:

I am about to launch a scheme for our local to invest a few dollars in a spot where the boys will know where to find company and pass a few hours or a week-end out in the fresh air and partake of shrimp bakes or fish fries and so forget the on-creeping years.

1939, The American Photo-engraver, volume 31, page 289:

[…] also featured a fish bake, a dance, and a beach party[.]

2006, Jeffery P. Sandman, Peter R. Sandman, Soaring and Gliding: The Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Area:

(US) A social event at which food (such as seafood) is baked, or at which baked food is served.


duvet

From French duvet, from Middle French duvet, from Old French duvet (“down, the feathers of young birds”), alteration of dumet, dumect, which in turn derives from dum, dun (“down, feathers”), from Old Norse dúnn (“down, down feather”), from Proto-Germanic *dūnaz (“down”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewh₂- (“to smoke, fume, raise dust”).
Cognate with Icelandic dúnn (“down”), Danish dun (“down”), German Daune (“down”), Dutch dons (“down”). More at down.


Jap

Clipping of Japanese, attested as a noun since 1872, and adjectivally since 1878. Compare Nip (shortened from Nippon).

Among our Japs on board are two returning from Italy, where they have been with silk-worms' eggs, on cards, to sell. This has become a great speculation, and the Japs are going into it with zeal. The Japs almost always—always when they can—take cabin passages ; the Chinese seldom, or never.

1872, James Brooks, A Seven Months' Run, Up, Down, Around the World:

We had to kill 110,000 Japanese before we took Okinawa, and when the officers of the Japanese are killed- or defeated- they commit suicide. They cost us 12,000 men and they had to kill 110,000 Japs. And it's a terrible thing- don't know what you're gonna do with any crazy outfit like that except all you can do is to destroy them, and that's too bad.

1964, Harry S. Truman, 1:38 from the start, in MP2002-288 Former President Truman Discusses the Battle of Okinawa, Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives Identifier: 595162:

American officers have observed how Chinese troops stationed at American air bases have frequently refused to shoot at Japanese raiding planes. Asked by an American officer for the reason for this behavior, a Chinese officer at Lao-ho-k’ou air base in Hupeh answered (November 1944): “Well you see, if we shot down a Jap plane, the Japs would be angry and would take revenge and return and bomb the city and do a lot of damage.”

1968, Lyman P. Van Slyke, editor, The Chinese Communist Movement: A Report of the United States War Department, July 1945, Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 90:

(derogatory, offensive, ethnic slur, US) A Japanese person.


story

desctree

Sranan Tongo: tori
Aukan: toli
→ Dutch: tori

→ Welsh: stori

→ Persian: استوری (estori)

→ Portuguese: estória

From Middle English storie, storye, from Anglo-Norman estorie by aphesis. The Anglo-Norman word itself comes from Latin historia, a borrowing from Ancient Greek ἱστορίᾱ (historíā, “learning through research”). Doublet of history and storey.

der

What will she do without being able to watch her stories?

He stood on the doorstep for a minute, listening for sounds inside the house — a radio, a TV tuned to one of the stories […]

(US, colloquial, usually pluralized) A soap opera.


story

Our shop was on the fourth story of the building, so we had to install an elevator.

The lower story of the market-house was open on all four of its sides to the public square.

1900, Charles W[addell] Chesnutt, chapter I, in The House Behind the Cedars, Boston, Mass.; New York, N.Y.: Houghton, Mifflin and Company […], →OCLC:

An astonishing proportion of village people had replaced their old houses with new ones built of better materials, often two stories high.

1994, David K. Jordan, “The Popular Practice of Religion”, in Cultural Change in Postwar Taiwan, Westview Press, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 139:

The Wooden Pagoda in Ying County of Shanxi, built 1,000 years ago, has nine stories and is 234 feet high.

2016, Xiaobing Li, “Art and Architecture”, in Modern China, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 292:

(chiefly US, Philippines) Alternative spelling of storey.


idiota

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

Borrowed from Spanish idiota, from Latin idiōta (“idiot”), from Ancient Greek ἰδιώτης (idiṓtēs, “layman”) from ἴδιος (ídios, “private”). Doublet of idiot.

(derogatory, slang, US) Fool or imbecile.


have another thing coming

en-verb

have another thing coming (third-person singular simple present has another thing coming, present participle having another thing coming, simple past and past participle had another thing coming)

has another thing coming (present singular third-person)
having another thing coming (participle present)
had another thing coming (participle past)
had another thing coming (past)

have another think coming
have another think coming#English

(idiomatic, especially US) Alternative form of have another think coming


housebreak

housebreak (third-person singular simple present housebreaks, present participle housebreaking, simple past housebroke, past participle housebroken)

housebreaks (present singular third-person)
housebreaking (participle present)
housebroke (past)
housebroken (participle past)

From house + break, back-formed from housebroken in the animal-training sense.

(transitive, US) To train an animal to avoid urinating or defecating in the house, except within a litterbox, toilet, or other receptacle.

szobatisztaságra szoktat

train an animal to avoid urinating in the house

(intransitive, US) To break into a house, typically to burgle it.


dittohead

From ditto + -head, coined by callers to The Rush Limbaugh Show (a conservative talk radio show) who begin their remarks with "Ditto!" or "Dittoes!" to concur with a previous comment without restating it.

Being a dittohead means you think that Rush is the beginning, middle, and end of political knowledge and information, and that that knowledge and information always show that Republicans are right, liberals (and everyone else) wrong. Dittoheads believe “if only you understood politics, you'd be a Republican.”

2006, Jim Derych, Confessions of a Former Dittohead, Brooklyn, N.Y.: Ig Publishing, →ISBN, page 7:

(US, slang, dated) A devotee of Rush Limbaugh, his radio program, or his opinions.

(US, slang, derogatory) Someone who mindlessly agrees with an idea, especially one who agrees only as a supporter of the person who expressed it.


conservative

From Middle French conservatif, from Latin cōnservō (“to preserve”). Equivalent to conserve + -ative.

A person who favors maintenance of the status quo.

(US, Canada, politics) A person who favors decentralization of political power and disfavors interventionist foreign policy.

(US, Canada, economics) A fiscal conservative.

(US, Canada, social sciences) A social conservative.


conservative

en-adj

conservative (comparative more conservative, superlative most conservative)

more conservative (comparative)
most conservative (superlative)

(US, Canada, economics, politics, social sciences) Supporting some combination of fiscal, political or social conservatism.

مُحَافِظ

supporting fiscal, political or social conservatism


dope

en-noun

dope (countable and uncountable, plural dopes)

From Dutch doop (“thick dipping sauce”), from Dutch dopen (“to dip”), from Middle Dutch dopen, from Old Dutch *dōpen, from Frankish *daupijan, from Proto-Germanic *daupijaną.
“Doop” in the sense “narcotic drug” ultimately refers to viscous opium juice, the drug of choice of the ancient Greeks; “insider information” perhaps from knowing which horse had been doped in a race. Sense of "stupid person" perhaps following from the drug sense (i.e. relating to those intoxicated on opium), compare dope up. Related to English dip and German taufen.

смазка

viscous liquid used to prepare a surface


trapezium

trapezium (plural trapeziums or trapezia)

Recorded since 1570, learned borrowing from Late Latin trapezium, from Ancient Greek τραπέζιον (trapézion, “irregular quadrilateral”, literally “a little table”), diminutive of τράπεζα (trápeza, “table”). Doublet of trapeze.

uder

(geometry, US, dated) A four-sided polygon with no parallel sides and no sides equal; a simple convex irregular quadrilateral.

شِبْهُ مُنْحَرِفٍ

polygon with no parallel sides and no equal sides

trapezoid

four-sided polygon with two parallel sides

trapezoid

four-sided polygon with no sides parallel and no equal sides


cack

en-verb

cack (third-person singular simple present cacks, present participle cacking, simple past and past participle cacked)

cacks (present singular third-person)
cacking (participle present)
cacked (participle past)
cacked (past)

From Middle English cakken, from Old English *cacian, from Old English cac (“dung; excrement”), of uncertain origin and relation.
Cognate with English caca. Compare Dutch kakken (“to defecate”), German kacken (“to relieve oneself; defecate”), Latin cacō (“defecate”) (see there for more); compare also Irish cac (“feces, excrement”).

cog

Audio (AU)

He tried to shoot me, so I cacked him.

Stay, by your leave I will put in a distinguo; your goose has cacked.

1923, Béroalde de Verville, Fantastic Tales; Or, The Way to Attain:


pack

en-verb

pack (third-person singular simple present packs, present participle packing, simple past and past participle packed)

packs (present singular third-person)
packing (participle present)
packed (participle past)
packed (past)

From Middle English pakken, from the noun (see above). Compare Middle Dutch packen (“to pack”), Middle Low German packen (“to pack”).

وَضَّبَ

to put things together for storage or transporting

(transitive, US, chiefly Western US) To transport in a pack, or in the manner of a pack (on the backs of men or animals).


pad

1554, "bundle of straw to lie on", probably from Low German or West Flemish pad (“sole of the foot”), perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pent- (“to pass”), which would make it related to both path and find.

unk

probably

(US) A floating leaf of a water lily or similar plant.


page

From Old French page, possibly via Italian paggio, from Late Latin pagius (“servant”), probably from Ancient Greek παιδίον (paidíon, “boy, lad”), from παῖς (paîs, “child”); some sources consider this unlikely and suggest instead Latin pagus (“countryside”), in sense of "boy from the rural regions". Used in English from the 13th century onwards.

der

(US, Canada) A boy or girl employed to wait upon the members of a legislative body.

pajo

US: boy employed to wait on legislatives


page

en-verb

page (third-person singular simple present pages, present participle paging, simple past and past participle paged)

pages (present singular third-person)
paging (participle present)
paged (participle past)
paged (past)

(transitive, US, obsolete in UK) To call or summon (someone).


park

building

antonym(s) of “a piece of ground in or near a city”

→ Dhivehi: ޕާކު (pāku)

→ Georgian: პარკი (ṗarḳi)

→ Irish: páirc

→ Japanese: パーク (pāku)

→ Scottish Gaelic: pàirc

→ Welsh: parc

From Middle English park, from Old French parc (“livestock pen”), from Medieval Latin parcus, parricus, from Frankish *parrik (“enclosure, pen, fence”). Cognate with Dutch perk (“enclosure; flowerbed”), Old High German pfarrih, pferrih (“enclosure, pen”), Old English pearroc (“enclosure”) (whence modern English paddock), Old Norse parrak, parak (“enclosure, pen; distress, anxiety”), Icelandic parraka (“to keep pent in under restraint and coercion”). More at parrock, paddock.

cog

The mountain region thus limited consists of extensive and often level-floored valleys, sometimes many miles broad, and elevated 4,000 to 5,000 feet above the sea, called "parks" in local topography, which are interposed between innumerable rocky mountain ridges ....

1878, The San Francisco Western Lancet. a Journal of Practical Medicine and Surgery, volume 7, number 3:

High Park is a depression of 10 or 12 square miles in extent […] at a general elevation of 7,500 feet. Its smooth floor is partly due to volcanic tuff of the western volcanic area, but chielfly to a find lake-bed deposit of yellowish sandstone....

1895, Whitman Cross, Richard Alexander Fullerton Penrose, Geology and Mining Industries of the Cripple Creek District, Colorado, page 54:

The so-called park is a very broad, open valley,between the Sangre de Cristo range on the east, and the volcanic San Juan and Conejos ranges on the west

1897, The Colliery Engineer, volume 17, page 207:

...the ridges flatten and, higher up, before reaching the upper snow-fields of the mountain, broaden out into high plateaus, the beautiful so-called parks or meadows.

1911, Edward W. Harnden, “A Western Mountaineering Summer”, in Appalachia, volume XII, number 3:

Several structural basins, so-called "parks" within the crystalline rocks, are underlain by alluvial and terrace deposits, and in some cases, by Tertiary sediments.

1975, Frits Van der Leeden, Lawrence A. Cerrillo, David William Miller, Ground-water pollution problems in the Northwestern United States:

(US) A wide, flat-bottomed valley in a mountainous region.


park

en-verb

park (third-person singular simple present parks, present participle parking, simple past and past participle parked)

parks (present singular third-person)
parking (participle present)
parked (participle past)
parked (past)

They stopped at a romantic overlook, shut off the engine, and parked.

"What did you do after that?" he asked. - "Went parking over at Silver Lake," replied Betty without hesitation. "Why?" - "I just wondered. Have fun?" "As a matter of fact, I did. Marty's a swell dancer." "That's not what I meant." "What did you mean?" - "I mean after. Parking." - "Yes I did […]"

1956, Grace Metalious, Peyton Place, page 199:

A. Well, I had heard that it was used for parking place, but I never went parking there. Q. Excuse me? A. I had heard that it had been used for a parking place, but I had never gone parking there. Q. When you say “Parking place,” what do you mean? A. With a guy and a girl.

1968, “People vs. Hawkins”, in Records & Briefs New York State Appellate Division, page 861:

The Phyllis and me go "parking." This is a very American thing to me, this "parking,” but Phyllis says that this is what couples in this country do when they are dating. We can't go to her house because her parents are there which is okay with me. / We are parking on a quiet street and we get in the backseat of my car. We begin to kiss and I start to feel her body.

1996, Joseph Tropiano, Stanley Tucci, Big Night: A Novel with Recipes, page 37:

Tim and I never went parking when we were dating, but now that we've been married, it's been a fun date once in a while. (OK, we never actually leave the driveway, but the car was still parked.)

2001, Tamyra Horst, Ratty Bathrobes, Cranky Kids, and Other Romantic Moments, page 47:

They were parking out near the hills. It's a popular spot for submarine races. They went for a little moonlit stroll. I'm sure they had nightmares after what they saw. Mary Alice was hanging from a tree by her bare feet. Naked.

2001, James Patterson, Violets Are Blue:

They had gone to see the Robert De Niro/Liza Minnelli flick, New York, New York, before driving back to Bensonhurst and parking on a quiet street. As they kissed, Berkowitz opened fire

2008, Tim McLoughlin, Thomas Adcock, Brooklyn Noir 3: Nothing But the Truth:

(intransitive, slang, US) To engage in romantic or sexual activities inside a nonmoving vehicle that was driven to a suitable spot for that purpose.


professor

professors (plural)
professour (alternative)

→ Chickasaw: pofessa'

→ Fijian: parofesa

→ Hawaiian: polopeka

→ Hindi: प्रोफ़ेसर (profesar)

→ Malay: profesor

→ Niuean: palōfesa

→ Samoan: polofesa

→ Swahili: profesa

→ Tok Pisin: profesa

→ Tongan: palofesa

→ Urdu: پروفیسر (profesar)

Derived from Anglo-Norman proffessur, from Latin professor (“declarer, person who claims knowledge”), from the past participle stem of profiteor (“profess”).

der

(US, Philippines, informal) A teacher or faculty member at a college or university regardless of formal rank.

professor

higher ranking for a teacher or faculty member at a college or university

dosent

teacher or faculty member at a college or university, regardless of formal rank

You could hear [...] pianos under the hands of whorehouse professors sounding like they came with keys between the keys.

2006, Thomas Pynchon, Against the Day, Vintage, published 2007, page 415:

(US, slang) A pianist in a saloon, brothel, etc.


picayune

en-adj

picayune (comparative more picayune, superlative most picayune)

more picayune (comparative)
most picayune (superlative)

The noun is borrowed from southern French picaillon, pécaillon, picayon (“type of small foreign coin; (informal, especially in the plural) cash, money”), and from its etymon Occitan picalhon, picaioun (“cheaply made Savoyan-Piedmontese coin that was rapidly demonetized; (by extension) cash, money”), probably from Occitan piquar (“to ring (bells); to knock, strike”) (referring to the clinking of coins in a pocket), originally imitative.
The adjective is derived from the noun.

ref

From the collection of the Missouri History Museum in St. Louis, Missouri, USA.

der

Childishly spiteful; tending to go on about unimportant things; small-minded.


pimp

en-verb

pimp (third-person singular simple present pimps, present participle pimping, simple past and past participle pimped)

pimps (present singular third-person)
pimping (participle present)
pimped (participle past)
pimped (past)

Origin unknown. Perhaps from French pimpant (“smart, sparkish”) or German Pimpf (“boy, youth, young squirt”). The Old English near-synonym was rendered by Old English forspennend (literally “solicitor”).

unk

unknown

ncog

I gotta show you this sweet website where you can pimp your blog and get more readers.

The trendy rehabs being pimped by the addiction industry's glossy PR.

1990 February 4, Leonard Tirado, “Privatized 'Recovery' Versus Collective Action”, in Gay Community News, volume 17, number 29, page 19:

(transitive, US, slang) To promote, to tout.

I pimped her out of $2,000 and she paid for the entire stay at the Bahamas.

(US, slang) To persuade, smooth talk or trick another into doing something for your benefit.

taivutella

to persuade or trick another into doing something for your benefit


posse

Coordinate term: vigilante

He […] no sooner set his nose within the room to which he was directed, than the constable and his posse sprung upon him, before he had the least intimation of his design, or any opportunity of acting in his own defence.

1751, [Tobias] Smollett, The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle […], volume (please specify |volume=I to IV), London: Harrison and Co., […], →OCLC:

Mathews then appointed Morton as a deputy sheriff and after a posse had been selected, they went in pursuit of the criminals. Within a few hours, the posse overtook the thieves.

1986, Donald R. Lavash, Sheriff William Brady, Tragic Hero of the Lincoln County War, Sunstone Press, →ISBN, page 77:

While Wyatt dismounted and aimed his shotgun at Brocius, the rest of his posse retreated.

2013, Andrew C. Isenberg, Wyatt Earp: A Vigilante Life, Hill and Wang, →ISBN, page 165:

(now historical, in later use chiefly US) A group of people summoned to help law enforcement.

järjestyspartio

Jamaican posses can be traced back to the Jamaican neighborhoods, and posse names correspond to the names of each neighborhood in which the gangs operate.

1997, Michael D. Lyman, Organized Crime, Prentice Hall, page 287:


mad

en-verb

mad (third-person singular simple present mads, present participle madding, simple past and past participle madded)

mads (present singular third-person)
madding (participle present)
madded (participle past)
madded (past)

From Middle English madden, from the adjective; compare Old English ġemǣdan.

New York City, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Baltimore

This musick mads me, let it sound no more.

1595 December 9 (first known performance), William Shakespeare, “The life and death of King Richard the Second”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene 5]:

He that mads others, if he were so humoured, would be as mad himself, as much grieved and tormented […].

1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC, partition I, section 2, member 4, subsection iv:

Carolina! Whine your body gyal! Make Dem know say you have it fi mad dem

1993 March 22, “Oh Carolina”, in Pure Pleasure, performed by Shaggy (musician):

(now colloquial US, Jamaica) To madden, to anger, to frustrate.


puke

en-noun

puke (countable and uncountable, plural pukes)

Probably imitative; or, alternatively from Proto-Germanic *pukaną (“to spit, puff”), from Proto-Indo-European *bew- (“to blow, swell”). If so, then cognate with German pfauchen, fauchen (“to hiss, spit”). Compare also Dutch spugen (“to spit, spit up”), German spucken (“to spit, puke, throw up”), Old English spīwan (“to vomit, spit”). More at spew.
Attested as early as 1581, first mention is the derivative pukishness (“the tendency to be sick frequently”). In 1600, "to spit up, regurgitate", recorded in the Seven Ages of Man speech in Shakespeare's As You Like It.

onomatopoeic

imitative

cog

"Pukes" and "suckers" had badly mauled the Saints, the first pummeling them from Missouri and the second from Illinois.

2009, Clive Scott Chisholm, Following the Wrong God Home: Footloose in an American Dream:

(US, slang, derogatory, countable) A person from Missouri.


part

desc

→ Cantonese: part (paat¹), parts (paat¹ si²) (from the plural noun form)

→ Japanese: パート (pāto), パーツ (pātsu) (from the plural noun form)

From Middle English part, from Old English part (“part”) and Old French part (“part”); both from Latin partem, accusative of pars (“piece, portion, share, side, party, faction, role, character, lot, fate, task, lesson, part, member”), from Proto-Indo-European *par-, *per- (“to sell, exchange”). Akin to Latin portiō (“a portion, part”), parāre (“to make ready, prepare”). Displaced Middle English del, dele (“part”) (from Old English dǣl (“part, distribution”) > Modern English deal (“portion; amount”)), Middle English dale, dole (“part, portion”) (from Old English dāl (“portion”) > Modern English dole), Middle English sliver (“part, portion”) (from Middle English sliven (“to cut, cleave”), from Old English (tō)slifan (“to split”)).

noncog

(US) A room in a public building, especially a courtroom.

sali

The part of his hair was slightly to the left.

(US) The dividing line formed by combing the hair in different directions.


awful

From Middle English agheful, awfull, auful, aȝefull, equivalent to awe + -ful. Compare Old English eġeful, eġefull (“terrifying; awful”).
The "very bad" sense is an pejorative semantic shift from the original sense of "awe-inspiring".

awfull (alternative)
aweful (alternative)
awefull (alternative)

That's an awful big house.

She seemed awful nice when I met her yesterday.

He was blubbering away something awful.


awk

en-adj

awk (comparative more awk, superlative most awk)

more awk (comparative)
most awk (superlative)

From Middle English [Term?], from Old Norse ǫfugr, ǫfigr, afigr (“turned backwards”) (whence Danish avet (“backwards”), Swedish avig (“turned backwards”)), from Proto-Germanic *abuhaz. Cognate with German äbich, Gothic 𐌹𐌱𐌿𐌺𐍃 (ibuks, “turned back”). Akin to Sanskrit अपाच् (apāc, “turned away”). Compare dialectal Danish ave (“to turn”), Dutch averechts (“opposite, backwards, contrary”), Icelandic öfga (“to reverse”).

cog

(US, slang, of a situation) Awkward; uncomfortable.


avail

en-noun

avail (countable and uncountable, plural avails)

From Middle English availen (“to be of use”), from Old French a (“to”) + vail from valoir (“to be worth”), from Latin valere (“to be worthy, strong”).

the avails of their own industry

1862, Elijah Porter Barrows, The State And Slavery:

(now only US) Proceeds; profits from business transactions.

While holding an avail yesterday, the candidate lashed out at critics.

(US, politics, journalism) A press avail.


COIN

(US, military) Abbreviation of counterinsurgency.


talk to the hand

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-talk to the hand.wav

Oh honey, talk to the hand, the ears ain't listening!

1997, Todd Graff, The Beautician and the Beast, spoken by Joy Miller:

Tommy showed Tony the palm of his hand. ‘Tell it to the ’and ’cos the face ain't listening.’

2002, Ben Elton, High Society, Random House, published 2012, →ISBN, page 172:

(colloquial, US, African-American Vernacular, chiefly sarcastic) Used to dismiss another person's argument by indicating that one is not prepared to hear or read anything further from that person. It is often used while simultaneously holding up the hand with the palm facing the speaker.


talk to the hand

en-verb

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

talks to the hand (present singular third-person)
talking to the hand (participle present)
talked to the hand (participle past)
talked to the hand (past)

Girl, you can talk to the hand 'cause I ain't listenin' no more.

Of all the hand gestures used by Men and women, "talking to the hand” is a gesture that should be exclusively used by women. There isn't anything Manly by making somebody "talk to the hand."

2012, Joseph Greene, The ComMANdments; The Official Guide Book to Man Rules, page 161:

After his initial reaction and suggestion that she go write a song based on talking to the hand, she played him what she'd come up with, and he responded with his typically laconic "cool," suggesting they put some hand claps here and there and perhaps a minor chord in the verse to make it a bit jangly.

2016, Donald Brackett, Back to Black: Amy Winehouse's Only Masterpiece:

Canceling someone started out in the same way that talking to the hand did, a joke.

2022, Kelly Mitchell, Clap if You Can Hear Me:

别烦，我不听

used to dismiss another person's argument

talk to the hand 'cause the face ain't listening


faggot

From Middle English fagot, from Old French fagot (“bundle of sticks”), of uncertain origin. Unlikely from Old Occitan fagot or Italian fagotto, as these appear later than the Old French term. Compare also Italian fangotto and Spanish fajo (“bundle, wad”). Perhaps from a diminutive of Vulgar Latin *facus, from Latin fascis (“bundle of wood”). Compare also Old High German fazza (“bundle, load, burden”). Doublet of fagotto. See also: fag.
The senses relating to persons, though possibly originating as an extension of the sense "bundle of sticks", may have been reinforced by faygele, from Yiddish פֿייגעלע (feygele, “homosexual”, literally “little bird”), related to English fowl.

der

He clambered back on his feet and grinned at them. The waning faggot cast red light over his fangs.

1961, Poul Anderson, Three Hearts and Three Lions:

To the east, the night grew a faggot of luminous gray, then seashell opalescence that dimmed the stars.

1965, Frank Herbert, Dune, New York: Berkley (1977), page 102:

(rare, dated in US) A burning or smouldering piece of firewood.

(chiefly US, Canada, derogatory, offensive, vulgar) A man considered weak, effeminate, timid, pathetic, emotional, non-heteronormative in some way.

(US, Canada, derogatory, offensive, vulgar) An annoying or inconsiderate person.


savage

en-adj

savage (comparative more savage, superlative most savage)

more savage (comparative)
most savage (superlative)

From Middle English savage, from Old French sauvage, salvage (“wild, untamed”), from Late Latin salvāticus, alteration of Latin silvāticus (“wild”, literally “of the woods”), from silva (“forest; grove”). Doublet of sylvatic.

der

(Ireland, US, slang) Great, brilliant, amazing.

– They were so savage to them!


jazz

en-verb

jazz (third-person singular simple present jazzes, present participle jazzing, simple past and past participle jazzed)

jazzes (present singular third-person)
jazzing (participle present)
jazzed (participle past)
jazzed (past)
jaz (alternative)
jas (alternative)
jass (alternative)
jasz (alternative)

Unknown. First attested around 1912 in a discussion of baseball; attested in reference to music around 1915. Numerous references suggest that the term may be connected to jasm and jism.

‘Jazzing?’ Temple whispered […]. ‘Yes, putty-face!’ the woman said. ‘How do you suppose I paid that lawyer?’

1931, William Faulkner, Sanctuary, Vintage, published 1993, page 59:

(intransitive, US slang, dated) To have sex for money, to prostitute oneself.


rattler

/ˈɹætələ(ɹ)/

You watch your step walking out there on the mesa, because in warmer season, the rattlers are up and about, and it's their turf.

1989 February 5, Kay Whitlock, “Letter from Colorado”, in Gay Community News, volume 16, number 29, page 11:


Mary

Marys (plural)
Maries (plural)
Marie (alternative)

→ Cantonese: Mary

→ Cebuano: Mary, Marie

→ Danish: Mary

→ Faroese: Marý

→ Hawaiian: Mele, Mere

→ Japanese: マリー (Marī)

desc

→ Mandarin: 瑪麗 /玛丽 (Mǎlì), 瑪莉 /玛莉 (Mǎlì), 瑪利 /玛利 (Mǎlì)

→ Manx: Mayree

→ Maori: Mere, Meri

→ Norwegian: Mary

→ Scottish Gaelic: Màiri

→ Swedish: Mary

→ Tahitian: Mere

→ Tok Pisin: meri

→ Thai: แมรี (mɛɛ-rii)

From Middle English Marie, from Old French Marie, from Latin Maria, from Ancient Greek Μαρία (María), Μαριάμ (Mariám), from Aramaic מַרְיָם (maryām) or Biblical Hebrew מִרְיָם (miryām), of uncertain meaning (see the Hebrew entry for more). Doublet of Miriam, Marie, Maria, and Mariah.

Maria

Mary, mother of Jesus — see also Madonna, Mother of God, Our Lady, Queen of Heaven, Saint Mary, Theotokos, Virgin Mary
Note: Translations for Mary's various titles and appellations should go in the respective entries.

Note also that male homosexuals will call most anyone Bessie or Mary, e.g. ‘Oh, Bessie, you're a camp!’

1941, G. Legman, Sex Variants, volume II, page 1171:

In America in the 1950s,... Mary was often used in the vocative to address any fellow homosexual (‘Well, Mary...’).

(chiefly US, gay slang) A term of address for a male homosexual.


kiki

In the sense "lesbian who is neither butch nor femme", sometimes said to mean "neither-nor" in some language; related to kai kai (“sexual activity between drag queens”); see that entry for more. In the sense "a gathering for gossiping and chit-chat", perhaps imitative of giggling.

Let's have a kiki / I wanna have a kiki / Lock the doors tight / Let's have a kiki

2012 September 11, Scissor Sisters (lyrics and music), “Let's Have a Kiki”, in Magic Hour, track 6:

Get on my knees and have a kiki with Jesus

2016 April 22, Lucian Piane (lyrics and music), “Pray & Slay”, in RuPaul’s Drag Race: The Rusical:

(LGBTQ, slang, US) A gathering of friends for the purpose of gossiping and chit-chat.

For quotations using this term, see Citations:kiki.

(LGBTQ, US, derogatory, dated or historical) A lesbian who is neither butch nor femme.


kiki

en-verb

kiki (third-person singular simple present kikis, present participle kiki-ing, simple past and past participle kikied)

kikis (present singular third-person)
kiki-ing (participle present)
kikied (participle past)
kikied (past)

We spent a whole lot of time kiki'ing around—fooling around.

2010, David Carter, Stonewall: The Riots That Sparked the Gay Revolution, page 130:

Went home, changed for my show, kikied with Bruce and walked over to the apartment for my weekly meeting and Sally was just walking into the building from Sirius.

2016, Andy Cohen, Superficial: More Adventures from the Andy Cohen Diaries:

“I still had my corporate job, so we would talk on GChat all day while I was at work,” says Olisa. (She’s still based in New York; Garner Valentine has since relocated to Georgia. Both are in their 30s.) “To the outside world, I was working diligently, but I was really kiki-ing with my friend.”

2019 September 5, Ana Colón, “How Two Women Turned $12 Into the Curvy Con, the Biggest Plus-Size Event at Fashion Week”, in Glamour:

(LGBTQ, slang, US) To meet with friends without any agenda or goals.


nome

Mother said, “Is he cold, Versh.”
“Nome.” Versh said.

1929, William Faulkner, The Sound and the Fury, Folio Society, published 2016, page 7:

(US, regional) Alternative form of no'm (“no ma'am”)


siege

From Middle English sege, from Old French sege, siege, seige (modern French siège), from Vulgar Latin *sēdicum, from Latin sēdicŭlum, sēdēcula (“small seat”), from Latin sēdēs (“seat”).

(US) A period of struggle or difficulty, especially from illness.


motorcar

motorcars (plural)
motor car (alternative)

→ Maori: motokā

→ Swahili: motokaa

→ Luo: mtoka, mtokaa

(rail transport, US) A self-propelled railway vehicle.


nutcracker

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

The colorful bottles have popped up every summer in black and Hispanic communities — from the bodegas of Washington Heights to the stoops of Fort Greene — since the early 1990s. On beach boardwalks, at neighborhood basketball courts and block parties, New Yorkers are drinking nutcrackers, boozy homespun cocktails made from a blend of alcohol and fruit juices.

2019 August 17, Aaron Randle, “Banned on the Beach? It’s Still Nutcracker Summer”, in New York Times:

(US, New York City) A bootleg mixed drink made from a blend of alcohols and fruit juices.


math

en-noun

math (countable and uncountable, plural maths)

Clarke stumbled into music by way of a high school course he took to raise his grades. "Music was a bird course. I had more interest in math, science, and women", he divulged.

2002 October 26, Nathalie Younglai, “Conducting without boundaries”, in Guelph Mercury, page C3:

(informal, uncountable, Canada, US, Philippines) Clipping of mathematics.

If you do the math, you'll see that it’s not such a bargain.

$170 a month? That doesn’t sound right. Let me check your math.

(informal, uncountable, Canada, US, Philippines) Arithmetic calculations; (see do the math).

They needed to take two more maths in order to graduate.

Did you take math today? / What did you do in math today?

Then, I further worked myself into an A+ panic attack with the realization that on top of the algebra, I would have to take three more maths, from a choice of calculus, finite math, statistics, logic, or differential equation.

2010, Claude Regis Vargo, Beyond My Horizon, →ISBN, page 108:

(informal, countable, Canada, US, Philippines) A math course or class.


there's more than one way to skin a cat

there are many ways to skin a cat (alternative)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-there's more than one way to skin a cat.wav

Origin unknown. Other proverbs with the same meaning referencing the killing of animals are also attested, some as early as the 17th century; see, for example, “there are more ways to kill a dog than hanging” (1678), “there is more than one way to kill a cat” (1833), and “more ways of killing a cat than choking her with cream” (1855).

nb...

Digested into a Convenient Method for the Speedy Finding Any One upon Occasion; with Short Annotations. Whereunto are Added Local Proverbs with Their Explications, Old Proverbial Rhythmes, Less Known or Exotick Proverbial Sentences, and Scottish Proverbs. The Second Edition Enlarged by the Addition of Many Hundred English, and an Appendix of Hebrew Proverbs, with Annotations and Parallels.

To which is Added, the History of a Steam Doctor. In Two Volumes. 􂀿...􂁀 By the Author of “A Yankee among the Nullifiers.”

of Burrough, in the County of Devon, in the Reign of Her Most Glorious Majesty Queen Elizabeth. Rendered into Modern English by Charles Kingsley.

At any rate, thought I, there's more than one way to skin a cat, as a butcher would say.

1835 November 11, the New York Transcript, quotee, “Eccentricities of a Mad Man”, in Benj[amin] Kingsbury, Jr., editor, Zion’s Herald, volume VI, number 45, Boston, Mass.: Boston Wesleyan Association, →OCLC, page 180, column 2:

This is a money digging world of ours; and, as it is said, "there are more ways than one to skin a cat," so are there more ways than one of digging for money. But, in some mode or other, this seems to be the universal occupation of the sons of Adam.

[1854, Seba Smith, “The Money-diggers and Old Nick”, in ’Way Down East; or, Portraitures of Yankee Life, New York, N.Y.: J[ames] C[ephas] Derby, […]; Boston, Mass.: Phillips, Sampson & Co. […], →OCLC, page 169:

But then the Church came to the front, with an axe to grind; and she was wise, subtle, and knew more than one way to skin a cat—or a nation; […]

1889, Mark Twain [pseudonym; Samuel Langhorne Clemens], “The Boss”, in A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, New York, N.Y.: Charles L. Webster & Company, →OCLC, page 100:

Relator was, undoubtedly, at this point reminded of the old saying: "There is more than one way to skin a cat"; because he was saying the same thing in different terminology and tied it in with his original statement by saying "as I stated".

1947 December 8, “Ex Parte Joe Fisher, Relator: Respondent’s Answer to Relator’s Motion for Rehearing”, in Joe J. Fisher, Petitioner, vs. R. C. Pace, Sheriff of Jasper County, Texas: Transcript of Record (Supreme Court of the United States, October Term, 1948; no. 45), Washington, D.C.: Judd & Detweiler, […], folio 90, page 65:

Nissan has elected to concentrate its European operations in Sunderland, including battery development, precisely because Boris Johnson has brought forward the phase-out date for petrol and diesel vehicles to 2030. […] However, there is more than one way to skin a cat, and cheaper options for ultra-low emitting vehicles are just around the corner.

2021 January 25, Robin Russell-Jones, “Electric cars are not the only green solution”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2022-03-22:

there's more than one way to cook an egg

there's more than one way to crack an egg

there's more than one way to peel an orange

(originally US) A problem generally has more than one solution; there is more than one way to achieve a goal.

هناك أكثر من طريقَة لسلخ القط

a problem generally has more than one solution; there is more than one way to achieve a goal

konstit on monet sanoi mummo, kun kissalla pöytää pyyhki

il y a plusieurs façons de plumer un canard

to kaló to palikári xérei ki állo monopáti

το καλό το παλικάρι ξέρει κι άλλο μονοπάτι

is iomaí bealach le cat a mharú seachas é a thachtadh le him

все доро́ги веду́т в Рим (vse dorógi vedút v Rim, literally “all roads lead to Rome”)

cada quien tiene su manera de matar pulgas

mae llawer ffordd i ladd ci heblaw ei grogi

mae mwy nag un ffordd i gael Wil i'w wely

if all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail


hill

l-vocalizing: UK, General Australian, New Zealand

From Middle English hil, from Old English hyll (“hill”), from Proto-Germanic *hulliz (“hill”), from Proto-Indo-European *kl̥Hnís (“top, hill, rock”) (compare also Proto-Germanic *halluz (“stone, rock”)).
Cognate with Middle Dutch hille, hulle (“hill”), Low German hull (“hill”), Old Norse hóll (“hill”), Latin collis (“hill”), Lithuanian kalnas, Albanian kallumë (“big pile, tall heap”), Russian холм (xolm, “hill”), Old English holm (“rising land, island”). More at holm.

cog

(US) A heap of earth surrounding a plant.

a hill of corn or potatoes

(US) A single cluster or group of plants growing close together, and having the earth heaped up about them.


icebox

→ Sabah Malay: aisbuk

pakastelokero

compartment of a refrigerator used as a freezer

I moved here from the icebox of the upper Midwest.

(US, slang) A city with a cold or snowy climate.

‘The sister ran after them and brought them back and had Owen heaved into the icebox.’

1939, Raymond Chandler, The Big Sleep, Penguin, published 2011, page 53:


range

Japanese: レンジ (renji)

Korean: 레인지 (reinji)

From Middle English rengen, from Old French rengier (“to range, to rank, to order,”), from the noun renc, reng, ranc, rang (“a rank, row”), from Frankish *hring, from Proto-Germanic *hringaz (“ring, circle, curve”). Doublet of ring.

der

(US, historical) In the public land system, a row or line of townships lying between two succession meridian lines six miles apart.


calaboose

Tok Pisin: kalabus

From Cajun French calabousse, from Spanish calabozo. Doublet of calabozo.

The slaughter-house is gone from the mouth of Bear Creek and so is the small jail (or 'calaboose') which once stood in its neighborhood. A citizen asked, 'Do you remember when Jimmy Finn, the town drunkard, was burned to death in the calaboose?'

1883, Mark Twain [pseudonym; Samuel Langhorne Clemens], chapter 56, in Life on the Mississippi, Boston, Mass.: James R[ipley] Osgood and Company, →OCLC:

Bogator: (Still unbelieving) And you turned the calaboose over?

1937, Langston Hughes, When the Jack Hollers; or Careless Love: A Negro-Folk Comedy in Three Acts, in The Collected Works of Langston Hughes, Volume 5. The Plays to 1942: Mulatto to The Sun Do Move, Leslie Catherine Sanders (ed.), Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 2002, pp. 392-3, Bogator: Aunt Billie, I thought you were in jail! Aunt Billie: I was, but I got tired of that little ole privy-sized jail, so I jest turned it over and come out! […]

[…] he had but recently come out of Calaboose, where he had been serving a term for debt […]

1938, Xavier Herbert, chapter IX, in Capricornia, New York: D. Appleton-Century, published 1943, page 150:

Thereupon the Administrator in Rabaul almost outdid himself in defending corporal punishment […] and demanded drastic alternative punishments, for the "calaboose" (Kalabus: Tok Pisin for prison) "is the native's paradise."

1995, Hermann Hiery, chapter 2, in The Neglected War: The German South Pacific and the Influence of World War I, University of Hawaii Press, page 82:

The first calaboose or city jail used by the officers of the law was located on Cumberland Street, just below the vacant lot adjacent to the Star Steam Laundry.

2001, Sylvia D. Lynch, To Protect and Serve: History of the Knoxville Police Department, 1849-2001, Turner Publishing Company, page 79:

In his opinion it would seem that certain usages of colloquial English in Australia and New Zealand in the early 1800s could have been selected as conventional usages in the developing contact jargon. Many of these usages are still part of colloquial speech today in both of these countries, for example: fella for 'one', […] no good, orright, calaboose, […]

2004, Darrell T. Tryon, Jean-Michel Charpentier, chapter 5, in Pacific Pidgins and Creoles: Origins, Growth and Development, Mouton de Gruyter, page 117:

(US, Australia, dialect) A prison or jail/gaol.


gas station

(Canada, US, New Zealand, Philippines) filling station / petrol station; an establishment which sells gasoline (petrol) and often also diesel

pompstasie

an establishment which sells gasoline to pump directly into a car


noodle

en-verb

noodle (third-person singular simple present noodles, present participle noodling, simple past and past participle noodled)

noodles (present singular third-person)
noodling (participle present)
noodled (participle past)
noodled (past)

The origin of the verb is uncertain; it is possibly derived:
* from noodle (“to hum or sing (a tune) at a low pitch or volume”) (Shetland) (see etymology 3); or
* from German nudeln (“to make music or sing listlessly; to make music or sing at a low pitch or volume, or in an improvisatory manner”) (Leipzig), apparently from Nudel (“piece of pasta, noodle”) (see etymology 1) + -n (a variant of -en (suffix forming the infinitives of verbs)).
The word was probably also influenced by doodle (“to draw or scribble aimlessly”, verb).
The noun is probably derived from the verb, though the verb is first attested later. The noun was probably also influenced by doodle (“small mindless sketch”, noun).

der

“Noodle that thought around for a while,” said Dr. Johnson to his Biblical Interpretations class.

(US, informal) To ponder or think about (something).

He noodled over the problem for a day or two before making a decision.

To ponder or think, especially in an unproductive or unsystematic manner; to muse.

If the machine is really broken, noodling with the knobs is not going to fix it.

To attempt in an informal or uncertain manner; to fiddle.

Often followed by about or around: to mess around, to play.


nest

From Middle English nest, nist, nyst, from Old English nest, from Proto-West Germanic *nest, from Proto-Germanic *nestą, from Proto-Indo-European *nisdós (“nest”), literally "where [the bird] sits down", a compound of *ni (“down”) (whence also English nether) + the zero-grade of the root *sed- (“to sit”) (whence also English sit).

it's an ill bird that fouls its own nest

(vulgar, slang, now US) The pubic hair near a vulva or a vulva itself.


elevator

→ Hawaiian: ʻeleweka

→ Japanese: エレベーター

→ Korean: 엘리베이터 (ellibeiteo)

one's elevator doesn't go all the way to the top

(Canada, US, Australia, Philippines) A permanent construction with a built-in platform or cab that can be raised and lowered, used to transport people and goods, as between different floors of a building.


rest

en-verb

rest (third-person singular simple present rests, present participle resting, simple past and past participle rested)

rests (present singular third-person)
resting (participle present)
rested (participle past)
rested (past)

From Middle English resten, from Old English restan, from Proto-West Germanic *rastijan (“to rest”), from Proto-Indo-European *ros-, *res-, *erH- (“rest”). Cognate with Dutch rusten (“to rest”), Middle Low German resten (“to rest”), German rasten (“to rest”), Danish raste (“to rest”), Swedish rasta (“to rest”).

relax

lie down and take repose, especially by sleeping

The defense rests, your Honor.

I rest my case.

(intransitive, transitive, law, US) To complete one's active advocacy in a trial or other proceeding, and thus to wait for the outcome (however, one is still generally available to answer questions, etc.)


jammy

I felt on her big fat fanny / Pulled out the jammy and killed the punanni

1992, Ice Cube (lyrics and music), “It Was A Good Day”, in The Predator:


beep

Blend of big + jeep. From being bigger versions of the general purpose superlight truck, the Willys MB "Jeep".

(US, military, slang, dated, World War II) A 1/2-ton general purpose military light truck

(US, military, slang, dated, World War II, by extension) A 3/4-ton general purpose military medium truck

(US, military, slang, dated, World War II) Especially, the Dodge WC series U.S. Army WWII military trucks, in 1/2-ton 3/4-ton 1-ton variants