mossyback

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

From mossy + back (in sense 2 (“person who stayed hidden to evade conscription during the American Civil War”) probably a variant of mossback, which is attested earlier), alluding to someone or something that is so old or has remained so unmoving that it is as if moss has grown on them or it.
Sense 3.2 (“menhaden”) may be influenced by mossbunker.

(informal, historical, obsolete) Synonym of mossback (“a person who stayed hidden to evade conscription (especially by the Confederate States Army) during the American Civil War (1861–1865)”)


milsurp

en-noun

milsurp (usually uncountable, plural milsurps)

This catalog has milsurp rifles and ammunition on sale.

I'll be in the milsurp section of the store, looking for tents and camping gear.

(US, military, slang, often attributive) Obsolete, unneeded, or retired military equipment, often rifles, sold to individuals or businesses.


Jello salad

Jello salad (countable and uncountable, plural Jello salads)

Jello salads (plural)
jello salad (alternative)

(chiefly US) A salad made with flavored gelatin (often of the Jello brand), fruit or vegetables, and other ingredients such as cottage cheese, cream cheese, marshmallows, nuts, or pretzels.


dependapotamus

Blend of dependent + hippopotamus or similar, the second element being a reference to stereotypical obesity (and the popular misconception that hippos are largely made of fat).

(US, military, slang, derogatory) A servicemember's partner (especially a SAHM) who behaves in a parasitic manner, especially by taking advantage of their partner's status to demand beneficial treatment.


on the block

go on the block

put on the block

(chiefly US and Canada) Available or for sale at an auction.


out of both sides of one's mouth

to speak out of both sides of one's mouth

to talk out of both sides of one's mouth

If speaking out of both sides of your mouth at the same time were a modern art form, they would be on permanent exhibition at the Tate. Sadly, it is not the only issue where they exhibit that trait, but I shall not go into the subject of vigilantism here.

2002 April 7, Derek Mooney, “Ireland's future is in Europe”, in The Observer:

The lawyer, Samuel Hirsch, said: "They're speaking out of both sides of their mouth," when the company claims its food is healthy but should be eaten in moderation.

2003 February 21, David Teather, quoting Samuel Hirsch, “‘McFrankenstein’ returns to haunt fast food chain in new court action”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

Even to a long-term student of political ventriloquy, the Abbott government’s capacity to speak out of both sides of its mouth on climate policy is astonishing.

2015 June 19, Lenore Taylor, “The Coalition is engaging in double talk on climate policy – it has no other option”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

(figuratively, originally US) Indicating contradictory things.

laugh out of the other side of one's mouth

run with the hare and hunt with the hounds


honor walk

So it was on Thursday, August 23, when staff joined together to participate in our first Honor Walk, celebrating the life and spirit of Elizabeth “Libby” Hanzl D’Avignon, who had fallen in her Middlebury home and had been declared brain dead here at UVM Medical Center.

2018 August 28, The University of Vermont Medical Center, “Honor Walk in Tribute to Elizabeth "Libby" Hanzl D'Avignon”, in YouTube:

Whether in Idaho or Tennessee or Oregon, hospitals across the United States are holding honor walks as dignified ways to honor each patient’s final contribution.

2019, Tim Lahey, “Rituals of Honor in Hospital Hallways”, in The New York Times:

A new ritual called an honor walk is bringing solace to families who’ve lost a loved one and consented to have their organs donated.

2020 February 12, Al Letson, Dexter Chris, “The honor walk”, in The Reveal:

(chiefly US) The transportation of a dying patient in a hospital to the operating theatre for organ donation, flanked by friends, family and hospital staff as a sign of respect.


two percenter

"Those are the 'two percenters,' " Becky said of the students who ran on the field, "the two percent of Aggie students who don't have the spirit."

1992, Edward Zuckerman, Small Fortunes: Two Guys in Pursuit of the American Dream, page 102:

Students who forgo Midnight Yell and other traditional activities are dismissed as "2 percenters."

2005, U.S. News Guide, America's Best Colleges, page 41:

[…] 'Anything you do twice is a tradition,' 'Don't be a 2 percenter.' You learn about The Bonfire, Aggie Muster, and Silver Taps. […] Isn't it fascinating to see how an amazing team-oriented culture in one institution (Texas A&M) can inspire a fantastic culture in a totally different and separate organization (Rackspace)?

2013, Bill Schley, The UnStoppables: Tapping Your Entrepreneurial Power, page 143:

Detractor two percenters diminish momentum. Wet blankets can put fires out! True Aggies are all Twelfth Men and learn the importance of yelling for the team instead of (like most other schools and some “two percenters”) mainly yelling at them.

2016, Barry Bauerschlag, Aggie Spirit 101: Greater Love:

She’s an Aggie, but she never got into any of the lore there, not even a little bit. She’s a proud “two percenter,” as they call such people in College Station.

2017 October, “An Oral History of Watching (and Not Watching) the Last Three Innings of That Crazy Astros Game”, in Texas Monthly:

(US, education, informal) A student of Texas A&M University who only attends classes and does not participate in student activities or traditions.


habitualize

en-verb

habitualize (third-person singular simple present habitualizes, present participle habitualizing, simple past and past participle habitualized)

habitualizes (present singular third-person)
habitualizing (participle present)
habitualized (participle past)
habitualized (past)
habitualise (alternative)

Third, in all but two circuits [those encompassing Miami and Sarasota], the habitual offender sanctions are much more likely to be used against black offenders than non-black offenders, even after adjusting for prior record, the nature of the current offense and a variety of other factors that might have a bearing on the decision to habitualize.

2019, Marc L. Miller, Ronald F. Wright, Criminal Procedures: Prosecution and Adjudication, page 152:

(US, law) To classify as a habitual offender (which has implications for sentencing).


AWACS

(US, aviation, military) Acronym of airborne warning and control system.


run like a dry creek

run like a dry creek (third-person singular simple present runs like a dry creek, present participle running like a dry creek, simple past ran like a dry creek, past participle run like a dry creek)

runs like a dry creek (present singular third-person)
running like a dry creek (participle present)
ran like a dry creek (past)
run like a dry creek (participle past)

A pun on two senses of run: to flow (as in "running water") and to stand for election.

The Scripps-Howard newspapers, which are supporting Eisenhower, criticized Ike for "running like a dry creek."

1952, LIFE, volume 33, number 10, page 49:

The last of the six candidates, Stephen Dorrell, did not even get off the starting-blocks. His campaign ran like a dry creek from day one.

One Illinois delegate said, "I saw Lodge on television today, and he'll run like a dry creek."

2009, W. J. Rorabaugh, The Real Making of the President:

(simile, US, colloquial, politics) To run for political office with little chance of success.

Carlyle had a brief trial in the big leagues with the Red Sox and the Yankees. But he ran like a dry creek and was weak of arm.

1956, American Mercury, volume 83, number 390, page 153:

The League knew little about lobbving and its cash flow ran like a dry creek. Small and big business were against a consumer cooperative bank bill.

1985, Jay Richter, Where credit was due: the creation of the National Consumer Cooperative Bank, page 24:

The days stretch ahead, dull and tedious, and the camp seems to be doing nothing, going nowhere, running like a dry creek.

1989, David L. Moore, Dark Sky, Dark Land:

(simile, US, colloquial) To run (in various senses) badly or not at all.


on one's honor

upon one's honor (alternative)
on one's honour (alternative)

(US) used to emphasize that one is behaving or going to behave in a trustworthy manner.


feevee

Most providers of "feevee" have promised to make available programs of types not usually available […]

1978, Harrison Boyd Summers, John H. Pennybacker, Broadcasting and the Public, page 177:

To be sure, pay-cable's under 200,000 subscribers nationwide is still a very small number. And even the most optimistic of cable enthusiasts agree that "feevee" isn't going to rob broadcast television of any sizable number of viewers […]

1980, Jay S. Harris, TV guide, the first 25 years, page 232:


Plum Book

From the color of its cover, and perhaps a pun on plum (“cushy position, sinecure”).

(US, informal) United States Government Policy and Supporting Positions, a publication listing presidentially appointed positions within the federal government.


FTX

(US military) Abbreviation of field training exercise.


UCT

(US, military) Initialism of uncorrelated target.


Irving the Explainer

(Canada, US, film, informal) Any character who serves to provide exposition, such as explaining how an elaborate murder was committed, sparing the writers from having to convey it indirectly.


eighter from Decatur

(US, slang, gambling) An eight in the game of craps.


rutch

rutch (third-person singular simple present rutches, present participle rutching, simple past and past participle rutched)

rutches (present singular third-person)
rutching (participle present)
rutched (participle past)
rutched (past)
rootch (alternative)
rutsch (alternative)
rootch (alternative)

Partly from German rutschen (“slide”), partly (especially in Pennsylvania Dutch English) from Pennsylvania German rutsche (“slide; move around frequently”), and partly (especially in Amish use) from Plautdietsch rutschen (“slide”).

bor

Then Ismail set the pace yet faster, and they became the last two of a procession of turbaned men who tramped along a winding tunnel into a great mountain's womb. The sound of slippers clicking and rutching on the rock floor swelled and died and swelled again ...

1916, Talbot Mundy, King-of the Khyber rifles: a romance of adventure, page 201:

Then, having salaamed the diwan obsequiously, he walked to the nearest gate with the heels of his loose sandals rutching on the gravel and dislike of exercise written all over him as if he were a Hindu merchant to the manner born.

Oata […] rutches herself over the middle of the seat […]
[…]
And I know for sure that I have a pink face because the stubble on my chin feels hot and Oata rutches her chair closer to me so she can pour the last wine from the catsup bottle into our glasses […]

1989, Hildi Froese Tiessen, Liars and Rascals: Mennonite Short Stories, pages 211 and 217:

The twelfth had his chair half turned and was playing across a far corner of the table the board-game that made the occasional tiny rutching noises.

1996, Fritz Leiber, Fritz Leiber's Lean times in Lankhmar, White Wolf Pub:

"Ponsonby, my boy." The man in drab silk slipped into a chair next to Kirby's as a wolf slips into his lair, very circumspectly, and without noise; then he rutched the chair sidewise toward Kirby […]

2018, Talbot Mundy, Thirteen Books, B&R Samizdat Express, →ISBN:

(US, informal) To slide; to scooch; to shuffle.


rootch

en-verb

rootch (third-person singular simple present rootches, present participle rootching, simple past and past participle rootched)

rootches (present singular third-person)
rootching (participle present)
rootched (participle past)
rootched (past)

Our model house-keeper minded closely her own business, never moving about or rootching around in what did not concern her. She was an other-guess character — an other-guess sort of person, as Goldsmith would have said.

1870, American Educational Monthly, page 332:

Dewar, one-handed still, rootched in the bag slung at his hip and found the jemmy bar.

2018, Elizabeth Willey, A Sorcerer and a Gentleman, Gateway, →ISBN:

(US, informal, especially Pennsylvania) To root or rummage around (in search of something).


TILA

Truth in Lending Act
w:Truth in Lending Act

(US) Initialism of Truth in Lending Act.


catch a ride

catch a ride (third-person singular simple present catches a ride, present participle catching a ride, simple past and past participle caught a ride)

catches a ride (present singular third-person)
catching a ride (participle present)
caught a ride (participle past)
caught a ride (past)
hitch a ride (alternative)

Person 1: "My car is not working right now."
Person 2: "You can catch a ride with me to the game."

(US, colloquial) to take or receive transportation somewhere with another.


withdraft

(chiefly US) Alternative spelling of withdraught


gravel cruncher

en-noun

gravel cruncher (plural gravel crunchers)

They developed a tremendous respect for the gravel crunchers after sweating out a few rounds of artillery and observing at painfully close range how rocky a Korean hill can be.

Nonaka seized on the critical importance of those who stormed the beaches first—the “gravel crunchers” as the Marines called them. It was a dangerous job.

2012, Daniel Denison, Robert Hooijberg, Nancy Lane, Leading Culture Change in Global Organizations:

(US, military, slang) A member of the military who is deployed on the ground rather than airborne.


ground cruncher

ground cruncher (plural ground crunchers)

(US, military, slang) Synonym of gravel cruncher


standards and practices

(US, television) The department at a television network that is responsible for the moral, ethical, and legal implications of what is broadcast.


steel beach picnic

steel beach picnic (plural steel beach picnics)

(US, military, slang) An event with food, sporting contests, etc. held on the flight deck of a ship.


steel beach party

steel beach party (plural steel beach parties)

steel beach picnic
steel beach picnic#English

(US, military, slang) Synonym of steel beach picnic


writing spider

(US) A spider, Argiope aurantia, that spins webs with stabilimenta that look like scribbling.


pea shake

(US, Indiana, gambling) An illicit numbers game or lottery, with the numbers marked on small balls or "peas".


rock happy

en-adj

rock happy (comparative more rock happy, superlative most rock happy)

more rock happy (comparative)
most rock happy (superlative)

The civilian ground crew was rock happy. […] They were screaming at each other. Foul. Abusive. Bloodthirsty. It's what happens to men who take stupid jobs in miserable locations just for the money.

2008, George Lowe, The Hard, Hard Life of George A. Lowe, page 75:

After fifteen months most of us were rock happy and would have done anything to get out of there, even if it meant invading Japan.

2016, Bruce M. Petty, Saipan: Oral Histories of the Pacific War, page 150:

(US, military, slang) eccentric or crazy as a result of spending a long time on a remote island


fanny dipper

Thirty-plus years earlier, it was on the beach in front of this building, with its lookout tower and rescue boat at the ready, that the town's earliest "fanny dippers," bathers, and swimmers of varied abilities, first made a practice of entering the ocean "in front of the lifeguard" […]

2019, Robert M. Craig, Maryland's Ocean City Beach Patrol, page 7:

(US, slang, rare) Somebody who enters a body of water for recreational swimming or bathing.


replacement depot

en-noun

replacement depot (plural replacement depots)

(all slang)

(US, military) A unit containing reserves or replacements for large front-line formations such as field armies.


get a line on

en-verb

get a line on (third-person singular simple present gets a line on, present participle getting a line on, simple past got a line on, past participle gotten a line on)

gets a line on (present singular third-person)
getting a line on (participle present)
got a line on (past)
gotten a line on (participle past)

(chiefly US, informal, idiomatic) To obtain information about someone or something.


Bumfuck, Minnesota

(vulgar, US) An imaginary place in the middle of nowhere, especially one that receives a lot of snow.


dehellenize

dehellenize (third-person singular simple present dehellenizes, present participle dehellenizing, simple past and past participle dehellenized)

dehellenizes (present singular third-person)
dehellenizing (participle present)
dehellenized (participle past)
dehellenized (past)
dehellenise (alternative)


select out

select out (third-person singular simple present selects out, present participle selecting out, simple past and past participle selected out)

selects out (present singular third-person)
selecting out (participle present)
selected out (participle past)
selected out (past)

During the past week employees of grade 13 and above in the Agency for International Development, which is seeking legislation to "select out" employees without regard to civil service laws, received invitations.

1967, United States. Congress. Senate. Judiciary, Privacy and the Rights of Federal Employees: Hearings:

Employees are, of course, never fired. They are selected out, placed out, non-retained, released, dehired, non-renewed.

1991, Elvio Angeloni, Annual Editions: Anthropology, 91-92, page 44:

(US, transitive, euphemistic) To fire (an employee).


dick move

I snapped back. He turned the volume down one notch, crossed his arms, and looked at me. “Darce. I thoroughly…enjoyed last night…. But it was a dick move. And I regret it….

2010, Emily Giffin, Something Blue, St. Martin's Press, →ISBN:

That was kind of a dick move on your part. If you need any more medicine, you know where I live.

2012, Colleen Hoover, Point of Retreat, Simon & Schuster, →ISBN:

I know he's only teasing, but it's still a dick move.

2014, Anna Todd, After We Collided, Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, page 493:

(US, vulgar) An unkind trick, or one perceived as unfair due to an opponent's inability to resist or evade it.


desert lavender

en-noun

desert lavender (plural desert lavenders)

(US) A fragrant shrub with bluish flowers, Hyptis emoryi or Condea emoryi, native to the deserts of southwestern North America.


woolly bluecurls

woolly bluecurls (plural woolly bluecurls)

(US) A fragrant and drought-tolerant shrub in the mint family native to southern California and neighboring Mexico (Trichostema lanatum), which is grown for its striking woolly inflorescences.


TACAMO

Shortened from take charge and move out.

(US, military) A system of survivable communications links designed to relay signals between decision-makers and weapon delivery systems in the event of nuclear war.


binnacle list

Traditionally posted on or near the binnacle.

(US, military) A sick list indicating those people excused from duty for health reasons.


stopblock

[...] we were losing speed for the descent into King's Cross Platform 8, where a large crowd had gathered. For the last time, an HST braked gently and smoothly to a stand at the stopblock, and it was all over.

2020 January 15, Nigel Harris, “HST's East Coast Farewell Tour”, in Rail, page 34:

(rail transport, especially US) An obstruction placed at the end of a railway track to prevent rail vehicles from going any further.


people sniffer

(US, military, historical) Any of a series of devices used to detect concealed enemy soldiers by traces of effluents such as sweat and urine.


like a cow pissing on a flat rock

en-adv

like a cow pissing on a flat rock (not comparable)

Compare piss down, piss it down, and French pleuvoir comme vache qui pisse (“rain like a pissing cow”).

m+

It poured like a cow pissing on a flat rock. Summer thunderstorm in a Catskill cattle pasture with 350,000 Mud People standing in it. Aerosmith was supposed to play at midnight, but midnight came and went.

1994, Albert Watson, Woodstock '94: the book, St Martins Pr, →ISBN:

We hadn't gone a mile before it started to rain, light tentative drops at first, like unsure messengers. Then the lightning started and rent open the clouds. It came down like a cow pissing on a flat rock. We had no slickers and were soon soaked.

2004, James Corwin, A Grizzly Way to Die, →ISBN:

Rita's car was an old Plymouth Fury that, despite the meticulous attention given to its lubrication system, leaked oil like a cow pissing on a flat rock. Nel and Danny got into the pickup truck and followed the trail of black ooze, all the way down ...

2014, Barbara Hall, Close to Home: A Novel, Open Road Media, →ISBN:

It was pouring like a cow pissing on a flat rock. Would he show? She didn't know if he would or not, but the cows still had to be fed. Heaving herself out of bed, she threw on her rattiest jeans and a baggy tee and trudged out to the rain-soaked pastures, […]

2016, Victoria Vane, Beauty and the Bull Rider, Lyrical Shine, →ISBN:

(US, of rain or other liquid falling, vulgar) Heavily; copiously (and often loudly).

comme vache qui pisse

heavily — see also rain cats and dogs, piss it down


Alizé

Alizé Mack


Alize

Alice

which many occurrences of Alize are typos of

Alize Johnson

[…] the deaths of two black men whose bodies were found dismembered […] The bodies of Alize Smith and Jarron Moreland, both 21, were found […]

2018 May 7, Remains of 2 men found dismembered, chained to cinder blocks in pond, CBS News


rose sage

(US) A sage with showy rose-colored bracts and purple flowers native to desert mountains in southern California, Arizona, and Nevada, Salvia pachyphylla.


Rikers

We got one maybe ID, but when we checked, we found out the suspect's been in Rikers for a year on a drug rap.

(US, informal) Ellipsis of Rikers Island, an island housing New York City's main jail complex.


UCNI

Under these restrictions, the only way for nuclear information that had been classified as RD to be controlled under UCNI is for the information to be declassified and then for circumstances to change such that the information becomes sufficiently sensitive to warrant reassertion of some degree of control.

1995, National Research Council, Division on Earth and Life Studies, Commission on Geosciences, Environment and Resources, A Review of the Department of Energy Classification:

(US) Initialism of unclassified controlled nuclear information.


RDTE

(US) Initialism of research, development, test and evaluation.


go code

(US, military) A launch code to commence a nuclear attack.


pissedness

(US, Canada, mildly vulgar, colloquial) Annoyance; anger.


junk gun

Saturday-night special
Saturday-night special#English

(US, firearms, slang) Synonym of Saturday-night special


STE

SHARON ARANA
12900 PARAMOUNT BLVD STE B
DOWNEY, CA 90242

2003, U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Register, page 28:

(US) Abbreviation of suite. (STE is preferred by the United States Postal Service; compare Ste. and ste.)


TANF

The authors' research -- which included data analysis and interviews with ultrapoor families in four regions -- found that many families weren't even aware of TANF.

2015 January 9, Aimee Picchi, “The surging ranks of America's ultrapoor”, in CBS News:

w:Temporary Assistance for Needy Families

(US) Initialism of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.


dilly bean

(US) A pickled green bean, usually with dill and garlic for flavoring but often with other spices.


zonalization

US and Oxford British English standard spelling of zonalisation.


grim-gram

She peeks into the tallies of the weekly "grim-grams" that the U.S. embassy in San Salvador sends to Washington.

Embassy "Grim-Grams," the weekly reports on human rights abuses, documented the systematic repression of unions […]

1991, Clifford Krauss, Inside Central America: its people, politics, and history, page 83:

By mid-1983 domestic political reaction to the "grim-gram" totals forced the administration to begin pressuring the Salvadoreans.

2018, Tommie Sue Montgomery, Revolution In El Salvador:

(US, colloquial, historical) The "Violence Week in Review" cable sent from the US embassy in El Salvador, listing the names of killed and missing persons.


Three-I League

(US, baseball, historical) A Minor League Baseball organization that operated mainly in Illinois, Indiana, and Iowa.

(US, politics, colloquial) People of Irish, Italian, and Israeli descent, constituting three important minority groups in the United States.


Three-Eye League

(US, baseball, historical, humorous) Synonym of Three-I League


octogintillion

From Latin octōgintā (“eighty”) + -illion.

For quotations using this term, see Citations:octogintillion.

(rare, US, modern British and Australia, short scale) 10²⁴³


in back

We were sitting in back.


brig rat

(US, military, slang) Somebody who has spent time in the brig; an offender in the military.


Cajun microwave

en-noun

Cajun microwave (plural Cajun microwaves)

Chicken barbecued in this “Cajun microwave” falls right off the bone.

Buy, rent, or borrow the cooking pots, burners, and Cajun microwaves or Cajun tin cooking sheds. With the right cooking equipment the job will be a lot easier.

2002, Larry Boudreaux, Boudreaux's Cajun Party Guide, Boudreaux Cajun General Store, →ISBN, page 21:

[…] after the Cajun microwave or Caja China. The main difference between a Cajun microwave and a Caja China has to do with workmanship. [Commercial] Cajun microwaves are made of cypress or another hardwood, and are often decorated with carvings.

2014, Ben Ford, Carolynn Carreño, Taming the Feast: Ben Ford's Field Guide to Adventurous Cooking, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN:

The term is applied rather widely, and it is not unusual to find someone digging a hole in the ground and lining it with sheet metal in order to cook a pig and calling the resulting fire pit a Cajun microwave. The Cajun microwave as built by Venable was a version of an old-fashioned Dutch oven, […]

2016, John Laudun, The Amazing Crawfish Boat, Univ. Press of Mississippi, →ISBN:

(US) A metal-lined wooden box (or sometimes other container, even e.g. a pit) for cooking a pig or other food in, typically outdoors.


pink tea

pink tea (countable and uncountable, plural pink teas)

From pink (“pale red; (rare) fashionable, smart”) + tea (“drink made by infusing dried leaves or buds of the tea plant in hot water; light midafternoon meal”).

compound

Feb. 4, they served a pink''' tea, from which they realized $19.70.

1886 March, L. D. Carhart, “Home Department. [Des Moines Branch.]”, in Mrs. W[illia]m F[airfield] Warren [i.e., Harriet Merrick Warren], editor, The Heathen Woman’s Friend, volume XVII, number 9, Boston, Mass.: Woman’s Foreign Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church, →OCLC, page 227, column 1:

Why, Maud, it’s too delightful to be real, and I am so glad I live in Cloverfield, for it’s getting to be altogether a charming place, with its ‘Pink Teas’ and ‘Corn Festivals,’ etc. But now for a very important question, What are you going to wear?

1887 April, L. S. L., “Miss Primington’s ‘Violet Luncheon’”, in Arthur’s Home Magazine, volume LV, Philadelphia, Pa.: T[imothy] S[hay] Arthur & Son, →OCLC, page 411, column 1:

"Why—why—we bring flowers for the pulpit every Sunday, and we have lovely literaries and socials; and we gave a pink tea for missions last spring, and had such a nice time, besides making $25 for the cause," Annie answered, glibly. […] "Oh, Annie, Annie, what weak babes in Christ you are! Don't you know that this is only the mint, anise, and cummin of service? Pink teas and literaries the work of Jesus Christ!"

1897 January 2, K. G. Walker, “Mint, Anise, and Cummin”, in Joseph F. Henry, editor, The Epworth Herald, volume VII, number 32, Chicago, Ill.: Curts & Jennings; New York, N.Y.: Eaton & Mains, →OCLC, page 526, column 1:

“I went to a ‘Pink Tea’ the other day,” said Littleton, “and hereafter ‘brown beer’ will be good enough for me.[…]” […] I clean forgot the point, and stood there before all those stunning girls grinning like—like an idiot at a ‘pink tea.’

1897 August, “Puck” [pseudonym], “His First Pink Tea: Experience of a Non-society Man”, in Current Literature: A Magazine of Record and Review, volume XXII, number 2, New York, N.Y.: The Current Literature Publishing Co. […], →OCLC, page 157:

It is said that the jargon of these women [tea leaf pluckers], when sorting tea, is just about as intelligible and interesting as the conversation at a sewing bee, a fashionable pink tea or a German kaffeeklatsch.

1898 August 2, Julius O. Schlotterbeck, “Second Session. [Tea Culture.]”, in Proceedings of the Sixteenth Annual Meeting of the Michigan State Pharmaceutical Association, Held at Port Huron, August 2, 3, 4, 1898, […], Detroit, Mich.: Michigan State Board of Pharmacy and Pharmacy Law, →OCLC, page 46:

(historical) A fashionable formal tea party or other social gathering; specifically, one organized and attended chiefly by women to discuss matters of suffrage, raise funds for charity, etc.

teekutsut

fashionable formal tea party or other gathering; specifically, one organized and attended chiefly by women

At the expiration of the solemn ceremonies connected therewith Private Flanagan of the Irish tent arose, and, after congratulating the learned doctors of the Keeley Club on the success of the meeting, invited all present to attend a pink tea that would be held in his tent that evening at eight p.m.

1895, “The Vigilantes at the Capitol Grounds”, in The “City Guard”: A History of Company “B”, First Regiment Infantry, N.G.C. [National Guard of California]: During the Sacramento Campaign, July 3 to 26, 1894 […], San Francisco, Calif.: Filmer-Rollins Electrotype Co. […], →OCLC, pages 79–80:

They might lose their reverence for our pretentious Senate when they see how Senators spend their mornings reading novels and their afternoons attending pink teas, instead of studying questions of public welfare.

1896 April, Hazen Stuart Pingree, quotee, “Two Interesting Suggestions from Mayor Pingree”, in William O. Krohn, Alfred Bayliss, editors, The Child-Study Monthly, volume I, number 10, Chicago, Ill.: The Werner Company, →OCLC, page 405:

(by extension) Any exclusive social gathering.

Q. Now, Mr. Mitchell, your testimony indicates that you know just what kind of language is used around a garage? / A. Yes, sir. / Q. It is not always a little pink tea affair? / A. No; sometimes I "cuss" a lot myself. / Q. And when the men, and even the bosses talk, it isn't the kind of language you hear at a pink tea, particularly? / A. Yes.

1935 October 22, Stephen Mitchell (witness), “Transcript of Hearing. [Testimony of Stephen Mitchell.]”, in National Labor Relations Board, Petitioner vs. Pennsylvania Greyhound Lines, Inc. and Greyhound Management Company: On Writ of Certiorari to the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit: Supreme Court of the United States: October Term, 1937: Transcript of Record (No. 413), Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, published 1937, page 218:

In the interest of self-preservation invoke spirit of Paul Revere to awaken Americans in these mournful times against soft-headed thinking and pink-tea diplomacy. Let us look to our own ramparts and man them like Americans.

1950 July 26, George W[ilson] Malone, quoting Robert H. Raring, “Statement of the Honorable George W. Malone, United States Senator from the State of Nevada”, in Import Tax on Copper: Proceedings in Executive Session before the Committee on Finance, United States Senate, Eighty-first Congress, Second Session on H.J. Res. 502: A Joint Resolution to Suspend Certain Import Taxes on Copper […], Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, published 27 July 1950, →OCLC, page 17:

The Court permitted one picket at each point of entry and exit from the plant, an arrangement promptly dismissed by the unions as "pink tea" picketing.

1991, Karen Orren, “The Old Order and Collective Action”, in Belated Feudalism: Labor, the Law, and Liberal Development in the United States, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, New York, N.Y.: Cambridge University Press, published 1999, →ISBN, footnote 39, page 134:

(figuratively, chiefly in the negative, also attributive) Something (as an event or policy) excessively polite and refined; specifically, one regarded as ineffective and weak.

hienosteleva

something excessively polite and refined; specifically, one regarded as ineffective and weak


fourth point of contact

en-noun

fourth point of contact (plural fourth points of contact)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-fourth point of contact.wav

From military jargon: the fourth point of the body to make contact with the ground when correctly performing a parachute landing fall.

"I don't know if it was because of me or because he'd finally pulled his head out of his fourth point of contact and realized, Hey, it's not really such a bad thing after all."

1990, Carol Barkalow, Andrea Raab, In the Men's House: An Inside Account of Life in the Army by One of West Point's First Female Graduates, Simon & Schuster:

It may take him until the morning to get his head out of his fourth point of contact and get here, but he won't be able to stand the thought of letting two of his knuckleheads get along without his magnanimous personality.

2012, David R. Givens, Playing Jesus, First Books, →ISBN, page 30:

He was holding steady, but there was no reason to give the sergeant major an excuse to dig into his fourth point of contact. He was doing just fine. One day at a time, and all that. Too bad guys like Marshall tested his willpower on a daily basis.

2019, Jessica Scott, Back to You: A Coming Home Novel, Thirty One Fox Books, →ISBN:

"Probably time to strategically apply some pressure to their fourth points of contact. You've given them the benefit of the doubt and, well, they're not really rising to the occasion, are they?"

2018, Jessica Scott, Carry Me Home: A Coming Home Novel, Thirty One Fox Books, →ISBN:

(US, slang, originally and chiefly military) The ass (buttocks or anus).


invisible primary

invisible primary (plural invisible primaries)

This suggests that Democratic Party stakeholders were less able to unify behind a candidate during the invisible primaries before Bill Clinton became president.

2015, Wayne P. Steger, A Citizen's Guide to Presidential Nominations, page 96:

(US, politics) The period between when major political candidates show interest in running for president and when the primaries and caucuses actually begin.


lunchbox Democrat

lunchbox Democrat (plural lunchbox Democrats)

(US, politics) A high-ranking member of the Democratic Party with a working-class or blue-collar background, especially one who attempts to leverage this background through populist appeals.


lunch pail Democrat

lunch pail Democrat (plural lunch pail Democrats)

lunchbox Democrat
lunchbox Democrat#English

(US, politics) Synonym of lunchbox Democrat


lunchbucket Democrat

lunchbucket Democrat (plural lunchbucket Democrats)


night court

night court (countable and uncountable, plural night courts)

(US, criminal justice) A criminal court which operates at night for certain routine functions such as granting bail and issuing charges.


ARPA-E

Five years in, ARPA–E’s priorities have shifted, too, for the same reason. The cheap natural gas freed from shale by horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing (or fracking) has helped kill off bleeding-edge programs like Electrofuels, a bid to use microbes to turn cheap electricity into liquid fuels, […]

2014 March 20, David Biello, “Fracking Hammers Clean Energy Research”, in Scientific American:

(US) Initialism of Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy.


Sicilian Defense

Sicilian Defence
Sicilian Defence#English

US standard spelling of Sicilian Defence.


Caro-Kann Defense

Caro-Kann Defence
Caro-Kann Defence#English

US standard spelling of Caro-Kann Defence.


Georgia overdrive

Most likely an allusion to hillbilly culture, whether in a derogatory way or in a celebratory way, depending on the perspective of the speaker. See more at Mexican overdrive § Etymology.

(US, slang, automotive) Synonym of angel gear


X station

From the initial letter X of Mexican radio stations' call signs.

Not long after the feds started regulating radio, Mexico's megawatt border blasters—high-powered stations planted just south of Texas and California—started beckoning. The FCC couldn't control them […] That same year, the Mexican government revised its radio licensing law, drastically reducing the X stations' autonomy.

2004, Jesse Walker, Rebels on the Air: An Alternative History of Radio in America, page 197:

X-station broadcasts could be heard occasionally in every region of the United States and in Canada, though it is difficult to know who listened to them.

2015, Bill C. Malone, David Stricklin, Southern Music/American Music, page 73:

(Canada, US) A Mexican broadcast station whose signal overpowers those of stations in the United States.


bomfoggery

Supplemented by contributions from other reporters, the Thimmesch shorthand of bomfoggery included such words as fisteg, for "fiscal integrity"; goveclop, for "government closest to the people"; respub, for "responsible Republicanism"; […]

1965, Charles McDowell, Campaign Fever, page 58:

His people insist that he is precisely what he seems: a citizen politician who sees through all the bureaucratic bomfoggery to the simple truth and the practical solution.

1980, Newsweek, volume 96, numbers 1-8, page 208:

(US, politics, slang, derogatory) The pompous, obfuscatory language used in politicians' speeches.


boondocker

From boondock + -er, adopted by 1944 as U.S. services slang word for field boots during World War II under the U.S. military.

While these no/low-cost opportunities exist for freedom camping in the US, there is also a vast array of commercial sites offered by federal agencies at tariffs acceptable to the boondockers.

2018, C. Michael Hall, Dieter Müller, The Routledge Handbook of Second Home Tourism and Mobilities, page 324:

(US, informal) A person who lives in a rural location.


thin as a yard of pump water

en-adj

thin as a yard of pump water (not comparable)

A stream of water falling approximately three feet from a water pump into a bucket is both straight and thin.

Her mother was betwixt and between, and her father the same; but Rosie was as thin as a yard of pump-water, and could—and did—eat like a beagle without ever putting-on an extra ounce. Maybe she was abusing her good-fortune.

1947, Lynn Doyle, Green Oranges: Stories:

She wadn't no summer morning to look at, poor soul, and her mistress kept her so thin as a yard of pump water. But there Providence knows best! There were a old fellow over by Aisholt, and he were such a upstanding courageous man he'd a […]

1965, Publications of the Folk-lore Society:

[…] managed, but they all went on looking so thin as a yard of pump water except Dicky — and he grew fat.

1968, Katharine M. Briggs, Folktales of England, University of Chicago Press, →ISBN, page 74:

[…] puts away enough food to satiate a pack of ravenous hyenas and remains as thin as a yard of pump water. It's the injustice of the whole thing that infuriates me.

2014, Daniel P Mannix, Freaks: We Who Are Not As Others, eNet Press, →ISBN, page 139:

'Mmm. You're as pale as a lily and as thin as a yard of pump water. Mind you, a month or two out working in all weathers should pink you up, and rationing or no, I'll find something to put a bit of weight on you.'

2018, Gloria Cook, Never Just a Memory, Canelo, →ISBN:


cake and wine

After a week of privation on pound cake and white wine (strangely the Navy's slang for solitary confinement on bread and water was "cake and wine") Carlsen received warm nourishment.

1980, The Compass, volumes 50-52, page 26:

If one was 5 minutes late he got three days bread and water for a first offense. A second time got the culprit 5 days. Insolence and/or insubordination earned one a deck court-martial with 10 days on "cake and wine".

2009, Chester A. Wright, Black Men and Blue Water, page 222:

[…] and the skipper threw him in the brig for five days on cake and wine (bread and water, in navy slang).

2011, Stephen Curley, The Ship That Would Not Die:

(US, naval slang) A restricted diet of bread and water, imposed as a disciplinary measure.


Super Sunday

(US, sports) The Sunday on which the Super Bowl takes place, usually the first Sunday in February.


Commerce Clause

(US, law) A clause in the United States Constitution stating that Congress shall have the power "[t]o regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes."


Dormant Commerce Clause

(US, law) A legal doctrine inferred from the Commerce Clause that prohibits states from discriminating against interstate or international commerce.


Negative Commerce Clause

Dormant Commerce Clause
Dormant Commerce Clause#English

(US, law) Synonym of Dormant Commerce Clause


tollhouse cookie

en-noun

tollhouse cookie (plural tollhouse cookies)

tollhouse cookies (plural)
Toll House cookie (alternative)

The recipe was devised at the Toll House Inn, in Whitman, Massachusetts, in 1938.


anticanon

(chiefly US, law) a legal text that is now viewed as wrongly decided


living constitution

living constitution (plural living constitutions)

(chiefly US, law) the claim that the Constitution holds a dynamic meaning that evolves to new circumstances and should be understood in accordance with the needs and views of society


loose construction

loose construction (plural loose constructions)

(chiefly US, law) a broad interpretation of the Constitution, especially one strays from literal, textualist meaning and adapts to evolving circumstances


loose constructionism

loose constructionism (plural loose constructionisms)

(chiefly US, law) The legal philosophy that the Constitution should be read in a broad way that adapts to the changing times.


downcountry

(chiefly US) In the lowlands, as opposed to the hilly region


downcountry

(chiefly US) In or into the lowlands, as opposed to the hilly region


Trumpocrat

From Trump + -o- + -crat; when referring to (former) Democrats, conceived of as a blend of Trump + Democrat.

If you have historically been a working class, middle class person in areas of America that produced good paying, blue collar factory jobs, white collar factory related jobs, small business jobs in your towns around the plants and factories, it would be hard not to support a Trumpocrats effort in electing Donald Trump!

2016 August 23, Matthew Boyle, “Meet the 'Trumpocrats': Lifelong Democrats Breaking with Party Over Hillary Clinton to Support Donald Trump for President”, in Breitbart:

“I figure I was going to try to do something to help out,” he continued, adding that he wanted to give the pro-Trump Democrats “a place to organise.” On the group’s website, “Trumpocrats” are described as working-class “teachers, technicians, cops, and coal miners,” who are “disillusioned with the rigged political and economic system.”

2016 September 13, Allan Smith, “Meet the Bernie Sanders supporter who admires Tim Kaine, but is leading a pro-Trump PAC”, in Business Insider UK:

Closely watching the impeachment hearings in our area are so-called Trumpocrats, long-time Democrats who supported Donald Trump in 2016, helping him win Pennsylvania. The Trumpocrats helped flip Pennsylvania from blue to red in 2016.

2019 November 13, Andy Mehalshick, “Trumpocrats weigh in on impeachment hearings”, in PA Homepage:

It’s far too early to take any 2020 polls seriously, but this week’s New York Times poll made news because it shocked the Democrats. The poll found that many “Trumpocrats” — Rust Belt Democrats who supported Trump in 2016 and went back to voting Democratic in 2018 — are planning to vote for Trump again in 2020.

2019 November 30, Paul Bedard, “Weekly Trump Report Card: A Happy Thanksgiving for Trump”, in Washington Examiner:

"I'm a Trumpocrat," Blagojevich said to cheers from onlookers. "If I have the ability to vote, I'm gonna vote for him."

2020 February 20, Sophie Sherry, Stacy St. Clair, “Calling himself a ‘Trumpocrat,’ an unbowed Blagojevich thanks the president”, in Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

(US, politics) A (formerly) Democratic voter who supports U.S. president Donald Trump.

A substantial percentage of those who voted for Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primaries switched to support Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, joining Republican Trumpocrats (Sides 2017).

2018, Michael Haas, Why Democracies Flounder and Fail, page 206:

Trump’s secretary of Health and Human Services, Alex Azar, says these and other omitted items would not have worked anyway, and that critics are missing the point of the proposals. Since then, Trumpocrats have been out in force to make their case that consumers will be getting relief from high drug prices.

2018 May 23, Philip Moeller, “Column: Not sure what to make of Trump’s drug prices plan? Here’s where to start”, in PBS:

Trumpocrats, however, don't see corruption and rule by special interests as problems.

2020, Paul Krugman, Arguing with Zombies:

(US, politics) A supporter of U.S. president Donald Trump.


baseball rule

(US, law) A common law rule according to which a baseball team cannot be held liable for injuries suffered by a spectator struck by a foul ball so long as the team has offered some protected seating.


hold down the fort

en-verb

hold down the fort (third-person singular simple present holds down the fort, present participle holding down the fort, simple past and past participle held down the fort)

holds down the fort (present singular third-person)
holding down the fort (participle present)
held down the fort (participle past)
held down the fort (past)

(chiefly US) Alternative form of hold the fort


various and sundry

many and various
many and various#English

(chiefly US) Synonym of many and various


star-sixty-nine (alternative)
star sixty-nine (alternative)
star 69 (alternative)

(US, Canada, telephony) The telephone number used for last-call return services.


*69 (third-person singular simple present *69s, present participle *69ing, simple past and past participle *69ed)

(Canada, US, telephony, transitive, intransitive) To use the last-call return service


wait staff

en-noun

wait staff (usually uncountable, plural wait staffs)

(US, Canada) Alternative form of waitstaff.


manhaul

manhaul (countable and uncountable, plural manhauls)

manhauls (plural)
man-haul (alternative)

During his years at SRF, Kooch never missed the manhauls (meals) at 1100 and 1600. […] Through the years as his hearing got bad, Kooch would not hear the Whistle. Since then, manhauls were delayed until he was found and ushered aboard.

1998, Dirk Anthony Ballendorf, editor, U.S. Naval Ship Repair Facility: Guam History Book: 1945 to 1997, United States Department of Defense, page 54:


Brocken specter

Brocken specter (plural Brocken specters)

US standard spelling of Brocken spectre.


mountain specter

mountain specter (plural mountain specters)

mountain spectre
mountain spectre#English

US standard spelling of mountain spectre.


one-arm joint

one-arm lunchroom
one-arm lunchroom#English

(US, slang) Synonym of one-arm lunchroom


one-arm lunchroom

one-arm lunchroom (plural one-arm lunchrooms)

(US, slang) A diner serving snacks and simple meals.


one-arm restaurant

one-arm restaurant (plural one-arm restaurants)


hold ransom

en-verb

hold ransom (third-person singular simple present holds ransom, present participle holding ransom, simple past and past participle held ransom)

holds ransom (present singular third-person)
holding ransom (participle present)
held ransom (participle past)
held ransom (past)

(US, transitive) Alternative form of hold to ransom


hold for ransom

hold for ransom (third-person singular simple present holds for ransom, present participle holding for ransom, simple past and past participle held for ransom)

holds for ransom (present singular third-person)
holding for ransom (participle present)
held for ransom (participle past)
held for ransom (past)


C.S.C.S.

The secret to improving endurance is to go faster, not lengthen a plodding run. Bill Hartman, P.T., C.S.C.S., suggests breaking your run into intervals at your goal speed.

2008 October, “17 problems you can fix right now”, in Men's Health, volume 23, number 8, →ISSN, page 162:

(US, sports) Initialism of certified strength and conditioning specialist; also CSCS.


walking ticket

(US, informal) walking papers, marching orders


take ten

take ten (third-person singular simple present takes ten, present participle taking ten, simple past took ten, past participle taken ten)

takes ten (present singular third-person)
taking ten (participle present)
took ten (past)
taken ten (participle past)

(US, Canada, informal) To take a short, typically ten-minute, break from some activity.


LTJG

Proving that there was no such thing as complete relaxation during recruit training a sudden, “attention on deck!” was barked out by the compartment Fire Watch. The attention on deck was to announce the presence of the Battalion Commander, LTJG Walker.

2013, David Banagis, Twenty-Three Days at Sea: A Sailor's Story, Bloomington, IN: Abbott Press, →ISBN, page 14:

lieutenant junior grade
lieutenant junior grade#English

(US, military) Abbreviation of lieutenant junior grade.


CHINFO

Back at the bed-and-breakfast, there was a message from Steve Stafford.
 She dialed the number: CHINFO at the Pentagon.

1996, William Martin, Annapolis, New York: Tom Doherty Associates, published 2010, →ISBN, page 343:

That was not going to happen, because the Navy's Chief of Information (CHINFO) had placed some age restrictions in my way that meant YN School it would be.

2013, David Banagis, Twenty-Three Days at Sea: A Sailor's Story, Bloomington, IN: Abbott Press, →ISBN, page 18:

(US, military) Abbreviation of United States Navy Chief of Information.


CERCLA

“From the information gathered in this review,” he wrote, “E.P.A. will identify any data gaps that may exist and will subsequently develop a sampling plan to address them. We anticipate that this effort will take approximately six months to complete. Once the data are collected, E.P.A. will evaluate what additional actions, if any, may be warranted in accordance with Cercla.”

2008 August 27, Sewell Chan, “U.S. Officials Will Review Pollution in Waterway”, in The New York Times:

The state of Ohio also filed a 58-count federal lawsuit against the rail company on March 14, saying Norfolk Southern violated numerous state, federal and Ohio common laws and violated the state’s CERCLA act.

2023 March 31, Alisha Ebrahimji and Andi Babineau, “US Justice Department sues Norfolk Southern following train derailment in East Palestine”, in CNN:

w:Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act

(US) Acronym of Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act.


bust one's neck

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

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

Liz, I busted my neck getting you those votes!

(slang, Canada, US) To work exceptionally hard.


NALSA

(US) Acronym of Native American Law Students Association.


NIMA

(US, historical) Initialism of National Imagery and Mapping Agency. (former name of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency)


WFH

en-noun

WFH (countable and uncountable, plural WFHs)

(US copyright law) Initialism of work for hire.


in the bargain

into the bargain
into the bargain#English

(informal, US) Synonym of into the bargain


star 69

en-verb

star 69 (third-person singular simple present star 69s, present participle star 69ing, simple past and past participle star 69ed)

star 69s (present singular third-person)
star 69ing (participle present)
star 69ed (participle past)
star 69ed (past)

He rushed to the phone to star 69 before anyone else called.

(US, Canada) To press the keys *69 in succession on the keypad of a telephone, usually after a missed call, which results in a last-call return by automatically dialling the telephone number of the last caller.


ACCP

So, doctors and hospital officials have largely been relying on the guidelines of professional specialty groups, including those published in 2008 by the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP), for making decisions about how to allocate scarce resources to treat respiratory disorders. ¶ The ACCP guidelines hinge on the so-called “exclusion criteria,” which advise not considering ICU care for people with moderate-to-severe heart or lung disease, those with terminal cancer — like Kraemer— the elderly, and people with severe cognitive impairment.

2020 April 22, Alice Park, Jeffrey Kluger, “The Coronavirus Pandemic Is Forcing U.S. Doctors to Ration Care for All Patients”, in Time:

American College of Chest Physicians
w:American College of Chest Physicians

(US, medicine) Initialism of American College of Chest Physicians.


'rari

[…] “I got a Glock in my 'rari, 17 shots, no .38.” […]

2015, Fetty Wap, "679" (song), quoted in 2018, Matthew Oware, I Got Something to Say: Gender, Race, and Social Consciousness in Rap Music, Springer, page 51

Vroom, vroom, vroom, like I'm ridin' a Harley, / but I'm in a 'rari, / sorry not sorry. / Didn't say a peep but I know them birds saw me.

2020, GALXARA and Saweetie, "Sway With Me" (song), "Sway With Me" (album)

(US, hip-hop and rap slang) A Ferrari automobile.


draft board

draft boards (plural)
draftboard (alternative)

(US) A board that registers and selects men of military age in the event of conscription in the United States.


biballs

There was a naked, uncomplicated honesty in what he said as he stood there talking with his hands jammed deep into the pockets of his biballs that was impossible not to believe.

(US, Canada, informal) Loose-fitting pants (trousers) with supporting cross-straps and a panel of material in the chest (called a bib), often associated with farm work.


Bill of Rights

At the heart of it, I thought of the Great Society as an extension of the Bill of Rights. When our fundamental American rights were set forth by the Founding Fathers, they reflected the concerns of a people who sought freedom in their time. But in our time a broadened concept of freedom requires that every American have the right to a healthy body, a full education, a decent home, and the opportunity to develop to the best of his talents.

1971, Lyndon Johnson, The Vantage Point, Holt, Reinhart & Winston, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 104:

(US) The first ten amendments to the US Constitution that guarantee certain personal rights and freedoms.


stewardsman

(US, naval, dated) A steward's mate, or mess attendant.


chicken of the sea

From the mid-20th-century advertising jingle of StarKist brand canned tuna. Since used popularly at large for any tuna.


GOA

G.O.A. (alternative)
G. O. A. (alternative)

(US, law enforcement) Initialism of gone on arrival. where the intended target was not present at the location that was sought when an agent arrived


5150 (third-person singular simple present 5150s, present participle 5150ing, simple past and past participle 5150ed)

From Section 5150 of California's Welfare and Institutions Code, regarding involuntary commitment for psychological evaluation and treatment.

And they're all, "He's over there against the tree, he's not talking to us, he's not saying anything and he has a history of being a psychiatric patient and so we're 5150ing him."

1998, Timothy R. Tangherlini, Talking trauma: paramedics and their stories, page 117:

Sure, if you've ever been 5150ed by the Psychiatric Evaluation Team (no thanks to you and Rachael. Just because I was flipping my wig, flinging dishes and threatening to kill myself didn't mean I was actually SUICIDAL, guys! Jeez!) […]

2000, Clint Catalyst, Cottonmouth Kisses, page 150:

“I'm going to keep him under sedation until tomorrow morning, and then 5150 him at UCI Medical Center Psychiatric Unit.”

2006, J. T. McCalla, Reversal of Fear, page 187:

Finally she said, “Zach, i'm calling 911 and have them 5150 you.”

2007, Allison Brennan, Karin Tabke, Roxanne St. Claire, What You Can't See, page 382:

Then, almost immediately on the heels of Beverly came Dante, who'd been 5150ed by his mother.

2010, Jane Vandenburgh, A Pocket History of Sex in the Twentieth Century, page 358:

And it's not possible to 5150 him [place him on a psychiatric hold]. He's not a danger to self, not a danger to others.

2011, Patricia Benner, Patricia Hooper-Kyriakidis, Daphne Stannard, Clinical Wisdom and Interventions in Acute and Critical Care, page 438:

(transitive, US slang) To involuntarily confine a person for a mental illness that poses a risk to themselves or others.


en-adj

5150 (comparative more 5150, superlative most 5150)

more 5150 (comparative)
most 5150 (superlative)
fifty-one fifty (alternative)

(US slang) Synonym of crazy: Of such an unsound mind that one should be involuntarily confined.


Space Force

Spaceforce (alternative)
SpaceForce (alternative)
Space-Force (alternative)

United States Space Force
United States Space Force#English

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


United States Space Force

From United States + space + force. Coined in analogy to United States Air Force.

United States of America
United States of America#English

(US, military, politics) The spaceforce of the United States. A branch of the United States of America military dedicated to outer space activities and related support activities.


USSF

U.S.S.F. (alternative)
U. S. S. F. (alternative)
U.S. SF (alternative)
U. S. SF (alternative)
US S.F. (alternative)
US S. F. (alternative)
U.S. Soccer (alternative)
United States Soccer Federation (alternative)

(US, military, politics) Initialism of United States Space Force.

United States Soccer Federation
United States Soccer Federation#English

(US, soccer, sports) Initialism of United States Soccer Federation.


qualified immunity

It is no disparagement of the offices held by petitioners to hold that Presidential aides, like Members of the Cabinet, generally are entitled only to a qualified immunity.

Erma Aldaba sought to hold police liable for her son’s deadly encounter with police, but qualified immunity ended her lawsuit before it could even get to trial.

(law, US) A doctrine protecting some government officials from suit if no prior court decision had declared similar conduct to be actionable, or if they acted in good faith.

제한적 면책특권

a doctrine protecting some government officials from suit


ACSM

American College of Sports Medicine
w:American College of Sports Medicine

(US, medicine) Initialism of American College of Sports Medicine: an American sports medicine and exercise science membership organization founded in 1954.


PT boat

The PT boat is not merely a small boat for attack in rivers and inland seas. It is a deadly offensive weapon for use under the most trying conditions [...]

1943, Lawrence Conant, quoting Charles Edison, “The PT Boats: Weapons of Opportunity”, in William Harrison Fetridge, editor, The Navy Reader:

(military, US) A type of fast motor torpedo boat used by the US Navy during World War II.


badge of honor

en-noun

badge of honor (plural badges of honour)

badges of honour (plural)
badge of honour (alternative)

May 19, 2020, Donald Trump, daily briefing
I view [the fact USA has the world's highest number of cases of coronavirus] as a badge of honor.

(idiomatic, US) An outward sign that signifies some distinction.

insigne

an outward sign that signifies some distinction


sun granny

sun grannies (plural)
sungranny (alternative)

(US) The redbreast sunfish (Lepomis auritus).


does a bear poop in the woods

does a bear shit in the woods?
does a bear shit in the woods#English

(Canada, US, euphemistic, rhetorical question) Synonym of does a bear shit in the woods?


news butcher

It was a guy named Bishop and she'd met him on the trip up. The news butcher introduced them, I guess.

1916, Ring W. Lardner, “Three Kings and a Pair”, in The Saturday Evening Post:

(US, historical) A person who worked on railroads selling newspapers, candy and cigars to the passengers.


Megan's Law

The law was introduced in response to the murder of Megan Kanka.

(US) A federal law requiring law enforcement authorities to make information available to the public regarding registered sex offenders.

(US, informal, by extension) Any of various subsequent state laws based on this.


FSR

First Strike Ration
w:First Strike Ration

(US, military) Initialism of First Strike Ration.


gyrating angel

(US, military, slang, historical, in the Korean War) A rescue helicopter.


Minny

(US, slang) Alternative form of Minnie (“Minneapolis”)


subfelony

en-adj

subfelony (comparative more subfelony, superlative most subfelony)

more subfelony (comparative)
most subfelony (superlative)

(US, law) below the level of a felony; relating to a misdemeanor


MIS-C

multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children#English

(pathology, Canada, US) Initialism of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children.

PMIS

pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome

post-infectious inflammatory response syndrome


FonMin

Foreign Minister
foreign minister#English

(US government, as a title) Abbreviation of Foreign Minister.


all-purpose flour

en-noun

all-purpose flour (usually uncountable, plural all-purpose flours)


buffalo chip

(US) A dried piece of buffalo or bison dung, sometimes used as fuel.


university of the streets

university of the streets (plural universities of the streets)

school of hard knocks
school of hard knocks#English

(idiomatic, chiefly US) Synonym of school of hard knocks


Natty Boh

Natty Boh (countable and uncountable, plural Natty Bohs)

Natty Bohs (plural)
Natty Bo (alternative)


NRHP

National Register of Historic Places
w:National Register of Historic Places

(US) Initialism of National Register of Historic Places.


napkin math

Based on my napkin math—and keep in mind I am terrible at math—if you made every conscious choice to do right, your highest potential “life grade” is a D once your bad habits are subtracted.

2018, Levi Lusko, I Declare War: Four Keys to Winning the Battle with Yourself, page 124:

(Canada, US) The act of performing quick mathematics often as a means of estimation, as if done on the back of a napkin (or in one's head).


Logan bar

Introduced by Army Quartermaster Colonel Paul Logan.

(US, military, historical) A hard-textured chocolate bar issued as a military ration.


shopette

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

From shop + -ette. From being a small general store.

convenience store
convenience store#English

(US, military) Synonym of convenience store


Cousin Sally

(US, slang) The Confederate States of America.


noonie

noonies (plural)
nu (alternative)
nunu (alternative)
nu-nu (alternative)
noo (alternative)
noonoo (alternative)
noo-noo (alternative)
nonny (alternative)
nonnie (alternative)
nunny (alternative)
nunnie (alternative)
noony (alternative)

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

Attested since the 1960s; earliest known use found in the works of Bernard Kops. Origin uncertain; suggested sources include Hindi नूनी (nūnī, “boy's penis”) from Sanskrit न्यून (nyū̀na, “vulva”).

(slang, US) Alternative form of nunnie (“buttocks, ass”)


E ticket

From the ticket admission system used before 1982 at Disneyland. The E ticket was for the best rides.

Definitely an E ticket.

1983, Sally Ride (describing flying in the Space Shuttle)

Well this sure ain't no E ticket.

1993, "Weird Al" Yankovic, "Jurassic Park" (song)

We did not expect the "E" ticket ride, nor did our newest riding adventurer, Greg.

2007, Philip Beaudet, Wilderness Adventures on Horseback, →ISBN, page 10:

(US, idiomatic, dated) Something very thrilling or exciting.


Lincolnite

(US, historical) A supporter of Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), his policies, or Northern interests during the American Civil War.


ten-hut

Abbreviated form of attention; compare hut § Etymology 2.

When the officer appeared, the sergeant brought the soldiers to attention by shouting, "Squad, ten-hut!"

(US, military) Used to bring a marching band or group of soldiers to attention.


scante

methamphetamine hydrochloride
methamphetamine hydrochloride

(Canada, US, slang) The drug methamphetamine hydrochloride, crystal meth.


confessing Sam

The first potentially believable confessing Sam, Daniel Voorhees, arrived at police headquarters on the same day as the second note from The Avenger. During an interview with LAPD Consulting Psychiatrist Dr. Paul De River, Voorhess ^([sic]) claimed that he "couldn't stand [keeping such a dark secret] any longer." The police knew that Voorhees was not The Avenger […]

2017, Jon Lewis, Hard-Boiled Hollywood: Crime and Punishment in Postwar Los Angeles, page 27:

(Canada, US, law enforcement slang) A person who falsely confesses to a crime.


opinions are like assholes

Shortened from "Opinions are like assholes; everybody has one"; "Opinions are like assholes; everybody has one and they usually stink"; "Opinions are like assholes: everybody's got one, and everybody thinks theirs smells nicer than everyone else's"; or some variant of the three.

“Opinions are like assholes,” Tipsy began again. “That would be correct,” Few confirmed acidly. “It's an understatement, too.” “Some people have more than one asshole?” Tipsy asked naively. “Okay. Okay.” Quentin placed both his hands ...

2010, Jim Nisbet, Windward Passage: A Novel, Abrams, →ISBN:

Opinions are like assholes and that's all I see. Ya you're so picture perfect. How's it feel to be perfect. Ya you're perfect. Picture perfect to me. What you got comes in a small pill. Pretty sure I've had my fill.

2011, Michelle Hutchinson, O for the Love of God, Xlibris Corporation, →ISBN, page 25:

Opinions are like assholes, and there are way too many assholes out there. Call me what you will, but I'll call you what you are. The best way to live is to deserve each day. A born loser isn't just someone who's been desperate for some ...

2018, Colin Honert, MindSpring, Dog Ear Publishing, →ISBN, page 391:

“The shit just got so stupid, and of course Gil kept saying the same thing he always says about this kind of thing: “'Opinions are like assholes...'” “You never know what you're gonna get?” This time they all laughed a little.

[2019, Mathew Klickstein, Selling Nostalgia: A Neurotic Novel, Permuted Press+ORM, →ISBN:

“Don't you mean, 'Opinions are like assholes'?” “No, 'shit'. They run too freely from careless openings.” “That's...not a saying.” “No?” Monty chuckled. “You sure?” He sighed. “Anyway, Hitler had opinions. That guy in Wolf Creek had ...

[2020, Jason Parent, The Apocalypse Strain, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN:

(Canada, US, idiomatic, usually derogatory, vulgar) Everyone has opinions, and most people's opinions are of exceedingly poor quality.


farm upstate

What do parents tell their kids when they have to put their pet dog down? “We had to send li'l Fido to a farm upstate, honey....” Maybe that's where I'm going. The farm upstate. “We had to send li'l Spencer to the farm upstate, honey.

2014, Clay McLeod Chapman, Academic Assassins:

The convenience of online shopping is "irresistible," John Oliver said on Sunday's Last Week Tonight. "It's frankly no wonder that e-commerce is gradually chipping away at brick-and-mortar retail sales, and it can seem like the retail jobs are shifting, too," with warehouse jobs apparently "absorbing America's lost retail employees." And that "initially sounds kind of nice," Oliver said. "It's like hearing that there's actually a farm upstate where Borders, Circuit City, and Tower Records employees can run around and be free."

2019 July 1, “John Oliver dispels your happy, convenient illusions about shopping on Amazon”, in The Week, Johnsplaining:

The iconic palm trees that line Park Avenue in downtown San Jose are pulling up roots and moving off the street. / No, they're not going to a farm upstate or retiring to a sunny beach somewhere. They're not heading off to the wood chipper, either — they're going around the corner to a new home on Almaden Boulevard.

2019 November 22, Rosellen "Rosie" Downey, Silicon Valley Business Journal:

Turns out Betsy Ross is the biggest lie your kindergarten teacher ever told you (except that Bubbles the class gerbil was moving to a farm upstate).

2020 June 14, Josh Axelrod, Saeed Ahmed, “It's Flag Day. Here are some fun facts about the American flag you may not have known”, in CNN:

(US, euphemistic) The place an animal (or by extension, person, concept, etc) notionally goes when they are dead; used as a euphemism for a state of literal or figurative death or oblivion.


swampbilly

From swamp + billy, modeled on hillbilly.

“Some had called them a 'swampbilly' because they lived in shanty houseboats,” he said.

2018, Dr. Daniene Marciano, Pillars of a Legacy: An Italian Experience, Dog Ear Publishing, →ISBN, page 247:

She get mad at Daddy 'cause he a swampbilly!

2013, Ralph Bourne, The Unfortunate Crack in the Universe: A Wheezy Tweet Adventure, Wheatmark, Inc., →ISBN, page 163:

She was relieved he hadn't taken the bridge, which stretched for eons across the swamps of Louisiana, and housed little in the way of civvies save for National Guardsmen in training or the occasional jugswilling hillbilly (aka swampbilly).

2014, Mark Nichols, A Blink Through Time, Lulu Press, Inc, →ISBN:

Yet to some extent the "swampbilly" epithet was correct. Cajuns floated around on basic wooden houseboats, inter-married, subsisted on fishing and trapping, spoke their own provincial form of the French language, ...

2001, Dan Levine, Avant-Guide New Orleans: Insiders' Guide for Urban Adventurers, Empire Press, →ISBN:

He traveled the back hills and swamplands peddling his utterly worthless “Dr . O . L . Weems Marvelous Metamorphic Magical Medicine” to the hillbillies and swampbillies for a dollar per pint bottle or a dollar six-bits for two.

2017, Robert Edmond Alter, Shovel Nose and the Gator Grabbers, Wildside Press LLC, →ISBN, page 65:

(US, informal) a poor, uneducated person from rural swampland areas


DACA

(US, politics) Acronym of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. From the U.S. presidential executive order "Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals".


Black Wall Street

en-proper noun

Black Wall Street or the Black Wall Street

Black Wall Street (canonical)
the Black Wall Street (canonical)

The areas were prominent concentrations of African-American businesses in the United States during the early 20th century, and as such the nickname compares them to Wall Street in Manhattan.

(historical, US) The freedom colony of Greenwood in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

(historical, US) Jackson Ward, a historically African-American district in Richmond, Virginia, with a long tradition of African-American businesses.

(historical, US) The hub of African American businesses and financial services in Durham, North Carolina, during the late 1800s and early 1900s, located on Parrish Street.


freedom colony

en-noun

freedom colony (plural freedom colonies)

(US) An African-American municipality or community built by freedmen, former slaves who were emancipated during and after the American Civil War.


premajor

(Canada, US) An academic course that must be taken as a prerequisite for a major.

(Canada, US) A student taking such a course.


crossover voting

(US, politics) The casting of a crossover vote.


gnat's ass

He is so short he could stand flat-footed and kiss a gnat's ass without bending his knees.

1951, Herbert Halpert, “A Pattern of Proverbial Exaggeration from West Kentucky”, in Midwest Folklore:

(slang, vulgar, Canada, US) Synonym of gnat's (“very tiny thing or distance”)


OMV

Office of Motor Vehicles
w:Department of Motor Vehicles

(US) Initialism of Office of Motor Vehicles., the equivalent to a Department of Motor Vehicles for the states of Arkansas and Louisiana.


Carmageddon

Outreach for Carmageddon earned Metro and Caltrans a Project of the Year award from the California Transportation Foundation, but the key mark of success had always been removing traffic from the Sepulveda Pass that July weekend.

2013, Susan Bregman, Kari Edison Watkins, Best Practices for Transportation Agency Use of Social Media, →ISBN, page 120:

California highway officials are hoping for a repeat performance at the end of April as Carmageddon 2.0 threatens once more to rear its ugly head.

2020, Barnini Chakraborty, “California officials warn of Carmageddon 2.0, tell residents to steer clear of highway”, in Fox News:

(US, California) The anticipated traffic jam resulting from closing a major freeway.


train order

(rail transport, US, Canada) Formerly, a telegraphed or written instruction issued by a dispatcher to train crews and other railroad employees, concerning changes in operation of a particular train.


Mann Act

Named for the law's author, Congressman James Robert Mann.

Enacted during a time of great change and "moral panic," the Mann Act was originally designed to combat forced prostitution.

2008 March 11, Eric Weiner, “The Long, Colorful History of the Mann Act”, in All Things Considered:

(US, law) A federal law passed in 1910 prohibiting transportation of women across state lines for immoral purposes.


SPLC

Although the news media routinely cites SPLC hate group designations as if they were definitive, some categorizations have in fact been controversial.

2016 August 31, Katie Mettler, “Why SPLC says White Lives Matter is a hate group but Black Lives Matter is not”, in Washington Post, →ISSN:

Southern Poverty Law Center
w:Southern Poverty Law Center

(US) Initialism of Southern Poverty Law Center.


all lives matter

Coined in reaction to the slogan black lives matter.

(US, politics, often offensive) A response to "black lives matter" (the phrase, its political and social movement), suggesting that African-American people should not be singled out for special attention.


white lives matter

Coined in analogy to black lives matter.

(US, politics, offensive, white supremacy) A phrase used to protest against "black lives matter" (rally call, political and social movement) mostly by white people, to protect their traditional white prerogatives and privileges.


police lives matter

black lives matter
black lives matter#English

(US, politics, law enforcement) A phrase used to counter "black lives matter", rallying people to defend police officers and their use of lethal force in carrying out their duties.


WLM

white lives matter
white lives matter#English

(US, politics, offensive, white supremacy) Initialism of white lives matter.


black lives matter

Originally used in the form of the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter on social media (2013), protesting against the deaths of African Americans at the hands of the police.

police brutality
police brutality#English

(politics, originally US) A rallying call and statement of protest, concerning police brutality and racially motivated violence against black people.

黒人の命は大切 (こくじんのいのちは大切たいせつ, kokujin no inochi wa taisetsu) (the most common media translation)


GEN

(taxation, US) Initialism of group exemption number.


blue lives matter

Coined in analogy to black lives matter; the color blue is frequently used for police uniforms.

police lives matter
police lives matter#English

(US, law enforcement, politics) Synonym of police lives matter


CFPB

The broad purpose of the CFPB is to protect consumers from financial abuses and to serve as the central agency for consumer financial protection authorities.

2023 March 3, Jeanne Sahadi, “CFPB: What it does and why its future is in question”, in CNN:

DOGE officials have been granted administrative access to CFPB systems, including content management system, back-end systems for the bureau’s website and the active directory of personnel, the source told CNN.

2025 February 9, Matt Egan, “Consumer watchdog ordered to stop fighting financial abuse and to work from home as HQ temporarily shuts down”, in CNN:

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
w:Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

(US) Initialism of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.


eating club

(US) A kind of undergraduate social club, which includes meals, now limited to a few private colleges and universities.


Bush 41

(US) George Herbert Walker Bush, the 41st president of the United States, distinguished from his son the 43rd president.


Bush 43

(US) George Walker Bush, the 43rd president of the United States, distinguished from his father the 41st president.


NCTE

w:National Center for Transgender Equality

(US) Initialism of National Center for Transgender Equality.

w:National Council of Teachers of English

(US) Initialism of National Council of Teachers of English.


pancake turner

Use the pancake turner to flip to the other side, adding more oil if necessary, and continue cooking until set in the center but still slightly juicy within.

2014, Penelope Casas, 1,000 Spanish Recipes, page 125:

(US) A spatula; fish slice; kitchen turner; cooking turner.


Pride Month

(US) The month of June, declared for LGBT pride in commemoration of the Stonewall riots of June 1969.


Pride Day

(US) June 28, declared for LGBT pride, as it is the anniversary of the Stonewall riots of 1969.


Negro History Week

First declared in 1926 by historian Carter G. Woodson and the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History. This week was chosen because it coincided with the birthday of Abraham Lincoln on February 12 and of Frederick Douglass on February 14, both of which dates black communities had celebrated together since the late 19th century.

(obsolete, now historical, US) The second week of February, declared for observance of the history of the African diaspora in the United States. Celebrated until the foundation of Black History Month in the 1970s.

Black History Month#Negro History Week (1926)


NMSQT

w:National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test

(US) Initialism of National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.


NMSC

w:National Merit Scholarship Corporation

(US) Initialism of National Merit Scholarship Corporation.


census area

(US) A subdivision of the Unorganized Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska, used by the United States Census Bureau to facilitate census-taking in the vast unorganized area.


GVR

Normally, this situation would call for a GVR order: The court would send the case back down to the court of appeals, which could decide whether a different result is required in light of Merit Management.

2018 May 7, Dan Epps, “Quorums and conflicts of interest on the Supreme Court”, in SCOTUS blog:

(US, law, informal) An order from the Supreme Court of the United States summarily disposing of a petition for certiorari by granting the petition, vacating the judgment of the lower court, and remanding to the lower court for reconsideration.


GVR

en-verb

GVR (third-person singular simple present GVRs, present participle GVRing, simple past and past participle GRV'd)

GVRs (present singular third-person)
GVRing (participle present)
GRV'd (participle past)
GRV'd (past)

If you blinked, you'd miss the fact that the Court passed on six abortion-related petitions! First, the Court GVR'd Box v. Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky in light of June Medical.

2020 July 3, Josh Blackman, “Overtime July begins with Emanations and Penumbras from the Shadow Docket”, in The Volokh Conspiracy:

(US, law, informal) To issue a GVR order.


didy

(Canada, US, childish) Alternative form of didie (“diaper”)


intellectualoid

Coined by columnist R. Emmett Tyrrell writing in The American Spectator from intellectual + -oid.

In the aftermath of this attack, it was reported that Bedell was a pot-smoking intellectualoid from California who left word on the Internet that according to his findings, a "coup regime" took over Washington at the time of President John F. Kennedy's assassination and has governed the country "up to the present day."

2010 March 12, R. Emmett Tyrrell, “The angry left joins talk radio”, in The Washington Examiner:

Barack Obama owes his position to his membership in a class that is destroying America: the intellectualoids -- shallow people able to fool others into believing they possess superior intellects.

2015 June 17, L. E. Ikenga, “Obama and the Black Intellectualoids”, in American Thinker:

I do not think the press is "an enemy of the people," but, as Dwight Eisenhower said in 1964, its ranks are filled with "sensation-seeking columnists and commentators" whose writings mark them as little more than intellectualoids.

2020 June 23, John Bolton, The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir, New York, N.Y.: Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, page 37:

(US, derogatory) One with intellectual pretensions


tough tushie

I’m climbing stairs! you may say, or “I got to the gym everyday!”^([sic]) Tough tushie. Even if you work out every day, the deterioration begins the second you sit down.

2020, Kelly Turner, Sitting is Killing You So Get Off Your Butt Diets in Review:

(colloquial, slang, chiefly US) get over it; grow up


liberty bond

(US, historical, finance) A war bond sold in the United States to support the Allied cause in World War I.


sponge tax

Following various versions of the Massachusetts estate tax in response to the changes in the Internal Revenue Code, in 2002, the Legislature amended § 2A to use a "sponge tax" calculation based upon the Federal credit for State death taxes that would have been allowable to a decedent's estate in 2000.

2020, Elspeth B. Cypher writing for the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts in Shaffer v. Commissioner of Revenue, case number SJC 12812https://www.mass.gov/files/documents/2020/07/10/q12812.pdf

(US, law, historical) An estate tax imposed by a state that was credited against the federal estate tax, raising revenue for a state without increasing the overall tax burden.


pissah

The cleaning supplies are already unpacked? Pissah!

(US, Southern New England, vulgar, slang) Used to express excitement.


pissah

en-adj

pissah (comparative more pissah, superlative most pissah)

more pissah (comparative)
most pissah (superlative)

Hey, Mike, that tool rack that I made for my workshop is working out pissah...man, you should see it!

(predicative, US, New England, slang) Good, great, excellent; amazing, impressive, remarkable


Bradley effect

Named after Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley, an African-American who lost the 1982 California governor's race despite being ahead in voter polls going into the elections.

(US, politics) A theory concerning observed discrepancies between opinion polls and election outcomes, according to which some white voters who intend to vote for a white candidate may tell pollsters that they are undecided or likely to vote for a non-white candidate, for fear of being accused of racism.


Wilder effect

Named in reference to the 1989 race for Governor of Virginia between Democrat L. Douglas Wilder, an African-American, and Republican Marshall Coleman, who was white.

(US, politics) Synonym of Bradley effect (“theory about white voters and polling”)


mainlane

(US, transport) A lane of a road used by traffic


yassum

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

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

Q. If you would ask him to go to the store, for example, what would he say to that? A. He would say yassum. ¶ Q. Yes, ma'am? A. No, he wouldn't say that; he would say, yassum; and then I would think he is crazy.

1922, New York Court of Appeals, People of the State of New York against Henry Brown, volume II, page 379:

(US, dialectal, dated) Alternative form of yessum


pretextual stop

en-noun

pretextual stop (plural pretextual stops)

(US) The stopping by police of a motor vehicle in the case of a minor infringement of the law, in order to investigate other suspected criminal activity.


Tax Day

(US, colloquial) The day on which individual income tax returns are due to be submitted to the federal government, or within an individual state.

(US, colloquial) Ellipsis of Tax Freedom Day.


anex

A comprehensive range of China's products, from machine tools and computers to jade ornaments and fireworks, is displayed in the gray, 10-story block building in Central Canton and in two nearby anexes.

1971 May 5, “Chinese Lead Deals At Own Trade Fair”, in The Baltimore Sun, via Newspapers.com, page A2:

Social Serv. Ofcs., Court House Anex, Scranton

1975 May 18, Lackawana County Commissioners, “You've Got Our New Number (advertisement)”, in The Scranton Times-Tribune, Scranton, Pennsylvania, via Newspapers.com, page A-8:


glizzy

From Glock + -izzy (suffix forming hip-hop-sounding words). The "hot dog" sense comes from comparison to the extended magazine of a pistol. Both of these senses were ascribed to the Washington metropolitan area until piquing the curiosity of the world in June–July 2020 when internet users endeavoured to upload pictures containing sausage buns just to say the term.

suf

A Glizzy is also sometimes used to reference a Hot Dog in DC.

2020 June 29, “What does “Glizzy” mean?”, in DailyRapFacts, archived from the original on 2020-07-17:

[Joey] Chestnut, who ate a record 75 hot dogs in 10 minutes to win his 13th Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest in 14 years on July 4, analyzed the president’s way with a wiener, along with a few other politicians, on “Desus & Mero” Thursday. The “Glizzy Gladiator” said former presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg looked like he wasn’t “quite enjoying the food as much as he should” and praised former President Barack Obama for “takin’ it” in a photo of him chomping into a chili dog.

2020 July 10, Ron Dicker, “Nathan's Champ Joey Chestnut Rips Donald Trump's Hot Dog Eating Style”, in HuffPost, archived from the original on 2020-07-10:

POLISH KIELBASA MAC / We’re switching countries now, but we still got some recipes with the glizzy.

2021, Malachi Jenkins, Roberto Smith, Trap Kitchen: Bangin’ Mac n’ Cheese Recipes from Around the World, Kingston Imperial, →ISBN:

“I had to cop the glizzy,” he [Kessler Petrarca] said, using internet slang for a hot dog.

2022 April 4, Kimberly Cataudella, Mary Helen Moore, “Nerves give way to jubilation as Tar Heels beat Duke, fans rush onto Franklin Street”, in The Herald-Sun, volume 134, number 38, page 6A:

In the daytime, [Tameka] Thomas said, she serves a full menu that includes honey-glazed salmon, salmon bites, chicken quesadillas, chopped cheese glizzy bun, vegetables, wings and other food.

2022 April 22, Ardie Arvidson, “Vibez843 holds ribbon cutting”, in Morning News, volume 99, number 100, page B8:

The overlapping section of the Venn diagram of Phillies fans and mystery meat aficionados probably already knows this, but the Phils’ beloved Dollar Dog Nights appeared to be over for the season (for the uninitiated, that’s when glizzies go on sale for a buck).

2022 May 23, Nick Vadala, “’Dogs back again”, in The Philadelphia Inquirer, 193rd year, number 357, page B3:

There will be a hot dog eating contest to match the theme of ”Denim and Dogs” along with other “glizzy games.”

2022 September 29, Shavonne Pucula, “Folkfaces Fest is four days of music, dance, workshops”, in The Buffalo News, page 16:

There’s really not much more to say about Carhartt’s incredible glizzy-inspired door mat, aside from pass the Heinz, please.

2022 October 22, Becca Blasdel, “The Best Streetwear Furniture and Designer Decor (Yeah, Some is Supreme)”, in Vice, archived from the original on 2022-10-22:

I let this chopper eat like Joey Chestnut 'cause it's a glizzy
That's my woadie, that's my dreidel, that's my motherfuckin' twizzy

2023 August 4, “Cheese Touch” (track 5), in BLP Kosher (lyrics), Bars Mitzva, 1:16:


half joe

[M]y father's draft […] was paid in the Portuguese coin of half-Joes, or six-and-thirty shilling pieces, at that time made current in Great Britain.

1808–10, William Hickey, Memoirs of a Georgian Rake, Folio Society 1995, p. 59

(chiefly Canada, US, now historical) A Portuguese gold coin, worth 3,200 reis, formerly current in North America.


Sixties

The 1960s and the first half of the 1970s—an era known as "the sixties" to most observers—has perhaps generated more mythology than any other period in American history.

1999, Andrew E. Hunt, “Introduction”, in The Turning: A History of Vietnam Veterans Against the War, →ISBN, page 1:

But the sixties no more ended in 1969 than they began in 1960.

2011, Rob Kirkpatrick, 1969: The Year Everything Changed, page xvii:

It is relatively easy to choose some event (Kent State, Altamont, Watergate, and the fall of Saigon are favorites) as the end of the Sixties[…]

2013, James J. Farrell, The Spirit of the Sixties, page 17:

(US) A period in American history centered around the counterculture movement of the late 1960s.


executive privilege

(US) The right of the president of the United States and other members of the executive branch to maintain confidential communications and to resist certain subpoenas and other oversight.


outpad

[T]he construction of additional buildings in the parking area site and/or the development of 'outpads' constitutes […]

“The toughest thing to find in Europe is locations—they don't have strip centers with outpads at any price. So, you look for companies who are already in control of real estate or who have the capability to gain access to it,” says Frank Steed, ...

... was to place a few entertainment components — usually cinemas and restaurants — on outpads, either on separate […]

2001, Michael D. Beyard, Developing Retail Entertainment Destinations, Urban Land Inst:

(US) A part of a shopping center located outside the main building, nearer to the street, amid the parking lot.


mud slogger

(US, military, slang) An infantry soldier.


angry as a wet hen

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-angry as a wet hen.wav

mad as a wet hen
mad as a wet hen#English

(US, colloquial, simile) Synonym of mad as a wet hen (“very angry”)


wild as a wet hen

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-wild as a wet hen.wav


miserable as a wet hen

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-miserable as a wet hen.wav

(US, colloquial, simile) Thoroughly miserable or dejected.


crudball

(slang, Canada, US) Synonym of scumball (“sleazy or despicable person”)


spackling paste

en-noun

spackling paste (countable and uncountable, plural spackling pastes)

(US) A type of putty used to fill small holes in surfaces.


UFTA

Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act
w:Fraudulent conveyance

(US, law) Initialism of Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act.


you shouldn't talk

look who's talking
look who's talking#English


texturizing scissors

texturizing shears
texturizing shears#English


Siberian Express

(US, meteorology) The arrival of an extremely cold air mass of Siberian origin.


mommy-and-me

Ashalay did not have many friends, but Lauren's mother joined a mommy-and-me group so that Ashalay would have someone her size to interact with, so they would invite some of the toddlers from the playgroup.

2013, Raisa Brown, Murder or Marriage, page 125:

How would it be if we sisters offered a Mommy and Me Bible study? Knowing how much Jeremiah loved to read his little children's bible, I decided to bring the suggestion to Father Jason and to Jeremiah's entire family at their weekly meeting.

2014, Linda Porras, Jeremiah, Great but Small, page 107:

I quickly scanned through the list: cleaning and maintaining the studio, rehearsals and recital, and the fundraising options — parents' night out, dance-a-thon, and a mommy-and-me spa day.

(Canada, US) Of an activity or event: to be attended by a mother with her young child.


eye booger

Goop, eye boogers, eye gunk—whatever you call it, eye mucus is a concern for many people.

2022 March 1, Troy Bedinghaus, “Identifying Types of Eye Mucus”, in Verywell Health:

(US, slang) A mass of gound produced by the eye.


downcode

en-verb

downcode (third-person singular simple present downcodes, present participle downcoding, simple past and past participle downcoded)

downcodes (present singular third-person)
downcoding (participle present)
downcoded (participle past)
downcoded (past)

(medicine, chiefly US) To change the diagnostic code of a patient's condition to a code for which a smaller amount will be billed.


goldback

(countable, US, slang, historical) A kind of gold certificate with an orange back.


New Look

(US, historical) The new national security policy of the United States during the administration of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, which aimed to balance Cold War military commitments with the nation's financial resources.


dinner theater

en-noun

dinner theater (countable and uncountable, plural dinner theaters)

dinner theaters (plural)
dinner theatre (alternative)

(uncountable, chiefly US) A form of entertainment in the United States that combines a restaurant meal with a staged play or musical.

(countable, chiefly US) An establishment that features dinner theater, and contains a live theater, a restaurant, and, usually, a bar.


wolf worm

No matter what the inconvenience, you must be concerned with such things as screw worms, wolf worms, scabies, ticks, lumpy jaw, teat fever.

1965, Oren Arnold, Irons in the Fire: Cattle Brand Lore, Abelard-Schuman, page 57:

Even the pretty fawn is full of wolf worms in the summer

2003, Vic Chesnutt (lyrics and music), “Wren's Nest”, in Silver Lake:


SLED

(US, law enforcement) Abbreviation of South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.


bibidees

“I like buy bibidees,” he asked his mother one day.

2010, Jack Matsuda, Beep, Beep, Akule!, page 76:

(US, slang, Hawaii) Men's or boys' briefs.


staycay

Clipping of staycation, modeled after vacay (< vacation).


Antwan

Anglicization of French Antoine. Compare Antoine, Antwon.

(US) A male given name from French, equivalent to English Anthony.


Antjuan

Anglicization of French Antoine, influenced by Spanish Juan. Compare Antoine, Antwon.


slow study

I used to write as slow as judgment; now I write rather fast; but I am still 'a slow study,' and sit along while silent on my eggs. Unconscious thought, there is the only method: macerate your subject, let it boil slow, then take the lid off and look in —and there your stuff is, good or bad.

1891 November, Robert Louis Stevenson, Letter to W. Craibe Angus:

He does it so badly, and he is such a slow study, that I'm afraid the first act will break down if I don't give it some vim; after you are once on, the thing will go and I shan't care a red.

1897 August, Charles Egbert Craddock, “The Juggler”, in The Atlantic Monthly, volume 80, number 478, page 254:

I was always a slow study, imp, but I made my own decisions.

1982, Kasey Michaels, The Belligerent Miss Boynton:

Although I'm a very slow study, Annie Dillard's simple observation is beginning to seep in.

2017, Vance G. Morgan, Freelance Christianity: Philosophy, Faith, and the Real World, page 68:

(US, idiomatic) One who takes a long time to learn or understand things; a slow learner.


USFK

United States Forces Korea
w:United States Forces Korea

(US, military) Initialism of United States Forces Korea.


USINDOPACOM

United States Indo-Pacific Command
w:United States Indo-Pacific Command

(US, military) Abbreviation of United States Indo-Pacific Command.


USFJ

(US, military) Initialism of United States Forces, Japan.


USFI

(US, military) Initialism of United States Forces - Iraq.


down cold

they've got it down cold

(US, informal) Mastered perfectly; especially, mastered perfectly through memorization.


in bad

to be in bad with someone

to get in bad with someone

to put someone in bad with someone

(Canada, US, informal) out of favour, in (someone's) bad books [with with ‘someone’]


interstater

The local operators and VicRail are not obtaining the business anyway; the interstaters are getting it and they are not putting 1 cent back into the coffers of Victoria.

1978, Victoria. Parliament, Parliamentary Debates (Hansard).:

It is alleged that a male child care worker from Canberra was targeted for arrest after refusing police entrance to an area of parkland where hundreds of interstaters were camped.

But the only ships that came to salute the rusty hulks of a couple of old trawlers pensioned off against the jetty were an interstater once a fortnight, smartly painted Norwegian freighters in the apple season, and drab, dusty wheat ships…

1996, Jennifer Anne Gregory, On the Homefront: Western Australia and World War II:

I had to remind myself every time I entered a highway; 'you are a local driver, not an interstater — take the next exit!'

2010, Kellie Andersen, Truck Gal, →ISBN, page 91:

(chiefly Australia and US) One who, or that which, is from another state.


freedom units

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

(humorous, US) The customary units of measurement used in the United States.


sixty-four dollar question

sixty-four dollar question (plural sixty-four dollar questions)

From the American radio quiz show The $64 Question (1950-52).

million-dollar question
million-dollar question#English

(dated, US) Synonym of million-dollar question


take the red eye

en-verb

take the red eye (third-person singular simple present takes the red eye, present participle taking the red eye, simple past took the red eye, past participle taken the red eye)

takes the red eye (present singular third-person)
taking the red eye (participle present)
took the red eye (past)
taken the red eye (participle past)

From red-eye (“overnight airplane flight”).

(US, informal) To travel on an airplane all night.


take it on the lam

take it on the lam (third-person singular simple present takes it on the lam, present participle taking it on the lam, simple past took it on the lam, past participle taken it on the lam)

takes it on the lam (present singular third-person)
taking it on the lam (participle present)
took it on the lam (past)
taken it on the lam (participle past)

They didn't take it on the lam weirdly inside a cloud the way Clevinger had done.

1961 November 10, Joseph Heller, “The Soldier in White”, in Catch-22 […], New York, N.Y.: Simon and Schuster, →OCLC, page 168: