chubes

He had his back to me, and was coughing, and I saw that he held a peculiar cigarette with a long cork-tip in his right hand. "It's me chubes," he gasped, "It's me chubes" and I knew that all was not well.

1962, Michael Campbell, Oh, Mary, this London:


stovies

From a blend of stoved (“stewed”) + tatties (“potatoes”).

At home, after the fun of Dookin′ for Apples was over we sat round a huge dish of delicious stovies, which had cooked very slowly on the top of the stove in a covered pan, with salt and pepper and knobs of butter. Threepenny bits and charms were hidden in the stovies.

1975, Amy Stewart Fraser, Dae Ye Min′ Langsyne?: A Pot-Pourri of Games, Rhymes, and Ploys of Scottish Childhood, page 203:

During the winter months my granny always made me stovies on a Saturday and she would spoon them on top of the hot pie and I would sit at a table in front of the fire eating contentedly and thinking about the films I had seen that morning. Stovies, as my grandmother made them, were potatoes and onions cut into pieces and cooked slowly in a pan with only a covering of water at the bottom of the pan, a tablespoonful of roast beef dripping and some salt and pepper. They were delicious.

2008, Alan Bews, One Boy′s Dinner Please, page 44:

They accepted her offer graciously, not having a clue what ‘stovies’ might be. Meg soon explained that stovies was a traditional hearty scots meal made from potatoes, onions and left over meat served as a stew.

2012, Jessie Macquarrie, Camus Calling, UK: AuthorHouse, page 8:

A traditional Scottish dish of stewed potatoes and onions with cold meat.


finings

Substances added to wine, beer and certain other beverages to remove organic compounds in order to improve clarity or to adjust the flavour or aroma.


plyers

Archaic form of pliers (“gripping tool”).


pegged pants

Trousers that are cut full in the waist and thigh area, and tapering to a cuff or gather at the ankle.


fruitloops

Dr. Ulrich: “You mean like some people we both know who expect their checks at the end of every month?” / Teacher: “Dr. Ulrich, you’re impossible! We could still give him reinforcement after he does what we want without using things. Why does it have to be money, tokens, fruitloops, and things like that? Why can’t we just use a smile or something like that? Why can’t that work?”

1970, Roger Ulrich, Thomas Stachnik, John Mabry, Control of Human Behavior, volume 2 (From Cure to Prevention), Glenview, Ill.: Scott, Foresman and Company, →LCCN, pages 338–339:

[image depicting Kermit the Frog vomiting] I should never have had fruitloops for breakfast.

1980 April 14, “Spermit the Frog Gets Laid Drunk”, in Toike Oike, volume [73], Toronto, Ont.: University of Toronto Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering, →ISSN, page 4:

Matt, don’t forget your fruitloops and B.K.’s soggy cookies.

1981, Elizabeth Goldrick, “Seniors”, in Goldenrod, Quincy, Mass.: Quincy High School, →OCLC, page 96:

At home, I changed my clothes, set out my fresh ones for the next day, and fixed myself a bowl of fruitloops.

1984, Gyanne Thomas, “A Day in the Life of Our Head Girl”, in Warwick Academy Yearbook, Bermuda, page 43, column 2:

bashes, I eat fruitloops for brek, It’s that big chunk of fudge!

1986, Samantha Mason, “Samantha Mason ’80-’86”, in The Study Trillium Yearbook, Westmount, Que., page 9:

Finally to all the people who think I’m crazy, you wouldn’t know what crazy was if Charles Manson was eating fruitloops on your front porch.

1997, Robert J. Sarro, “Robert J. Sarro ‘Rob Chavez’ 297 River Road”, in The Echo, Winthrop, Mass.: Winthrop High School, →OCLC, page 15:

Women are challenged to create and wear innovative bra designs; one made of fruitloops and licorice whips was photographed for the National Post in October.

2000 May, Kristy Harcourt, “Politicize This!”, in womonspace, Edmonton, Alta.: Womonspace Social and Recreational Society of Edmonton, →OCLC, page 6, column 2:

Dietary Preferences: if they eat like they dress then cheezwhiz, fruitloops and deep fried twinkies.

2009 September, The Jaded Reviews Guide to Hippie Watching in North America (The Jaded Review; 2), page 16:


rarissima

/ɹɛːˈɹɪ.sɪ.mə/

/ɹæˈɹɪ.sɪ.mə/

Probably many of these incognita and rarissima perished in the great fire of London; others again met their fate solely through their own popularity, being ‘thumbed’ to pieces.

1922, P. B. M. Allan, chapter I, in The Book-Hunter at Home, 2nd edition, London: Philip Allan & Co., page 14:

Extremely rare books, manuscripts, or prints.


Two other major coal-mining centers, each producing coking-grade bituminous coal, have been developed in Honan since the late 1950's. Hopi, in northernmost Honan, arose in 1957 on the site of a small, primitive operation in a deposit of lean coal, low in volatile content. A city was established in that year, and the mining complex was linked by a 12-mile rail spur with Tangyin, on the main Peking-Hankow line.

1972, Theodore Shabad, “The North China Plain”, in China's Changing Map, New York: Frederick A. Praeger, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 119:


toxics

The solids would then be dumped at a federally approved toxics landfill.

1988 January 15, Paul Botts, “Environment: Waukegan's Toxic Waits”, in Chicago Reader:


hijinx

But given the funny hats and juvenile hijinx, it's hard to buy the play's more serious intentions.

1988 January 15, Tom Boeker, “A Night at Dykes Who Date/Crusaders [theatre review]”, in Chicago Reader, Chicago, Ill.: Chicago Reader, Inc., →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2022-10-26:

(chiefly humorous) Alternative spelling of high jinks


Macgillicuddy's Reeks

Macgillycuddy's Reeks
Macgillycuddy's Reeks#English

Alternative form of Macgillycuddy's Reeks


buraku

How far have they come since Japan began carrying out affirmative action policies for the buraku four decades ago, mirroring the American civil rights movement?

2009 January 16, Norimitsu Onishi, “Japan’s Outcasts Still Wait for Society’s Embrace”, in New York Times:

(often italicized) The burakumin, a Japanese minority group descended from feudal outcast communities


Macgillycuddy's Reeks

A mountain range in County Kerry, Ireland, home to Carrauntoohil.


circumambages

Instances of indirectness or deviousness in speaking or writing: circumlocutions.


croplands

Today, the vacant lands and the croplands are almost gone and the count results reflect the change.

1988 January 8, Jerry Sullivan, “Field & Street”, in Chicago Reader:


banditti

en-noun

banditti pl (normally plural, singular bandit or banditto)

banditti (canonical plural)
banditti (canonical)
bandit (singular)
banditto (singular)
bandittis (plural)

Borrowed from Italian banditi, plural of bandito.

[T]his was the very Time when the late Rebellion was at the higheſt; and indeed the Banditti were now marched into England, […]

1749, Henry Fielding, “The Adventure of a Company of Soldiers”, in The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume III, London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC, book VII, page 85:

Carlstadt silently trod the strange steps of the wandering Holstein; […] he felt a repugnance at passing through a place most suitably fitted to the depredations of an hardened banditti, and calculated to inspire thought of the most terrific formation.

1807, [Miss Guion], chapter I, in The Three Germans. Mysteries Exemplified in the Life of Holstein of Lutztein. A German Romance. […], volume I, London: […] J[ames] F[letcher] Hughes, […], →OCLC, page 13:

I have more pleasure in a snug farm-house than a watch-tower—and a troop of tidy, happy villagers please me better than the finest banditti in the world.

1811, [Jane Austen], chapter XVIII, in Sense and Sensibility […], volume I, London: […] C[harles] Roworth, […], and published by T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC, page 228:

The history of the Corsican banditti is rich in heroic, demon-like, and chivalrous traits of character. The people sing bandit dirges throughout the whole country; […] There was with him also a bandit, Brusco, to whom he had sworn eternal friendship, and his uncle Augellone. The latter name signifies Evil Bird, for it is the custom for banditti to give themselves nicknames when they begin to play their part in the Macchia.

1855, Ferdinand Gregorovius, translated by Russell Martineau, “Bandit Life”, in Corsica in Its Picturesque, Social, and Historical Aspects: The Record of a Tour in the Summer of 1852, London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, page 144:


Rejang

The Malayo-Polynesian language spoken by this group.


mujahedeen

The teenager then fled to the mountains to join the mujahedeen.

2009 February 1, Carlotta Gall, “An Afghan Secret Revealed Brings End of an Era”, in New York Times:


crossbenches

The seats in either house of the British parliament, or a similar assembly, used by members who do not vote regularly with either the government or the main opposition party.


granny panties

I didn't even remember that I was wearing my spinster lingerie until the underwire bra and granny panties were off my body and lying at the foot of the bed.

2004, Eric Garcia, Cassandra French's Finishing School for Boys:

Much like a bib for children, granny panties are worn as a preventive measure...

2006, Giuliana DePandi, Think Like a Guy:

I held up what had to be the most wholesome pair of granny panties I'd ever seen. They were like great-granny panties. They were even white.

(plural only, US, Canada, slang, derogatory) Women's and girls’ underpants considered of a traditional, old-fashioned, or staid kind (e.g. control briefs or bloomers), as opposed to bikini-cut briefs or thongs.


extratropics

The middle latitudes beyond the tropics.


groundfish

Boats catching groundfish — fish near the ocean bottom including cod, haddock and halibut — catch thousands of pounds of fish at a time.

2007 February 14, “Correction: Sea Sends Distress Call in One-Note Chowders”, in New York Times:

(fishing) Fish that swim near the seafloor


carnitas

From Spanish carnitas, diminutive of carne (“meat”).

I was trying to bring supplies across the border to cook a trio of ceviche — marinated raw fish in lime — and duck carnitas with mole coloradito, for the festival’s gala dinner.

2007 January 23, Scott Lindquist, As Told To Christopher Elliott, “A Yankee Chef With a Mexican Flavor”, in New York Times:

A Mexican dish involving strips of braised or roasted pork.


creamcups

From cream + cups, from its white and yellow flowers.

Platystemon californicus, an ornamental flowering plant in the Papaveraceae family, found growing wild throughout the American southwest and especially on the Pacific Coast.


cryptomaria

(geology) mare basalt deposits, buried under the regolith of the moon


sensibilia

For in the past I have been aware of sensibilia; and I have sensed instances of sensibilia temporally related to one another.

1950, Winston H F Barnes, The Philosophical Predicament:

Russell also brought in the sense-data sensed by other persons and even unsensed sense-data, to which he gave the name of sensibilia.

1969, Alfred Jules Ayer, Metaphysics and Common Sense:

It is because their being as sensibilia does not depend upon their being intentional objects for anyone […]

1988, Ramon M Lemos, Metaphysical Investigations:

Among the things which human beings do are (a) think of sensibilia in their absence, (b) make mental or verbal pictures of sensibilia, […]

1989, Anthony John Patrick Kenny, The Metaphysics of Mind:

(philosophy) Things that can be sensed; stimuli.


mesopodialia

(anatomy) The bones of the carpus and tarsus.


twisties

(gymnastics, slang) The loss of perceptual awareness of body positioning during a spin, twist, turn, flip, etc. maneuver. The loss of air sense.


whitegoods

THIS has big savings on top brands of whitegoods, televisions, vacuum cleaners and most major appliances.

2009 February 15, Liz Ackroyd, “Bargains at the click of a button”, in Herald Sun, archived from the original on 2009-02-17:


mechanicals

The mechanicals — mirror cell, focuser, and so on — were much better than what Robert had made himself in the 60s, and the optics were, if not quite up to the best premium custom optics, probably better than Robert could have produced himself.

2005, Robert Bruce Thompson, Barbara Fritchman Thompson, Astronomy Hacks: Tips and Tools for Observing the Night Sky, →ISBN, page 203:

You only want to make sure the mechanicals are all sound and you will do this though having a Home Inspection and the realtor can write a clause on the offer - that the Seller pay for the repairs of anything wrong or you can negotiate that on your offer.

2006, John Mahaney, Secure Your Retirement, →ISBN, page 20:

Remodeling basements is all about problem-solving, because no other space has the same constraints on floor space, headroom, access, and mechanicals.

2007, Philip Schmidt, Don't Sweat It, Hire it, →ISBN, page 50:

There was nothing the matter with the mechanicals of Dan's car even now, after a two hundred foot plunge into a canyon.

2014, Roderick Thorp, Rainbow Drive, →ISBN:

Know that your publisher understands and loves them and that your publisher wants you to get a record deal so that they can start making money off you via the mechanicals.

2004, George Howard, Jonathan Feist, Getting Signed!: An Insider's Guide to the Record Industry, →ISBN, page 130:

Composers and songwriters can earn royalties from many sources including record, CD, and tape sales (mechanicals), U.S. and foreign television, cable and radio performances, theater performances, downloads, streaming, and artist and record producer royalties, among others.

2008, Ron Sobel, Dick Weissman, Music Publishing: The Roadmap to Royalties, →ISBN, page 25:

Through the thirties, there was just a trickle of income from record sales, or “mechanicals.”

Music publishers make money by having their songs performed on records and then collecting the royalties, known as “mechanicals,” from record companies who release them, and “performance” royalties from the radio plays.

2015, Carl Dixon, Strange Way to Live: A Story of Rock 'n' Roll Resurrection, →ISBN, page 154:

(recording) Royalties on the sale of recordings in the form of records, CDs, tapes, or similar objects.


Lani

An indigenous people of Puncak, Central Papua and Lanny Jaya, Highland Papua.


Lauje

The Malayo-Polynesian language spoken by this tribe.


outlands

It is one of three whelping houses at the Puppy Haven Kennel, the 1,600-dog compound that Havens has built up over the last 30 years in the outlands north of Madison, Wis.

2007 February 4, Jon Mooallem, “The Modern Kennel Conundrum”, in New York Times:


five Ks

The five items of faith worn by Khalsa Sikhs: kaccha, kara, kirpan, kanga and kesh.


Gondi

The Dravidian language spoken by the people in Gondwana, central India.


battle fatigues

(military) military fatigues worn in battle, a form of battle dress


combat fatigues

(military) military fatigues worn in combat, a form of battle dress


ovipara

From New Latin, neuter plural of oviparus (“oviparous”).


plus fours

And he looked quite smart in his brown plus fours. A few years ago he would not have dared to wear plus fours. They had belonged exclusively to the wealthier folk. Now everybody wore them. He was pleased with his pair. Quite cheap they had been too.

2009, Alan Gould, Every Creature of God Is Good, Lulu.com:

Other Americans went to the opposite extreme. They donned plus-fours, carried canes, and affected British accents. What were natural habits for the British became artificial mannerisms for their American emulators.

2010, Thomas J. Schaeper, Kathleen Schaeper, “Yanks and Brits”, in Rhodes Scholars, Oxford, and the Creation of an American Elite, New York, NY: Berghahn Books, →ISBN, page 50:

Wide knickerbocker breeches, so called because originally they were designed with four inches of excess material so as to hang in a fold below the fastening beneath the knee; traditionally associated with sports, especially golf.


lowriders

lowriders pl (plural only, attributive lowrider)

In the foyer, a game of Twister has started. It's appealing because all of the women are wearing lowriders. I carefully step over somebody's ass crack and start to look for Lamb.

No sense even trying to resist the pull of that voice, not when he was talking about secrets and sitting so close and wearing lowriders she wanted to ease off with her teeth.

Trousers or shorts worn with the top sagging down below the wearer's waist.


mujahadeen

The informant was so trusted by the mujahadeen, the F.B.I. said, that they had asked him to return to the United States to recruit English-speaking women for terrorist missions.

2007 February 22, Ralph Blumenthal, “American Said to Have Ties to Al Qaeda Is Denied Bail”, in New York Times:


powers-that-be

On the surface, the film is a globe-trotting gross-out caper in which Nobby, who's from a hellish version of the titular Lincolnshire town ("twinned with Chernobyl"), is reunited with his long-lost brother Sebastian (Mark Strong), who has become a spy for the British secret services. That makes him a servant of the powers-that-be that have no time for Nobby and his scrounging ilk.

2016 February 23, Robbie Collin, “Grimsby review: ' Sacha Baron Cohen's vital, venomous action movie'”, in The Daily Telegraph (London):

(plural only) Alternative spelling of powers that be


beaker people

(archaeology) People of a late Neolithic and early Bronze Age culture of northern and western Europe who made distinctive earthenware vessels.


gym shorts

A type of relatively lightweight shorts with elastic waistbands designed for use in sports and physical activity, especially gym class. The terms basketball shorts and mesh shorts are used nearly synonymously with gym shorts in the United States, despite their different initial usage.

Herndon Monument#Herndon Monument Climb
United States Naval Academy


troosers

Just got in from the Isle of Skye / I'm not very big and I'm awfully shy / The ladies shout as I go by / Donald where's your troosers?


understaff

Staff (employees) who are subordinate to other staff.


animal spirits

From Middle English spirite animal; equivalent to animal (adjective) + spirits.

This is likewiſe evident in ſuch as walke in the night in their ſleep, and doe ſtrange feats: theſe vapours moue the Phantaſie, the Phantaſie the Appetite, which mouing the animall''' ſpirits, cauſeth the body to walke vp and downe, as if they were awake.

1621, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], “Of the force of Imagination”, in The Anatomy of Melancholy, […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Lichfield and Iames Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC, partition 1, section 2, member 3, subsection 2, page 123:

His Brains will be found situated at the Head of the Os Pubis: His Animal Spirits acting more vigorously in that Part, than in the Upper Region.

1723, Charles Walker, Memoirs of Sally Salisbury, section VI:

you have all, I dare say, heard of the animal spirits, as how they are transfused from father to son &c. &c.—and a great deal to that purpose:– Well, you may take my word, that nine parts in ten of a man's sense of his nonsense, his successes and miscarriages in this world depend upon their motions and activity [...].

1759, Lawrence Sterne, The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, Folio Society, published 2005, page 19:

(medicine, now historical) The theorized ‘spirits’ or physiological principles which allowed for sensation and voluntary movement.


Seven Wonders of the Ancient World

en-proper noun

the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World pl (plural only)

the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World (canonical plural)

Seven man-made structures that were listed and accepted as the greatest such in the vicinity of the Eastern Mediterranean and Near East. (The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Pyramids of Giza, the Statue of Zeus, the Temple of Artemis, the Colossus of Rhodes, the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, and the Lighthouse of Alexandria.)


jeunesse dorée

Borrowed from French jeunesse dorée (“gilded youth”).

Young people who are dazzlingly rich, elegant, etc.; the youthful part of fashionable society.

Glossary of French expressions in English#Jeunesse doree


three true outcomes

Me three. I never have quite understood all the "three true outcomes" fetish around here. I mean, I know that building an offense around walks and 3-run jacks embodies the Sabermetric Virtues, and especially in today's conditions that's the way to win, but man, it sure leads to some slow, boring games.

2002 April 18, Perry, “Re: To all you Oakland A's fans...”, in rec.sport.baseball (Usenet):

(baseball) The three results of a plate appearance that do not involve the fielders: home runs, walks, and strikeouts.


DIPS

(baseball) Initialism of defense-independent pitching statistics.


defense-independent pitching statistics

en-noun

defense-independent pitching statistics pl (plural only)

(baseball) A measure of a pitcher's effectiveness based only on plays that do not involve fielders. Originally included only hit-by-pitch, walks, strikeouts, and home runs allowed, but more recently incorporates fly ball percentage, ground ball percentage, and line drive percentage.


solubles

Liquid, containing dissolved and dispersed solids, that is a byproduct of alcoholic fermentation, and is used as a source of dietary protein.


mandlen

Small crunchy balls often used as an accompaniment to soup in Jewish cuisine.


Huave

Their language, which is a language isolate with several dialects.


banjo eyes

(Canada, US, slang) Wide-open eyes, as from being surprised or startled.


Qliphoth

Evil forces in the mystical teachings of Judaism (such as in the Kabballah).


optical media

Optical discs used to store data, including such formats as Laserdisc, compact disc, DVD, and Blu-ray.


Job's tears

Coix lacryma-jobi
Coix lacryma-jobi#Translingual

Coix lacryma-jobi, a tall grain-bearing perennial tropical plant of the family Poaceae, native to southeast Asia.


cyberissues

Issues pertaining to cyberspace or the Internet.


gross sales

NetSales=GrossSales-(CustomerDiscounts,Returns,Allowances)

(plural only, business, accounting) The total invoice value of sales, before deducting customers' discounts, returns, or allowances.

銷貨總額

total sales before deducting discounts etc.


telepersonals

From tele- + personals, probably from a 1990s trademark.

Because I spent a lot of time alone back in LA, calling the Telepersonals had turned into a habit.

Mona, whom Marty had met through the telepersonals before rejecting her as a sex mate, told him that she'd get right on it. In fact, she ignored him.

You've probably heard of or seen personal ads in the newspaper, advertisements for telepersonals on the telephone, video dating services...

2005, Erika Bukkfalvi Hilliard, Paul Foxman, Living Fully with Shyness and Social Anxiety:

She wasn't romantically interested in me, so a few weeks later at the suggestion of a friend, I picked up the phone and tried the telepersonals.

2005, Mark Linden O'Meara, The Feeling Soul: A Roadmap to Healing and Living:

Personals (advertisements by which individuals attempt to meet) placed over a distance, as by telephone or Internet.


Hui

In Hui restaurants in towns such as Wuchung and Chungning, restaurant workers wearing the white caps of the Hui nationality serve customers. Most government institutions, factories and schools in different parts of the autonomous region have set up dining rooms for the Huis, where their special foods are served.

1978 November [1978 October 16], “Religious Life Never Interfered With”, in Eastern Horizon, volume XVII, number 11, Hong Kong: Eastern Horizon Press, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 16:

This compact collection of households comprises nine teams that are almost 100 percent Hui, a rarity in central and northern Ningxia, where Hui are thinly distributed among the majority Han population. Yongning county is only 12.9 percent Hui, a relatively small minority in contrast to neighboring Lingwu county in the southeast, which is 47 percent Hui, and southern Jingyuan county, which is 97 percent Hui (the highest concentration of Hui in one county in China).

2002, Dru C. Gladney, “Ethnoreligious Resurgence in a Northwestern Sufi Community”, in Susan D. Blum, Lionel M. Jensen, editors, China Off Center: Mapping the Margins of the Middle Kingdom, Honolulu: University of Hawaiʻi Press, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 109:

Within Xi’an, Hui and Han alike eat roujiamo, the Chinese hamburger: meat tucked into flatbread that’s been crisped on the grill until it shows tiger skin on one side — shades of orange and black — and a chrysanthemum whorl on the other. The Han make it with long-braised pork, doused with a spoonful of its own broth, and the Hui with beef or lamb, stewed, then salted and dried.

2020 May 11, Ligaya Mishan, “Eating in Xi’an, Where Wheat and Lamb Speak to China’s Varied Palette”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 2020-05-11:

An ethnic group of China, distinguished by their practice of Islam, who speak Mandarin (or Dungan in Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Russia).


smackeroonies

smackeroonies pl (normally plural, singular smackeroony or smackeroonie)

smackeroony (singular)
smackeroonie (singular)

From smackers (“money”) + -oon (“coin, amount”) + -y (“forming diminutives”) but typically only used in the plural. See also smackeroo & ackers.

af

...the kind of man who certainly couldn't think much of you if, my goodness, you wouldn't spring ten thousand smackeroonies for a casket.

1968, Norman Mailer, Miami and the siege of Chicago:

It's a comforting fallacy, especially when, as in the case of Iceman, you're about to reach deep into your pocket for a hundred smackeroonies.

2000, Gordon Rogoff, Vanishing acts: theater since the sixties:

...smackeroonies will just keep rolling in for him. This is a man who will make more in a night than Michael Jordan gets paid in a year.

2002, Daniel O'Connor, George Plimpton, Iron Mike: A Mike Tyson Reader:

"Fifty thousand smackeroonies! I could be out of debt!" She jumped out of bed and did a little jig.

5FU is cheap, it's abundant, it comes out of the lab quicker than a jackrabbit and it has just earned you 120 smackeroonies at 6-1.

2007, Lucinda Jarrett, Creative Engagement in Palliative Care:

(humorous slang) Synonym of smackers: Money or kisses.


teens · twenties · thirties · forties · fifties · sixties · seventies · eighties · nineties

Gay Nineties · Naughty Nineties · Roaring Twenties · Dirty Thirties · Swinging Sixties


huevos rancheros

/ˈweɪvɒs ɹɑːnˌt͡ʃɛəɹɒs/

/ˈweɪvəʊz ɹɑːnˌt͡ʃɛəɹəʊz/

A Mexican breakfast dish of fried eggs served on fried corn tortillas topped with a tomato-chili sauce.


plain clothes

Civilian clothes worn by someone in an occupation or organization for which a uniform might be expected, as the police or clergy.


clamdigger

(sometimes plural only) A posthole digger (a type of hand tool).


ppts

percentage point
percentage point#English


Cainamero

English adaptation from Spanish Los Gallinomeros, from Gallina (nickname for a chief, chicken, coward).

Since there were hundreds of Cainamero and other southern Pomo residents at Mission San Rafael, Pixpixuecas/Toribio most likely persuaded the Santa Rose Cainamero that he could help them smooth things over with Vásquez del Mercado in order to prevent reprisals against the Cainamero and southern Pomo mission Indians.

2023, Rose Marie Beebe, Robert M. Senkewicz, Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo:

A Southern Pomo people who lived in the region around Santa Rosa, California.


Pomo

Used in English since 1877, Pomo derives from the Pomo language words /pʰoːmoː/ and /pʰoʔmaʔ/, meaning "those who live at red earth hole". It was once the name of a village in Southern Potter Valley, possibly referring to the red mineral magnesite used for beads, or to the reddish earth and clay such as hematite mined in the area.
At the same time in the Northern Pomo dialect, -pomo or -poma was used as a suffix after the names of places for subgroups of people of that place.

An indigenous population native to Northern California.


melomakarona

From Greek μελομακάρονα (melomakárona) or μελομακάρονο (melomakárono).

bor

μελομακάρονα

Earlier in the day, his mother had prepared soup for the female lead and melomakarona, or Greek honey cookies, for the crew.

2007 January 14, Jeff Vandam, “Lights, Camera, Honey Cookies: A Soap Opera, Greek Style”, in New York Times:

Greek honey macaroons with crushed walnuts, traditionally served at Christmas.


binocs

Armed with binocs, she was positioned on a low rise that overlooked the entire valley. No one was going to sneak past her.

2011, Cindy Gerard, With No Remorse, page 310:


ladles and jellyspoons

ladies and gentlemen
ladies and gentlemen#English

(humorous) Alternative form of ladies and gentlemen, used for comedic effect by clowns and entertainers.


hillspeople

The members of a tribe inhabiting the hills.


oughties

(rare, humorous) A decade running from the first year of a century to the tenth.


murderabilia

From murder; modelled on words like automobilia.

But in a personal sense, having these letters treated as murderabilia is appalling to us.

2007 January 22, Serge F. Kovaleski, “Unabomber Wages Legal Battle to Halt the Sale of Papers”, in New York Times:

Items associated with a murderer, regarded as collectibles.


Kashaya

Borrowed from Kashaya kʼahša·ya (“skillful; expert gambler”).

bor+

A native Californian people who traditionally live on the Sonoma County coastline, who are a subgroup of the Pomo people.


nattes

Surface decoration or diaper resembling plaited or interlaced work.


Xanthochroi

Coined by Thomas Henry Huxley, from Ancient Greek ξανθός (xanthós, “fair, yellow, golden, blond”), and either χρώς (khrṓs, “skin”), or ὠχρός (ōkhrós, “pale”).

der

The furthermost limit of the Xanthochroi north-westward is Iceland and the British Isles

1865, Thomas H. Huxley, On the Methods and Results of Ethnology:

(dated, anthropology) A division of the human population having fair skin and wavy blond hair.


people skills

They found that strong people skills correlate loosely or not at all with being a good CEO. Traits like being a good listener, a good team builder....

2009 May 18, David Brooks, “In Praise of Dullness”, in New York Times:

(management) Skills in dealing with or managing people.


fingers in the cookie jar

en-noun

fingers in the cookie jar pl (plural only)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-fingers in the cookie jar.wav

hand in the cookie jar
hand in the cookie jar#English


boardshorts

boardshorts pl (plural only, attributive boardshort)

But the appeal of the label — now sold at surf shops in 19 states and 12 countries — is that its black boardshorts and no-frills logos both bypass the sport’s floral sartorial clichés and also, for those in the know, summon up a hard-core, roots surfer image of riders like those Da Hui underwrites.

2008 May 15, Guy Trebay, “A Line in the Sand and in the Stores”, in New York Times:

A style of typically knee-length lightweight shorts worn generally by males as swimwear and for surfing.


weights and measures

The science and regulation of standards for the quantification of size, weight, temperature, etc.


Tacana

An ethnic group inhabiting the Beni department of Bolivia.


short strokes

Possibly an allusion to painting, in which a painter typically finishes a work with short, careful, finishing strokes of the paint brush, or to golf, in which a player concludes each hole by making short strokes with a putter.

He knows they are in the short strokes—it's almost over.

1990, M. E. Morris, The Last Kamikaze, →ISBN, page 242:

Ironing out the short strokes has taken a little longer than expected, but it all should be worth the wait for Strawberry when the Yankees officially announce today they have re-signed the rehabbed slugger.

1998 January 8, Peter Botte, “Straw Signing Official Today”, in New York Daily News, retrieved 2009-05-18:

Sly and Dave Chandler having set the deal, and Al McAfee moving in to do the legal fine points, Maxwell and Johnson tumbled into our lap for just over a million in cash up front and about twice that in Slumberhaven stock and options. I didn't even have to get involved, except for the short strokes toward the end.

2006, William Annett, The Final Undertaking, →ISBN, page 87:

(idiomatic, usually preceded by the) The final steps of an undertaking, especially one which has been lengthy or laborious.


pearly gates

After the description in Revelation 21:21.

When shall these eyes thy heaven-built walls / And pearly gates behold?

1795, Joseph Bromehead, Jerusalem, My Happy Home:

This immense wealth; this gilded splendor; this profusion of luxury; this exemption from toil; this life of ease; this sea of plenty; aye, what of it all? Are the pearly gates of happiness and sweet content flung open to such suitors?

1855, Frederick Douglass, chapter 7, in My Bondage and My Freedom. […], New York, Auburn, N.Y.: Miller, Orton & Mulligan […], →OCLC:

The narrowness of the imagination of the old masters is generally depicted in their canvases. Heaven to them was a serious business of pearly gates, harps, halos, and aërial flights on ambient pale clouds.

1908, Harold McGraff, chapter 27, in The Lure of the Mask:

I'd toss for pennies on the front steps of the New Jerusalem or set up a faro layout just outside the Pearly Gates.

1910, Jack London, chapter 20, in Burning Daylight:

By the time they got a doctor down / I was already dead / And I'll never understand why the man / Standing in the Pearly Gates said…

1971, John Prine (lyrics and music), “Your Flag Decal Won't Get You Into Heaven Anymore”, in John Prine:

When I'm at the pearly gates / This'll be on my videotape, my videotape

2007, “Videotape”, in In Rainbows, performed by Radiohead:


good spirits

His good spirits were contagious.


arts and letters

The fine arts, performing arts, and liberal arts, considered together.


Pearly Gates

Alternative letter-case form of pearly gates


pentacosiomedimni

The highest class of citizens in Ancient Greece


pace notes

Detailed notes describing the route to be driven in rally racing, read by the codriver to the driver.


Wemba-Wemba

A group of indigenous Australians, found in north-western Victoria and south-western New South Wales.


grains of paradise

grains of paradise pl (normally plural, singular grain of paradise)

From medieval spice traders claiming that the spice grew only in Eden, in order to inflate prices. Cf. French graines de paradis.

...graynes of paradise, hoote & moyst þey be...

c. 1460, John Russell, The Boke of Nurture, page 126:

When I found it [Two-Penny Drink] left a hot Tang behind it, it gave me just Reason to believe they had used Grains of Paradise, or long Pepper, both which will save Malt.

1743, William Ellis, supplement to The London & Country Brewer, 2nd ed., p. 288

Guinea Grains and Grains of Paradise are considered, by the Trade, as one and the same article.

1812, James Smyth, The Practice of the Customs in the Entry, Examination, and Delivery of Goods and Merchandize, ii, p. 84:

"Gærtner has figured the fruit and seeds of a scitamineous plant under the name of Zingiber Melægueta, and which he considered to be identical with the Grains of Paradise."

1844, Jonathan Pereira, “On Grains of Paradise”, in The American Journal of Pharmacy, page 97:

...beer poisoned wi' grains o' paradise, and cocculus indicus.

1850, Charles Kingsley, chapter VIII, in Alton Locke, volume I, page 127:

"In fact this spice was making a second appearance in Europe: it was Guinea pepper, mentioned by Pliny as 'African pepper', and also known as Malaguetta pepper or grains of Paradise. Grains of Paradise had been very popular in the thirteenth century and again in the sixteenth; its popularity may have been due to the brilliant name thought up for it by some advertising genius born before his time."

1994, Anthea Bell, A History of Food, Wiley-Blackwell, translation of original by Maguelonne Toussaint-Samat, →ISBN, page 495:

"Also called Melegueta or Malagueta pepper, guinea grain, or guinea pepper, grains of paradise were prized as a spice and as a substitute for black pepper in Europe during the Middle Ages."

2006, Susheela Raghavan, Handbook of Spices, Seasonings, and Flavorings, 2nd edition, CRC Press, →ISBN, page 119:

Aframomum melegueta
Aframomum melegueta#Translingual

The seeds or seed capsules of Aframomum melegueta, used as a medicine and spice, especially as a substitute for black pepper and in flavoring alcoholic beverages.


Xinca

Their language, generally considered a language isolate.


Alan Whickers

Rhyming slang, using the name of Alan Whicker (1921–2013), British journalist and broadcaster.

She's pissed her Alan Whickers. I'm not really into water sports.

2012, Luca Veste, editor, Off The Record 2 - At The Movies - A Charity Anthology, page 155:

Cockney rhyming slang
Cockney rhyming slang


gravity boots

Boots designed to enable a person to hang upside-down for inversion therapy.


Marsi

A small Germanic tribe settled between the Rhine, Ruhr and Lippe rivers in northwest Germany.


strange bedfellows

strange bedfellows pl (normally plural, singular strange bedfellow)

The USA and the USSR were strange bedfellows. They were united only in their opposition to Hitler and Fascism.

1996, Tony Downey, Nigel Smith, Russia and the USSR, 1900-1995, Oxford University Press, USA, →ISBN, page 66:

Lacan and feminism: strange bedfellows? There never was an alliance between the person Lacan and feminism.

2002, Teresa Brennan, Between Feminism and Psychoanalysis, Routledge, →ISBN:

(idiomatic) An unusual combination or political alliance.


town walls

town walls pl (normally plural, singular town wall)

(UK, plural only) A large historic line of walls encircling a town that normally dates back at least to the Middle Ages.


Tauri

From Latin Taurī, from Ancient Greek Ταῦροι (Taûroi).

Who these Tauri were is a question of some difficulty. Strabo calls them a Scythian people, but Herodotus clearly distinguishes the Tauri from the Scythians, as being a different nation.

1850, Charles Anthon, “Chersonēsus Taurica”, in A System of Ancient and Mediæval Geography for the Use of Schools and Colleges, page 238:

(historical) An ancient people who inhabited the Crimean Mountains.

Ταῦροι

an ancient people who inhabited the Crimean Mountains


acroatics

/ˌækɹəʊˈætɪks/

acroatic (use as noun) + -s, plural suffix.


thetes

From Ancient Greek θῆτες (thêtes), plural of θής (thḗs, “hired laborer”).

(historical) The lowest social class of citizens in ancient Athens.


Aufklärer

Unadapted borrowing from German Aufklärer.

ubor

The members of the Aufklärung; the Enlighteners.


silkies

(informal) Short shorts for men, made of a thin fabric, with a lining and a pocket inside to hold a key while jogging.


Zande

An ethnic group of North Central Africa, living primarily in the northeastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in south-central and southwestern part of South Sudan, and in southeastern Central African Republic.


mixed nuts

The United States standard of identity comes from 21 CFR 164.110.

standards of identity
standard of identity

A mixture of shelled nuts of various types.

(US standards of identity) A mixture of: shelled peanuts (optional); at least four types of shelled tree nuts (or at least three, if the container for sale contains less than two ounces and is transparent), each in a proportion of at least two percent; and, optionally, other functional ingredients. No one type of nuts may comprise more than eighty percent of the mixture.


technorati

/ˌtɛknəˈɹɑːti/

‘The clash is between what you might call the technorati and the literati,’ wrote Bob Thompson in The Washington Post shortly after Updike's speech. ‘The technorati are thrilled at the way computers and the Internet are revolutionizing the world of books. The literati fear that, amid the revolutionary fervor, crucial institutions and core values will be guillotined.’

2008, Jeff Gomez, quoting Bob Thompson, Print Is Dead: Books in our Digital Age, Palgrave Macmillan, →ISBN:

The Winklevosses say this week’s tumult is just growing pains for a digital currency that they believe will become a sort of gold for the technorati.

2013 April 11, Nathaniel Popper, Peter Lattman, “Never Mind Facebook; Winklevoss Twins Rule in Digital Money”, in New York Times:

(informal) Those who are skilled at using, or knowledgeable about, technology.


chicken strips

Chicken fingers, or chicken tenders. A style of batter-fried chicken without skin or bones.


golfiana

St Andrews also offers the other off-course interest to the golfer, notably collections of golfiana in The Scores Hotel and nearby pubs...

1995, David Hamilton, Sean Connery, The Scottish Golf Guide:

1987-1994, Charles A Duffner, Publisher, Golfiana- The International Journal for Golf Historians and Collectors


fistiana

/fɪstɪˈɑːnə/

Then came the necessary preliminaries — the finding of a place in which to train; the securing of an expert boxer to instruct me in the art of fistiana...

1915, Joseph K Griffis, Tahan, Out of Savagery Into Civilization:

...Heenan's friends urged him to issue a challenge to Tom Sayers, British title holder, for the highest honors in fistiana.

2001, Nat Fleischer, Sam Andre, Don Rafael, Nigel Collins, An Illustrated History of Boxing:


delts

His enthusiasm is contagious, and his delts are outrageous.

1988, Steve Holman, “Christian Conquers Columbus”, in Ironman, 47 (6): 28-34:

(bodybuilding, slang) The deltoid muscles.


gee-gees

He lost all his money on the gee-gees.

I put some money on the gee-gees last week, and I've got to see a bloke about it.

(UK, slang, plural only, usually with 'the') horse racing.


wire cutters

en-noun

wire cutters pl (normally plural, singular wire cutters)

A hand tool resembling pliers, intended for cutting wires.


ashes of rose

There are star-fish, sea-urchins, and sea-anemones, — gorgeous creatures in ashes of rose and orange, or in pink and brown with dashes of yellow.

1883 (December), Julia C. R. Dorr, "Bermudian Days", The Atlantic Monthly, page 789

White and black added to the above combinations result in the quieter tones and tints of these — such as old rose, ashes of rose, salmon, red-brown, terra-cotta, brick red and the series of pinkish to orange greys.

1922, Edward Stratton Holloway, The practical book of furnishing the small house and apartment, page 47:

ashes of rose:


Katangese

The inhabitants or descendants of the people of Katanga (all senses).

Katangees

inhabitant or descendant of the people of Katanga


finfolk

(Orkney) Sorcerous shapeshifters of the sea in Orkney folklore.


English covenants

(law) In the law of real property, a set of six traditional covenants of title made by the seller of a parcel of land to the buyer of that parcel.


two solitudes

First used by German poet Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926) and applied to Canadian society in the title of a 1945 novel by Canadian author Hugh MacLennan.

[I]t may be pleaded that scholastic philosophy as it exists in Quebec has neither influenced, nor been influenced by, the development of modern philosophy elsewhere throughout the country during the last hundred years. Philosophically, Canada is a land of "two solitudes."

1951, John A. Irving, “Philosophical Trends in Canada Between 1850 and 1950”, in Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, volume 12, number 2, page 224:

Montreal, where French and English have not merged but coexist in ‘two solitudes,’ has Latin flair but British solidity.

1976, J. Wreford Watson, “Review: The Development of the Canadian City”, in The Geographical Journal, volume 142, number 3, page 509:

In tracing the development of the discipline in twentieth century Canada, it became evident that demography had progressed through a number of periods. The years to 1950 represented a period of parallel and fairly independent growth in English-speaking and French-speaking regions, with little contact and communication; it is best described as a period of "one science, two solitudes."

2001, Sylvia T. Wargon, “Connections: Demography and Sociology in Twentieth Century Canada”, in The Canadian Journal of Sociology, volume 26, number 3, page 317:

(Canada, social criticism) The historical and, by some accounts, current dysfunctional relationship between the Anglophone and Francophone groups in Canada, characterized by poor communication and mutual exclusion.


fed cattle

Even though the empirical analysis used here cannot formally test which of several possible factors is the cause of any asymmetry, it is important to establish theoretical reasons to expect spatial price adjustments for fed cattle to be asymmetric.

1989 December, DeeVon Bailey, B. Wade Brorsen, “Price Asymmetry in Spatial Fed Cattle Markets”, in Western Journal of Agricultrual Economics, volume 8, number 2, page 246:

(agriculture) Cattle leaving a feedlot, after fattening on a concentrated ration, that are ready to be sold to a packinghouse for slaughter.


boxer briefs

"Wait. Well, well… lookie here!" Monika says as she lifts the top of Derek's suitcase. "Seems like your boy wears boxer briefs, wears Calvin Klein cologne, and plays poker.

2013, Simon Elkeles, Wild Cards - Volume 1, page 109:

Please include four digital photos, taken with no makeup, no hair products. One from the front, two profile shots to show facial structure, one full body in white briefs or boxer briefs.

2022, Colton Haynes, Miss Memory Lane: A Memior, page 100:

(plural only) A style of underpants for men that combines the snugness of briefs with the longer length of boxer shorts.


emptins

A type of yeast obtained from the remains of the brewing process.


dishpan hands

Possibly coined circa mid-1920s for the advertising of Lever Brothers "Lux" brand dishwashing soap.

Avoid dishpan hands. Those 1950s sitcom moms had it right (and probably had lovely hands): Wear rubber gloves while cleaning and doing dishes.

2007 February 18, H. E. Thomas, M. Thomas, “5 Ways to Combat Cold-Weather Hands”, in Washington Post, retrieved 2009-07-30:

(idiomatic) Hands which are rough, reddish, and dry, as from irritation and chafing caused by immersion in hot water mixed with detergent.


Apennines

A mountain range in Italy, stretching 1,200 km from the north to the south of the country, along its east coast, traversing the entire Apennine Peninsula, and often called the "spine of Italy".


Archi

A Northeast Caucasian ethnic group who live in eight villages in Southern Dagestan, Russia.


Archi

A Northeast Caucasian language spoken in the Dagestan region of Russia.


feeder fish

Certain types of inexpensive fish commonly fed as live prey to captive animals, such as sharks and turtles.


dots per inch

My printer prints at 300 dots per inch.

(graphic design, typography) The measure of a number of pixels per inch used in a graphic or supported by a digital display device, used to specify type or image resolution.


Pirahã

/piːɹəˈhɑːn/

The Pirahã language challenges simplistic application of Hockett's nearly universally accepted design features of human language by showing that some of these features (interchangeability, displacement, and productivity) may be culturally constrained.

2005, Daniel Everett, “Cultural Constraints on Grammar and Cognition in Pirahã”, in Current Anthropology, section 46.4:

The language of this people, having no extant relatives, with few phonemes, and controversially claimed to have no true numbers, no way of talking about history, and no recursive embedding.


animelles

(cooking, plural only) A type of offal, the testicles of animals when used as food.


lamb fries

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

(US) The testicles of a lamb, peeled, rolled in cracker meal, fried, and served as food, a traditional dish in the Bluegrass region of Kentucky.


string hoppers

rice noodles, as prepared in the cuisines of Sri Lanka and South India


uglies

The Feudatory States' stamps, with their distinctive designs, are philatelically known as "uglies", a tee well deserved in many cases.

1960, The Illustrated Weekly of India, Publisher, Times of India, Volume 81, Issue 2 - Page 67

British collectors have sometimes referred to these as “the Uglies,” though it’s unclear when or where this term originated.

2017, India feudatory ‘Uglies’ shine at Cherrystone auction, Author:

(philately, derogatory, informal) The stamps of the Indian feudatory states.


things that go bump in the night

things that go bump in the night pl (plural only)

En-au-things that go bump in the night.ogg

"From Ghaisties, Ghoulies, and Long-Leggity Beasties, and Things That Go Bump in the Night - Good Lord Deliver us."

1911, Harriott Ely Fansler, Types of prose narratives: A text-book for the story writer, page 43:

Hellish new noises from new and secret British anti-aircraft devices vibrated last week through the din of London bombings. . . . [T]hey must have reminded Londoners of the old litany:
From ghoulies and ghosties,
Long leggety beasties
And things that go bump in the night
Good Lord, deliver us.

1940, "Life on the Newsfronts of the World," Life Magazine, 7 Oct., p. 32

But most of all I recall the haunting magic of the lanterns and the whispered tales of ghosties, goblins, and things that go bump in the night with which we tried to frighten each other.

1961 October 27, May Mackintosh, “If I Were a Witch”, in The Glasgow Herald, page 7:

(informal, humorous) Frightening imagined creatures; ghosts or other supernatural beings.


nethers

(female member of the spaceship crew speaking) "We're going on a year now, I ain't had nothing 'twixt my nethers weren't run on batteries."

At the movies, the nethers have become unnestled, and not just in art films.

2009 February 27, Peter Howell, “Doctor Manhattan part of the full-frontal revolution”, in Toronto Star:

The private parts of the body, particularly the sex organs.


AOR

AOR (countable and uncountable, plural AORs)

address of record
address of record#English

MTV is a singles medium, as is the hottest (warmest?) new radio strategy God help us, “adult contemporary”; even AOR devotes the contemporary portion of its programming to putative singles.

1990 January 2, Robert Christgau, “1980–1989: Rockism Faces the World”, in The Village Voice:

album-oriented radio
album-oriented radio#English

(music, radio format, US, uncountable) Initialism of album-oriented radio.

album-oriented rock
album-oriented rock#English

(music, uncountable) Initialism of album-oriented rock.


AOR

(syntax) Initialism of adjective ordering restrictions.


treggings

A form of trousers having the characteristics of jeans and leggings.


Twitterati

For amusing one-liners, news, and water-cooler chatter about Palin from the Twitterati, please keep checking in on our "McCain VP Watch" Twitter widget on our blog to the right.

2008 September 3, Sarah Lai Stirland, “Sarah Palin's Campaign Debut Electrifies the GOP, Galvanizes The Twitterati”, in Wired:

Fire-starters weren’t the only ones at work that night. The Twitterati were also in full force.

2009 June 8, Elina Shatkin, “Taco Zone truck attacked in Echo Park, as told by Twitter”, in Los Angeles Times:

Sitting in the courtroom […], their laptops and tablets propped before them, power cables snaking through convoluted adapters, the Twitterati have sight of witnesses at all times — the troubadours, or perhaps the tricoteuses, of the digital revolution.

2014 April 24, Alan Cowell, “At Pistorius trial, Twitterati have their day in court”, in The New York Times:

Queen Elizabeth II may not have been amused, but the Twitterati certainly were.

2018 July 14, Sarah Mervosh, “Trump Walks in Front of Queen Elizabeth, Causing Social Media Frenzy”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

(informal) People, particularly avid or frequent users, who use the microblogging service Twitter.


umbles

When Thetis deserted Peleus, he took the child to Cheiron the Centaur, who reared him on Mount Pelion, feeding him on the umbles of lions and wild boars, and the marrow of bears, to give him courage [...].

(archaic) Animal entrails, especially of a deer.


hh

For a 15.2hh–16.2hh horse the average stride length is 3.6m (12ft).

2007, Lesley Bayley, The Photographic Guide to Schooling Your Horse, David & Charles, →ISBN, page 127:

Abbreviation of hands (one hand being four inches).


hh

(Internet slang, text messaging, uncommon) Synonym of hhh (“a sigh; laughter”).


yachtsfolk

(informal) People who spend time on yachts.


baisemains

Borrowed from French baisemains, from baiser (“to kiss”) + mains (“hands”).


fut.

head

fut. (uncountable in one sense; already plural in the other)

(plural only, finance) Abbreviation of futures.


gentlefolks

[ˈd͡ʒɛɾ̃l̩-]

We ſay that Shores wife hath a prety foote, / A cherry lippe, a bonny eie, a paſſing pleaſing tongue: / And that the Queenes kindred are made gentlefolks.

c. 1593 (date written), [William Shakespeare], The Tragedy of King Richard the Third. […] (First Quarto), London: […] Valentine Sims [and Peter Short] for Andrew Wise, […], published 1597, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i]:

What do gentlefolks come to an inn for, if it is not for entertainment and accommodation?

1808 October 1, “Mrs. Bell’s Petition”, in The Satirist, or Monthly Meteor, volume III, London: Printed for Samuel Tipper, […]; T. Gillet, printer, […], →OCLC, page 286:

What was it to her what gentlefolks ate or drank, provided they paid for it honestly? There were many honest gentlemen, whose stomachs could not abide bacon, grease, or dripping, especially on a Friday; and what was that to her, or any one in her line, so gentlefolks paid honestly for the trouble?

1822, [Walter Scott], chapter IX, in Peveril of the Peak. […], volume II, Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co., →OCLC, page 223:

If there be any evil in novels at all, it is when they take people from their business—when they occupy a mother's time to the neglect of her children—when they lead idle boys to neglect their lessons, and when they lead idle gentlefolks to fancy themselves employed, when they are only killing time.

1827 August 18, W. P. S., “The Common-place Book. No. XIX. Novel Writers and Novel Readers.”, in The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction, volume X, number 269, London: Printed and published by J[ohn] Limbird, […], →OCLC, pages 118–119:

I love to hear thy earnest voice wherever thou art hid, / Thou testy little dogmatist, thou pretty Katydid! / Thou mindest me of gentlefolks, old gentlefolks are they— / Thou say'st an undisputed thing, in such a solemn way.

1839 November 16, [Oliver Wendell Holmes], “The Question Asked”, in Supplement to the Connecticut Courant, volume V, number 46, Hartford, Conn.: John L. Boswell, publisher, →OCLC, page 361, column 1:

"Ah!" she said, with a little cry of disappointment, "my man said not to make too sure, and that the ways of the gentlefolks is hard to know."

1885 January, [Margaret Oliphant Wilson Oliphant], “The Portrait. A Story of the Seen and the Unseen.”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CXXXVII, number DCCCXXXI, Edinburgh, London: William Blackwood & Sons, […], →OCLC, page 13, column 1:


worrylines

wrinkles supposed to be caused by worrying


spacelegs

Very cautiously — it was more than a year since he had last been weightless and it would be some time before he regained his spacelegs — he hauled himself hand over hand through the airlock and into the large, circular chamber at the axis of the Space Station.

1968, Arthur C. Clarke, 2001: A Space Odyssey:

(science fiction) The ability to work confidently in space, or a zero-gravity environment.


leg irons

Security is tight inside and outside the building, guarded by a bewildering collection of soldiers, policemen and gendarmes. Relatives watch as prisoners in handcuffs and leg irons shuffle past.

2014 November 27, Ian Black, “Courts kept busy as Jordan works to crush support for Isis”, in The Guardian:

A fetter or shackle attached at the ankle.


Cherusci

(historical) a Germanic tribe that inhabited parts of the plains and forests of northwestern Germany, in the area possibly near present-day Hanover, during the first centuries BC and AD


Australiana

In the midst of Expo ’88 mania, everyone sported clothing emblazoned with splashy images of Sydney Harbour Bridge, koalas and Australiana chic. It was bold, brash and people couldn’t get enough of it.

2018 June 1, Alana Schetzer, “Australiana 2.0: how cultural cringe became cool”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

All things particular to Australia, culture and people; anything that is a symbol of Australian life.


John Lennon spectacles

A clamp-jawed man in his early thirties, a Program attorney named Sean, sat up front as well, next to a trim, bearded fellow of the same age — the good Dr. Henderson, complete with a yachtsman's physique and John Lennon spectacles.

2004, Gregg Andrew Hurwitz, The Program, page 238:

(plural only) A pair of spectacles (glasses) with round lenses.


John Lennon glasses

Everyone in New York
Had a position on Shanker,
A story about garbage,
An unconventional sex life,
John Lennon glasses, […]

1969 (7 Apr), Judith Viorst, "New York Visit, 1969", New York Magazine 2 (no.14): 43

"[…]Or, I could go to Harvard Square, browse the coffee shops wearing my John Lennon glasses, and look for an intellectual who's smart enough to see the woman inside."

1998, Barbara Delinsky, A Woman's Place, page 335:

A bookish young man with John Lennon glasses looked up, smiled, and answered in a northern accent. "The tool is calibrated. Just waiting to hit total depth."

2003, Greg Iles, Sleep No More, page 36:

(plural only) A pair of eyeglasses (spectacles) with round lenses.

lennonky

pair of eyeglasses/spectacles with round lenses


Xamir

A small ethnic group of Ethiopia, speaking the Xamtanga language.


uneven bars

A set of exercise apparatus consisting of two horizontal bars at a small distance apart and set at different heights.

A gymnastics event using the uneven bars.


Angries

The Angries are not in revolt against poverty or exploitation as such...

1966, Stanley Kauffmann, A world on film: criticism and comment:

The 'Angries' ridiculed this notion with cliched representations of effeminate artists and intellectuals...

2007, Christine Berberich, The image of the English gentleman in twentieth-century literature:


two of a kind

(card games) A hand in which the best combination is two of a kind.


gołąbki

Instead of the stock, rye borsch (żur) may be used over the gołąbki.

1979, Maria Lemnis, Henryk Vitry [double pen name; Tadeusz Żakiej], Old Polish Traditions in the Kitchen and at the Table, Warsaw: Interpress Publishers, →ISBN, page 283:

The food is good and inexpensive, and includes daily specials like kiełbasa, pierogi, and gołąbki.

1979, Paul Wrobel, Our Way: Family, Parish, and Neighborhood in a Polish-American Community, Notre Dame, Ind., London: University of Notre Dame Press, →ISBN, page 48:

What would be a typical Polish meal? Around these parts Polish people say it is gołąbki, pierogi and kiełbasa.

1991, Joseph Alecks, quotee, Polish Digest, page 23, column 3:

Two blocks south of the Piccolo, the Cechowa at ul Jagiellońska 4 is a simple, inexpensive restaurant (closed on Sunday) which has a variety of typically Polish dishes including pierogi and gołąbki.

1993, Krzysztof Dydynski, Poland: A Travel Survival Kit, Lonely Planet Publications, →ISBN, page 201, column 1:

The food was a mixture of city chicken, hot dogs, ravioli, and gołąbki (or holubtsi, depending on who was doing the talking).

1999, Ronald Grigor Suny, Michael D. Kennedy, editors, Intellectuals and the Articulation of the Nation, University of Michigan Press, →ISBN, page 165:


grand rounds

(military) A tour of inspection by a general officer or commander, visiting all the guards in the officer's command.

(medicine education, invariant) A series of lectures whose subject matter is a particular patient or similar case or a formal hospital meeting at which physicians discuss interesting medical cases.


supergraphics

Large graphics that are applied with vibrant colors, usually in geometric shapes, over walls or floors and ceilings to make the illusion of altered space.


Carpathians

Borrowed from Latin Carpates; compare the Germanic form attested in Old Norse Harvaðafjǫll (although the actual attestation is two words Harvaða fjǫll), of which no past or present English counterpart is known (but which may have existed at some stage).
Possibly from the name of the Carpi, an ancient, probably Dacian, tribe living in the eastern Carpathian region of what is now Romania and the Moldova region. The name Carpates may ultimately be from the Proto-Indo-European root *(s)ker- (compare Albanian karpë (“rock”), Aromanian shcarpã, also Proto-Slavic *skala (“rock, cliff”)), perhaps via a Dacian cognate which meant “mountain”, “rock”, or “rugged” (compare Proto-Germanic *skarpaz (whence sharp), Lithuanian kar̃pas (“cut, hack, notch”), Latvian cìrpt (“to shear, clip”)). Compare also archaic Polish karpa (“rugged irregularities, underwater obstacles/rocks, rugged roots or trunks”), Romansch crap (“stone”). Alternatively, the name may come from Proto-Indo-European *kʷerp- (“to turn”) (whence wharf and Ancient Greek καρπός (karpós, “wrist”)), perhaps referring to the way the mountain range bends or veers in an L-shape.
According to Eichner and Çabej, it derives from Proto-Albanian *karpātai (“mountanous place”)

der

A large mountainous system in Central Europe, mainly in Transylvania (Romania) and the Polish (Silesian)-Slovak border region.


Grampians

Grampian (disambiguation)
Grampian Mountains

The Grampian Mountains, a mountain range in the Scottish Highlands.

A region in western Victoria, Australia.


hanafuda

“What’s hanafuda?” Sam asked.
“Plastic cards. Quite small and thick, with flowers and scenes of nature,” Watanabe-san said.

2022, Gabrielle Zevin, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, Vintage (2023), page 91:

Japanese playing cards, having 12 suits each representing a month and consisting of four cards.


bedroom eyes

What that meant Em wasn't sure, but her deep blue eyes and long lashes were often called bedroom eyes, and drew more than a few compliments.

2014, Rhian Cahill, New Year's Kisses (Novella):

Eyes that have a sexually suggestive expression.


six of the best

(idiomatic) Six strokes with a cane, a traditional school punishment.


jeggings

I remember first reading about jeggings (jeans+leggings) in 2009. How ridiculous it sounded then, a word that conjured up images of urinary infections and squished buttocks. Four years later, the M&S website devotes an entire section to this fashion hybrid.

2013 May 10, Rachel Braier, “The trouser is so now in the singular world of fashion”, in The Guardian:

(fashion, neologism) Denim leggings, or very skinny jeans.


boots on the ground

First appears c. 1980 in the US. Attributed to the United States General Volney F. Warner, as quoted in the Christian Science Monitor (April 11, 1980) in reference to the Iranian hostage crisis

So often boots on the ground is the American Way.

2012, Georgia McDade, Outside the Cave II, page 30:

At the same time, when options are considered, political parties and the media are interested in knowing whether boots on the ground is an option put on the table.

2015, Helene Dieck, The Influence of Public Opinion on Post-Cold War U.S. Military Interventions:

(military, metonymically) The ground forces actually fighting in a war or conflict, rather than troops not engaged or other military action such as air strikes.

The military policy of using ground forces.


days of yore

(idiomatic, nostalgic) The past; bygone days.


keys to the kingdom

Originating from the concept of resources that were the means of obtaining control over an actual kingdom, i.e., a realm under the rulership of a king. Compare also King James Bible Matthew 16:19, "I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven."

This fortress, from its strong position, was considered as one of the keys to the kingdom, and had belonged to the Earl of March, a disappointed candidate for the crown, who had now attached himself to the banner of England.

1830, John Donald Carrick, Life of Sir William Wallace of Elderslie, page 112:

The passwords they control are the keys to the kingdom, so what protections should be taken?

2002 April 8, InfoWorld, volume 24, number 14, page 28:

Not many people bother to learn them these days. Everything is so rushed, so many demands on a senator's time. But these rules unlock the power of the Senate. They're the keys to the kingdom.

2008, Barack Obama (quoting Senator Robert Byrd), The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream, page 119

(idiomatic) A resource, usually information or knowledge, the possession of which gives the possessor access to power.


performing arts

en-noun

performing arts pl (normally plural, singular performing art)

(art) The arts involving performance, such as dance, theatre, music, etc.


pilliwinks

From Middle English pirewinkes (“instrument of torture for squeezing the thumbs, thumbscrew”) [and other forms]; further origin unknown. It has been suggested that the word is a variant of Middle English pervink, pervinke (“periwinkle (plant; Vinca minor or Vinca major); (figuratively) evil man”), but the Oxford English Dictionary doubts this due to the difference in meaning. Compare Swedish pille-, related to pilla (“fiddle with the fingers”).

refn

From the collection of the former National Museum of Crime & Punishment in Washington, D.C., USA.

inh

[H]er maiſter to the intent that he might the better trie and finde out the truth of the ſame, did with the help of others, torment her with the torture of the Pilliwinkes upon her fingers, which is a grieuous torture, [...]

[1592?], attributed to James Carmichael, Newes from Scotland. Declaring the Damnable Life of Doctor Fian a Notable Sorcerer, who was Burned at Edenbrough in Ianuarie last. 1591. […], [London]: Printed [by T. Scarlet] for William Wright, →OCLC; republished as G[eorge] H[enry] Freeling, editor, Newes from Scotland, Declaring the Damnable Life of Doctor Fian, […], London: From the Shakespeare Press [for the Roxburghe Club], by W[illiam] Bulmer and Co., 1816, →OCLC:

On the 24th June 1596, John Stewart, Maſter of Orkney, was indicted for conſulting with Aliſon Balfour, a witch, for the deſtruction of Patrick Earl of Orkney, his brother, by poiſon.— [...] No regard can be had to it, in reſpect the ſaid confeſſion was extorted by force of torment; [...] her little daughter, about ſeven years old, put in the pilniewinks; all in the poor woman's preſence, to make her confeſs. [...] It was pleaded for Alaſter Grant, who was indicted for theft and robbery 3d Auguſt 1632, "That he cannot paſs to the knowledge of an aſſize, in respect he was twice put to the torture, firſt in the boots, and next in the pilliewinks or pinniewinks; [...]"

1774, [John] Maclaurin, “Introduction to the Criminal Cases”, in Arguments, and Decisions, in Remarkable Cases, before the High Court of Justiciary, and Other Supreme Courts, in Scotland, Edinburgh: Printed for J. Bell, […]; London: E. & C. Dilly, […], →OCLC, § 9 (Of the Torture), page xxxvi:

They prick us and they pine us, and they pit us on the pinnywinkles for witches; [...]

1819, Jedediah Cleishbotham [pseudonym; Walter Scott], chapter IX, in Tales of My Landlord, Third Series. […], volume II (The Bride of Lammermoor), Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, […]; Hurst, Robinson, and Co. […], →OCLC, page 230:

[S]end me that hag hither; she shall avouch what it was that she hath given to the wretch Dryfesdale, or the pilniewinks and thumbikins shall wrench it out of her finger-joints.

1820, [Walter Scott], chapter V, in The Abbot. […], volume III, Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne & Co.] for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, […]; and for Archibald Constable and Company, and John Ballantyne, […], →OCLC, pages 173–174:

The two generals were ultra Tories, and were regarded not unjustly as acting with uncalled for severity against the disaffected. They introduced "from Muscovy" "Pilliwinks, or Thumbikins,"—"a new invention, used," says Fountainhall, "among the Coilzears [i.e., colliers] when transgressors."

1868, “Bothwell Brig”, in James Maidment, editor, Scotish Ballads and Songs, Historical and Traditionary, volume II, Edinburgh: William Paterson, […], →OCLC, page 298:

[Jeillie Duncan, a servant-girl] made so many cures that she was presently suspected of witchcraft. She was treated to orthodox modes of torture; her fingers were pinched with the pilliwinks, her forehead was wrenched with a rope, but she would say nothing until the Devil's mark was found on her throat, when she gave in and confessed herself a servant of Satan.

1912 November, Francis Watt, “The Supernatural”, in The Book of Edinburgh Anecdote, Edinburgh, London: T[homas] N[oble] Foulis, →OCLC, page 233:

(chiefly Scotland, historical) A torture device for squeezing the fingers; a thumbscrew.

National Museum of Crime & Punishment
Oxford English Dictionary


funbags

"Just look at them funbags," Balen said, ogling Eirene's breasts. Leering, the four men closed around her.

Bags under the eyes in the morning means you've had funbags knocking your face all night, doesn't it? Eh?

2008, Stefan Laszczuk, I Dream of Magda:


funny papers

(comics) The section of a newspaper containing comic strips.


Ghomara

A language of the Berber family, spoken in Northern Morocco.


cedmata

From New Latin cedmata, from the Ancient Greek κέδματα (kédmata).

(plural only) Chronic joint pain, especially of the hip-joint.


beer muscles

Many people, especially after a few beers, grow “beer muscles” and are ready to fight for any reason.

1979 July 14, “Letters: Summing Up Summerfest and Planning Ahead”, in Milwaukee Journal, retrieved 2010-01-03, page 10:

The show has become a come-on for drunks to flex their beer muscles.

1999 June 18, Phil Mushnick, “In-Arena Shows Are Big Turnoff”, in New York Post, page 94:

“Everybody's out partying, people start drinking, old beefs pop up, and people get their beer muscles out and start fighting.”

2009 July 3, Andrew W. Lehren, Christine Hauser, “In New York City, Fewer Murders on Rainy Days”, in New York Times, retrieved 2010-01-03:

(idiomatic) An aggressive attitude resulting from consumption of an alcoholic beverage.


cannolicchi

Pasta in short twisted tubes resembling razor clams.


windpants

A sportswear variety of trousers (pants) intended for wearing without undergarments for athletic and comfort purposes.


overtrousers

Then, moving as quietly and efficiently as he could, he opened his backpack and took out his balaclava and a pair of overtrousers.

2023, Eleanor Catton, Birnam Wood, page 240:

Trousers to be worn over a similar inner garment.


holliers

(Ireland, usually as "on one's holliers") holidays (time off work or time spent travelling; = U.S. vacation).


family values

Political and social beliefs that hold the traditional nuclear family to be the essential ethical and moral unit of society.


royal bumps

I didn't tell the girls it was my birthday. First thing they always did was grab the poor victim's arms and legs and give her the royal bumps.

1975, Bess Kaplan, The empty chair, page 43:

(idiomatic, colloquial) A ritual of two or more persons holding another person by the arms and legs, face up, while bumping them repeatedly on the floor. In modern times it is a lighthearted affair, generally performed only on a young person's birthday with the number of bumps corresponding to the person's age in years. Historically it was a hazing.


boat people

en-noun

boat people pl (normally plural, singular boat person)

Indochinese refugees, known throughout the world as the “boat people,” were subject to horrific suffering and dangers when the Vietnamese government began expelling them after the fall of Saigon.

2010, Walter Mondale, David Hage, The Good Fight: A Life in Liberal Politics, Scribner, →ISBN, →OCLC, →OL, page 184e:

(historical) Refugees fleeing by sea, particularly those fleeing from South Vietnam during the 1970s and '80s.

An ethnic group that principally lives on fishing and houseboats, particularly the Tanka or Dan people of East Asia.


dummy scissors

(rugby) An attacking move by two players resembling a scissors move but where the ball carrier only dummies the pass to his team-mate.


cottage fries

A basic potato dish made by pan- or skillet-frying diced, chunked, wedged or sliced potatoes.


fighting words

(set phrase) Aggressive remarks that foreseeably may lead to a potentially violent confrontation; in law, often considered mitigation for otherwise sanctionable behavior (fighting).


testacea

From Latin testāceus (“covered with a shell”).

bor

(rare, obsolete) A testaceous substance, something made of shell or shell-like material.


period pants

(British, informal, plural only) Underwear worn by a woman or girl during menstruation, typically old, cheap, or of a dark colour in case of staining.


jogging bottoms

(British) tracksuit bottoms, (US) sweatpants


tracksuit bottoms

(British) A type of soft, lightweight trousers used for sports or informal occasions, (US) sweatpants.


eudicotyledons

(botany, uncommon, often plural only) Alternative form of eudicots


palaeodicots

(botany) Alternative form of paleodicots


paleodicots

(botany) A group of dicotyledons that evolved prior to the divergence between the monocots and the eudicots.


regrets only

Written on an invitation to request that the invited person reply only if they will not attend.


right-handed

en-adj

right-handed (comparative more right-handed, superlative most right-handed)

more right-handed (comparative)
most right-handed (superlative)

From Middle English riȝt honded, equivalent to right + handed.

Using their right hand in preference to, or more skillfully than, their left.

(not comparable) Intended to be worn on, or used by, the right hand.

(not comparable) Turning or spiralling from left to right; clockwise.

(physics) Of a particle for which the direction of its spin is the same as the direction of its motion.


right-handed

Evidence contradicting this principle came from a study of epileptic patients by Penfield and Roberts (1959) who found that dysphasia following surgery on the right hemisphere was not significantly more frequent in the left-handed than in the right-handed.

1992, Antonio E. Puente, Robert J. McCaffrey, Handbook of Neuropsychological Assessment, →ISBN, page 147:

أَيْمَن

of one who uses their right hand in preference to, or more skillfully than their left.


Hadza

A language isolate spoken by the Hadza people.


street clothes

Ordinary clothes worn during everyday life, in contrast to formal attire or those worn for occasions such as work or athletic activity.


street shoes

Ordinary shoes worn during everyday life, in contrast to those worn for some special occasion such as an athletic activity.

Alltagsschuhe

ordinary shoes worn during everyday life

Shoes worn outdoors, in contrast to houseshoes worn indoors.


Shor

A Turkic ethnic group living in Mountain Shoria, a southern part of Kemerovo oblast in Russia.

sór

a Turkic ethnic group living in Mountain Shoria, or a member of this group


glimms

I tought de life ud leave Mosey Creathorn’s glimms, when he saw his bitch in de air; […]

1849, John Edward Walsh, Sketches of Ireland Sixty Years Ago, page 87:


action stations

(military, British, Canada) The positions or activity assumed by the crew of a warship immediately in advance of combat or other hostile action; general quarters; also, the signal given to indicate such imminent action.


multiskills

The increased effort in many companies to systematically create multiskills within employees is illustrative of such a strategy.

1993, Odd Nordhaug, Human capital in organizations: competence, training, and learning:


spolia

In the field of architecture the use of spolia began with Constantine.

2010, Anthony Grafton, Glenn W. Most, Salvatore Settis, The Classical Tradition, page 904:

The sultan did not so much destroy and rebuild as adapt and embroider, reusing the gorgeous spolia of the Crusaders with their foliate patterns, capitals and wetleaf acanthus; his architecture is thus constructed with the very symbols of his enemies, which makes it hard to distinguish between the buildings of the Crusaders and Saladin.

2011, Simon Sebag Montefiore, Jerusalem: The Biography – A History of the Middle East, page 305:

The conspicuous use of spolia in the Mihaloğlu buildings of the shrine of Syyid Gazi is a remarkable departure from the dominant architectural culture of the time.

2016, Zeynep Yürekli, Architecture and Hagiography in the Ottoman Empire, page 140:

Old objects, artifacts, and/or sculptural elements reused in a later work of architecture.


Saqqaq

From the Greenlandic Saqqaq, a settlement in the Avannaata municipality of western Greenland, near which archaeological excavations discovered remains of the eponymous Saqqaq culture.

2010, February 10ᵗʰ: Brian Handwerk, “Face of Ancient Human Drawn From Hair’s DNA: Genome paints picture of man from extinct Greenland culture”, for National Geographic News
The Saqqaq have long presented a puzzle to scientists, according to study co-author Eske Willerslev, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark.

The Paleo-Eskimo people who inhabited west-central Greenland circa 2500–800BC and who formed the Saqqaq culture.


Paleo-Eskimo

From paleo- (“old, primeval”) + Eskimo. The scholar David J. Meltzer writes that the people are "badly named: there is nothing to indicate they are ancestral Eskimo or spoke an Eskimo language; today's Eskimo refer to them as the Tuniit".

The inhabitants and/or native cultures of the North American Arctic region before the rise of the modern Eskimo cultures in the region; the Saqqaq, Independence I and II, and/or Dorset cultures and peoples.


biestings

"Biestings," or milk from newly-calved cows, should not be sent to the factory or creamery, nor separated till after the eighth milking.

1901 May 24, “Dairying in Australia”, in The Agricultural Journal and Mining Record, volume 4, number 6, page 176:

Alternative spelling of beestings (“first milk after giving birth”)


independent means

She is a woman of independent means.

“[…] This is Mr. Churchill, who, as you are aware, is good enough to come to us for his diaconate, and, as we hope, for much longer; and being a gentleman of independent means, he declines to take any payment.” Saying this Walden rubbed his hands together and smiled contentedly.

1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter VII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:

Income from one's own assets resulting in no need for employment.


drins

From the letters drin concluding the name of each compound + -s.

The chlorinated insecticides aldrin, dieldrin and endrin.


FSM

en-noun

FSM (countable and uncountable, plural FSMs)

finite-state machine
finite-state machine#English

(countable, computing) Initialism of finite-state machine.


seven seals

(biblical) The seals that secure the book or scroll that John of Patmos saw in an apocalyptic vision.


hamentaschen

hamentaschen pl (normally plural, singular hamentasch)


hamantashen

hamantashen pl (normally plural, singular hamantash)


Lit. Hum.

litteræ humaniores
litteræ humaniores#English

(plural only) Abbreviation of litteræ humaniores.


Marcomanni

Learned borrowing from Latin Marcomanni, from Proto-Germanic *markō (“border”) + *mann- (“man”).


bagua

The eight trigrams used in Daoist cosmology.


sevenpence

A newspaper cost sevenpence; there were no national schools or Sunday schools, no penny publications, no penny postage, no railways, no gas, and no free libraries, and no free education!

"A Costermonger in this street," says Crabbe, "finding lately that his rope of onions, which he hoped would have brought a shilling, was to go for only sevenpence henceforth, burst forth into lamentation, execration and the most pathetic tears.

1850, Thomas Carlyle, Latter-Day Pamphlets:

(UK, obsolete) The value of seven old pennies.


scita

From the Latin scīta (“those things that have been sought to be known and learned [by the people and their representatives] and that have been enacted by vote [by them]”), the nominative neuter plural form of scītus (“inquired, enacted, learnt, showing knowledge, fit, suitable, proper”), the perfect passive participle of scīscō (“I seek to know, inquire; I vote for, enact; I learn, ascertain”).

uder

those things that have been sought to be known and learned 􂀿by the people and their representatives􂁀 and that have been enacted by vote 􂀿by them􂁀

(plural only, in the social and political philosophy of Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn) The sum of all the political, economic, technological, scientific, military, geographical, and psychological knowledge of the masses and of their representatives. Usually contrasted with scienda.


scienda

From the Latin scienda (“those things which ought to be known or understood”), the nominative neuter plural form of sciendus (“which is to be known or understood”), the future passive participle (gerundive) of sciō (“I know, understand, have knowledge”).

(plural only, in the social and political philosophy of Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn) The sum of all the political, economic, technological, scientific, military, geographical, and psychological knowledge that a governing body must possess to allow it to reach logically, rationally, and morally sound conclusions. Usually contrasted with scita.


beef curtains

Due to the alleged resemblance of a woman's genitals to a pair of curtains, and their being made of flesh.


reduced circumstances

living in reduced circumstances


responsa

en-noun

responsa pl (normally plural, singular responsum)

From Latin respōnsa, plural of respōnsum (“answer”).

A body of written decisions and rulings given by legal scholars in response to questions addressed to them.


bits and pieces

Fortunately, Dad was an ingenious sort. He had found lots of the bits and pieces he needed for the van from the rubbish dump.

2012, David Walliams [pseudonym; David Edward Williams], Ratburger, London: HarperCollins Children’s Books, →ISBN:

(informal) A random assortment of things; small remaining pieces and things.


tutti quanti

his illiberal use of Voltaire, Hume, Buffon, the Abbe Reynal, Dr. Robertson, and tutti quanti can be injurious only to himself.

1796, Edward Gibbon, Memoirs of my Life and Writing, page 77:

I knew my Foucault as well as anyone and was familiar with Firestone, Millett, Brownmiller, Faludi, e tutte quante.

2010, Tony Judt, New York Review of Books, Blog, 11 Mar 2010

All, everything, everyone; all that, all of those.


referring to the rapid economic expansion and modernization of the period


In addition to glazed ceramics we have, for the first time, actual remnants of wood — not simply imprints in the earth like those found at An-Yang. The first discovery of these woods was an accident, occurring at railroad excavations of the early 1930s in the South China province of Hunan, at the city of Ch’ang-Sha.

1964, Sherman E. Lee, “Chinese Art of the Shang and Chou Dynasties”, in A History of Far Eastern Art, New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., Publishers, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 49, columns 1, 2:


cuntlips

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

(vulgar, usually in the plural) The labia minora or labia majora.


no buts

No expostulations! No buts, girl! No qualifyings, I will be obeyed, I tell you; and chearfully too!

1748, Samuel Richardson, Clarissa, or, the History of a Young Lady:

no ifs, ands, or buts
no ifs, ands, or buts#English

(idiomatic) Alternative form of no ifs, ands, or buts


collectanea

Some of the more familiar conjugations of verbs in the American common speech, as recorded by Charters or Lardner or derived from my own collectanea, are here set down: […]

1921 [1919], H. L. Mencken, The American Language, 2nd edition, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, →ISBN, →OCLC:

A selective collection of passages from various sources or by various authors; an anthology.


freshies

“Freshies are being served tonight!”
“Freshies?” Christina asked. By the sound of his voice, freshies must be something fabulous, she thought.
“Fresh vegetables! Carrots, peas and broccoli!” Dr. Orlav answered with gusto.

2010, Carole Marsh, The Mystery in Icy Antarctica:

(slang, Antarctica) Fresh food, such as vegetables and eggs, that cannot be produced in Antarctica and must be imported.


b****cks

b****cks pl (normally plural, singular b****ck)


b****cks

en-verb

b****cks (third-person singular simple present b****ckses, present participle b****cksing, simple past and past participle b****cksed)

b****ckses (present singular third-person)
b****cksing (participle present)
b****cksed (participle past)
b****cksed (past)


needlenosed pliers

needlenose pliers
needlenose pliers#English


strigoi

From Romanian strigoi, from strigă, from Latin striga (“hag, evil spirit”), from strix (“screech owl”).

In Balkan folklore, the troubled souls of the dead rising from the grave.


money goggles

He's having indiscriminate sex with women, and he's using money goggles instead of beer goggles to get the job done.

The illusion that a man appears more attractive to women when he is wealthy regardless of his appearance or personality.


gests

The pictured lives of martyr, or of saint, / Or gests of valorous knight

1829, John Hanmer, “Proteus”, in Fra Cipolla: And Other Poems:

(obsolete) Alternative form of gists (“a roll reciting the several stages arranged for a royal progress”)


Anunnaki

Annunaki

lizard people; corrupted spelling, mostly restricted to the sense

conspiracy theories
conspiracy theory#Noun

(conspiracy theories) An extraterrestrial reptilian race supposed to originate from a hidden planet called "Niburu", thought to be the overlords of a secret world government and equated with the Nephilim by conspiracy theorists.


the world and his wife

The world and his wife were at the opening – we could barely move.

1957 July 4, General Secretary, The Textile Institute, A Guide to Careers: No. 32: Textile Technology, New Scientist, page 42,
The world and his wife are the customers for whom the textile industry supplies the greatest necessity next to food, and some of the greatest luxuries.

The punk explosion of 1977 prompted the world and his wife to pick up guitars, just as they had grabbed washboards in the skiffle era 20 years before.

1986 April, Jessica Berens, “Scots on the Rocks”, in Spin, page 29:

1972 (1905), Natsume Sōseki, Aiko Ito, Graeme Wilson (translators), I Am a Cat (吾輩は猫である), Volume 2, 2002, combined edition, page 187,
“ […] But they have to consider what the world and his wife will say, and when dealing with the world one simply cannot be too careful.”

“Why not just hire a crier to go around the city, telling all the world and his wife — all the world and our wives — we had our turns riding Connie to hounds?”

1998, Kasey Michaels, Indiscreet, published 2000, page 229:

2001, advertisement, quoted in 2001, Guy Cook, The Discourse of Advertising, page 112,
Gripping stuff, Subaru four-wheel drive. The world and his wife′s favourite in fact.

(hyperbolic, chiefly UK, Australia) Everyone; a great crowd; a jumbled assortment of people.


Aja

A Nilo-Saharan language spoken in Sudan.


five of a kind

(card games) five cards of the same rank, often only possible if one or more wild cards are being used.


Altai

From the Turkic word for "Golden Mountain". Compare Turkish altın (“gold”), dağ (“mountain”) and al (“red, colorful”) which altın is likely related to.

The people living in the region of the Altai mountains.


bums in seats

Travel industry analyst Doug Galbraith of Runzheimer Canada speculated the airline came up with the card because it was simply "in need of getting bums in seats.

1989 February 28, Rob Carrick, “Wardair Offer Urged Executives to Pay $18,000 for Year's Travel”, in Toronto Star (Canadian Press), page B8:

"It's all about bums in seats," Copps said in a downtown Vancouver theatre.

2000 October 6, Daniel Girard, “Ottawa to Double Canadian Film Funding”, in Toronto Star, page F13:

Wrestlers and promoters began to realise opportunities for gimmicks with broad appeal which would be used to put bums in seats.

2007 October 26, “Meet the Pro-Wrestlers of Auckland”, in New Zealand Herald, retrieved 2010-08-31:

'He's a quality player and puts bums in seats.'

2010 April 27, “Former Liverpool and Leeds Star Robbie Fowler on the Move Again”, in Daily Mail, London, retrieved 2010-08-31:

(informal, chiefly Commonwealth) Spectators, passengers, or customers in attendance at a venue or other place where people assemble.


flying monkeys

Smash the emergency glass, press the big red button and just STOP. Step off the Yellow Brick Road, get mixed up with some flying monkeys and throw yourself into all manner of trouble. Trust me. IT'S YOUR LAST CHANCE.

2011 August 19, Emma Kennedy, “Relax - a gap year's supposed to be fun”, in The Guardian:

(informal, chiefly ironic or humorous) Synonym of winged monkeys (“ominous pawns of evil forces”)


winged monkeys

Metaphorical reference to the literal winged monkeys that appear as the minions of the Wicked Witch of the West in the 1900 children’s novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: winged + monkeys.

(plural only, chiefly ironic or humorous) Ominous pawns of evil forces.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
Wicked Witch of the West


jobs for the boys

The problem with jobs on the board is that it is reminiscent of another phrase: jobs for the boys.

2010 January 27, Daloni Carlisle, The Guardian:

Jobs unfairly given to someone's friends, supporters, or relations.


Cham

The Malayo-Polynesian language spoken by these people.


Krumen

The Grebo language spoken by these people.


tennies

The Moore Brothers is a white-boys blues band almost stereotypical in its composition: an energetic, toothpick-chewing drummer; a scrawny, ascetic bass player who stood shorter than his upright bass; a clean-cut Charlie in polo shirt and tennies fingering some classic blues solos--sans painful facial expressions--and the leader, an Andy Renko sort singing and occasionally diddling on harp and keeping things fresh with a remarkable collection of esoteric blues standards.

1989 June 30, Ted Cox, “South Bend, IN”, in Chicago Reader:

Baby Duffy's tennies, jeans, and polo shirt--each borrowed from the grown-up vocabulary for down time--are scaled small, colored bright, and retrofitted with patches at elbow and knee.

1995 September 1, Leah Eskin, “Fashion Statements: the young and the cautious”, in Chicago Reader:

In 1989 she performed a solo called Fame & Fortune in a pink Afro wig, a tutu, and tennies.

2003 April 11, Laura Molzahn, “Jan Erkert”, in Chicago Reader:


knicks

“People never notice you when you are looking half- decent. During the sales I was in a communal changing room and was stripped down to my knicks — and not my best car accident knickers either — when a woman said, ‘Aren’t you that woman off the telly?’ and everyone stared.”

2003 February 9, “The Greenham Common girl done good”, in The Times:

Despite all the attention focused on Beth, when Gossip performs, they are without doubt a band: Nathan and Hannah Billie, the drummer, being just as cartoon charismatic as Beth herself, though perhaps less likely to strip to their knicks and dive-bomb the crowd.

2009 July 5, Miranda Sawyer, “Everything that you think is weird is normal to me”, in The Observer:


saggy trousers

2007, June 14, BBC News, US town set to ban saggy trousers
A mayor in the US state of Louisiana says he will sign into law a proposal to make wearing saggy trousers an act of indecent exposure.

a style of casual jeans or trousers which have the waistband well below the waistband of the underwear shorts, leaving the top part of these exposed.


spankies

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

The skirts flare out in just the right way, and our spankies have little sequined sharks sewn on the rear.

2008, Debbie Reed Fischer, Swimming with the Sharks, page 51:

Full underpants worn by cheerleaders, colour-coordinated as part of a matching outfit and designed to be seen under their skirts.


land rights for gay whales

en-noun

land rights for gay whales pl (plural only)

(Australia) a parody of typical Greens policies and those that support them.


gymnics

others impotent, of a cold and dry constitution, cannot sustain those gymnics without great hurt done to their own bodies […]


abbreviation; nowadays, however, mostly referring to the 1990s rather than the 1890s

The period from year 1890 to (the end of) year 1899; almost the same period as the 10th (and last) decade of the 19th century, which, however, was the years 1891 to 1900.


The period from year 2010 to 2019; almost the same period as the second decade of the 21st century, which, however, was the years 2011 to 2020.


The period that started on January 1, 2020 and will end on December 31, 2029; almost the same period as the 3rd decade of the 21st century (which, however, started in year 2021 and will end with year 2030).


Weyewa

A tribe living in Indonesia, on the island of Sumba.


feeder cattle

(agriculture) Steers or cows that are mature enough to be placed in a feedlot in preparation for slaughter.


predrinks

From pre- + drinks, generalised from, for example, predinner drinks.

Neither Bob nor Dorothy showed up for predrinks at the producer′s home.

1998, George Eells, Robert Mitchum: A Biography:

I was thinking to have had an initial predrinks meeting-up phase in the North-End pub (everybody knows where that is,right?) starting at 18:00, and then have had dinner around seven fifteen at the Illegale, and after that have gone back to the North-End.

1998 September 16, Patrick 'Turtle' Dersjant, “[F] Dutch Pre-Con Minimeet”, in alt.fan.pratchett.announce (Usenet):

Predrinks will still remain the best option for myself ... I didn't stock up a fully equipped bar with a selection of each of my favourite spirits and liquers and beers for nothing :)

2000 February 11, Ammorata, “Melbourne's goth scene from a Canberran perspective...”, in aus.culture.gothic (Usenet):

Predrinks at Slug and Lettice^([sic]), very near Canary Wharf Jubilee Line station from 7pm, leaving 7.30pm(ish) to make our way over to Crossharbour.

2002 December 20, Paul G, “Have I missed Christmas?”, in uk.gay-lesbian-bi (Usenet):

It's the only country I have been in where everybody, and I do mean everybody, arrives at the pub in a state of total intoxication and proceeds to drinking like fish. The predrinks are done as the off sales prices are reasonable whereas bar prices caused me to nearly faint but arriving drunk numbs that effect.

2007 August 4, Cerumen, “Harry Potter and the Monumental Cock-up”, in uk.rec.sheds (Usenet):

(colloquial, informal) Alcoholic drinks consumed before a party, pub crawl or other social event.


terrible twos

The terrible twos can begin at 18 months and last until about age five.

1988 February, Working Mother, volume 11, number 2:

The terrible twos came early. Almost a year early. When Ryan learned to walk it was the end of our peace of mind!

1990, Susan Hughes, Ryan: a mother's story of her hyperactive/Tourette syndrome child:

(informal, psychology) A developmental stage in toddlers, normally occurring around the age of two, involving refusals and temper tantrums.


hot lips

For Hot Lips and Poison Kiss divas: Your lips are the most suggestive, sensual erogenous zone you've got—work it, girl, and get his attention focused right where it belongs.

2010, Violet Blue, Seal It with a Kiss: Tips, Tricks, and Techniques for Delivering the Knockout Kiss, →ISBN, page 36:

A person who kisses or is said to kiss passionately.


65. How many 10's in 100? How many 100's in 1000?

1831, Henry Bartlett Maglathlin, Benjamin Greenleaf, The complete arithmetic: oral and written, page 43:


apples to oranges

However, Google has responded by criticising “apples to oranges” comparisons to subscription-based music services like Apple Music and Spotify’s premium tier.

2016 March 23, “YouTube and music labels clash again over ‘meagre’ artist royalties”, in The Guardian:

Thus looking at modeled surface air temperatures versus measured global land-ocean surface temperatures is an apples-to-oranges comparison.

2016 July 5, Dana Nuccitelli, “New research: climate may be more sensitive and situation more dire”, in The Guardian:

apples and oranges
apples and oranges#English


leaps and bounds

“And how did he make his money?”
“In mining. He had nothing a few years ago. Then he struck gold, invested it, and came up by leaps and bounds.”

1892 [April], A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. X.—The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor.”, in Geo[rge] Newnes, editor, The Strand Magazine: An Illustrated Monthly, volume III (January to June), number [16], London: George Newnes, Limited, […], page 390, column 2:

[…]although they have made leaps and bounds in some areas, they're still using some of the same medications that they used on my brother 31 years ago with this particular disease[…]

1990 March 26, The Larry King Show, via CNN:


ferae naturae

From Latin ferus and natura, therefore meaning 'of a wild nature'.

So soon as the coneys come on his neighbor's land he may kill them, for they are ferae naturae, and he who makes the coney-boroughs has no property in them, and he shall not be punished for the damage which the coneys do in which he has no property, and which the other may lawfully kill.

1597, Decision in Boulston's case, as quoted in Ronald Coase, "The Problem of Social Cost", 1960

But I am not muzzled yet: they shall find me one of the feræ naturæ.

1792, Thomas Holcroft, Anna St. Ives, vol. IV, letter 71:


toys in the attic

Crazy / Toys in the attic, I am crazy / Truly gone fishing

1979, “The Trial”, in The Wall, performed by Pink Floyd:

"Loony," Milo said smugly. He'd found the button, all right. "Loony's kid, loony's kid, your father's got toys in the attic, kid, tough break...

"You're nuts," Bruno said. "You've got toys in the attic. No one's happy to be here."

1990, Susan Fromberg Schaeffer, Buffalo afternoon: