gentlefolk

[ˈd͡ʒɛɾ̃l̩-]

From gentle (“(archaic) well-born; of a good family or respectable birth”) + folk.

compound

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]:

Well, Gentlefolk, I dare now wage a Crown, / You take me for the verieſt Romp in Town,— / But ere I part from ye, I'll let you ſee, / There's other Molly Buxomes beſides me; [...]

1729, [Thomas] d’Urfey, “[The Comical History of Don Quixote. With the Marriage of Mary the Buxome. Part III.] Epilogue, by Mary the Buxome”, in The Comical History of Don Quixote. […], London: Printed for J[ohn] Darby, […], A[rthur] Bettesworth […], and F[rancis] Clay […], all in trust for Richard, James, and Bethel Wellington, →OCLC, page 211:

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 Sr.], “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:

We've been found to be the greatest gentlefolk in the whole county—reaching all back long before Oliver Grumble's time—to the days of the Pagan Turks—with monuments, and vaults, and crests, and 'scutcheons, and the Lord knows what all.

1891, Thomas Hardy, chapter III, in Tess of the d’Urbervilles: A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented […], volume I, London: James R[ipley] Osgood, McIlvaine and Co., […], →OCLC, phase the first (The Maiden), page 32:

We are not concerned with the very poor. They are unthinkable and only to be approached by the statistician and the poet. This story deals with gentlefolk, or with those who are obliged to pretend that they are gentlefolk.

1908–1910, E[dward] M[organ] Forster, “Leonard and Jacky”, in Howards End, New York, N.Y., London: G[eorge] P[almer] Putnam’s Sons […], published 1910, →OCLC, page 53:

This gift, which had been accompanied by a few kind words, had gone to Bunting's heart. It had confirmed him in his Conservative principles; only gentlefolk ever behaved in that way; quiet, old-fashioned, respectable gentlefolk, the sort of people of whom those nasty Radicals knew nothing and care less!

1913, Mrs. [Marie] Belloc Lowndes, chapter XXI, in The Lodger, London: Methuen, →OCLC; republished in Novels of Mystery: The Lodger; The Story of Ivy; What Really Happened, New York, N.Y.: Longmans, Green and Co., […], [1933], →OCLC, page 240:

The twelfth century was the fist medieval century to know the sorry plight of distressed gentlefolk. Western society had, by then, discovered standards of display which the man of blood had to live up to, or fall in dignity.

2002, David Crouch, “The Household Knight”, in William Marshal: Knighthood, War and Chivalry, 1147–1219, 2nd edition, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, New York, N.Y.: Routledge, published 2014, →ISBN, page 29:

(archaic) People of superior social position.


TPH

(rail transport) Initialism of trains per hour.


tph

Transport for London is working to increase capacity on the East London line stretch of London Overground. Work is underway to increase frequencies from the current 16 trains per hour (tph) to 18tph, with new funding now announced to further improve this to 20tph in the future.

2019 September 5, “Funding for 20tph East London line service”, in Modern Railways, archived from the original on 2019-10-08:

Alternative letter-case form of TPH (“trains per hour”)


novellae

They should publicize all my novellae in order to bring merit to the many, and if, indeed, I have erred, it is my fault, and I apologize.

Quoted in 2021, Lawrence Fine, Judaism in Practice (page 166)

Novel thoughts or interpretations, usually associated with Jewish commentaries (see Chiddush); any novel interpretation of a venerated text.


Muwekma

Muwekma is the native people's word for "the people" in the dialects of Chochenyo and Tamyen.

The northern Ohlone people, as well as other Native Americans who descended from Mission Indians resident at the Santa Clara, San Jose or San Francisco Missions.


Rumsen

One of eight divisions of the Ohlone Native American people of northern California native to Monterey Bay Area.


fun and games

Being a film director isn't all fun and games.

You wouldn't believe the fun and games I had trying to find somewhere to park.

(idiomatic, often used ironically) Recreation; nothing serious; easy, enjoyable activities.

it's all fun and games until someone loses an eye


sweatpants

(US) Informal cotton trousers, with an elasticated or drawstring waist, used for exercise etc.


jammies

en-noun

jammies pl (plural only, attributive jammy)

GUY: I've always worn jammies. Don't think I'd feel right without 'em.
 SAM [Tosses pajamas to Guy L.]: Then you wear them.

1961, Patricia McLaine, Love Is Contagious, Dramatists Play Service, Inc., →ISBN, page 48:

I was just in my pajamas and slippers, and I blushed because she was looking at me. Then she whispered, "Take off your jammies, and love me up good, Arlene. Please, I want you to."

2009, Arlene Gorey, My Spanking Diary, page 28:

Took her a sec to come to the door; but she did, eventually. In jammies. Like she'd stayed in, couldn't sleep, and got hungry.

2022, Sean Thor Conroe, Fuccboi, Hachette, →ISBN:


personalia

Evidently doing this job would be as much a matter of probing his memory for links and identifications, as of reading his personalia and getting up the history of Sudan.

1988, Alan Hollinghurst, The Swimming-Pool Library, paperback edition, London: Penguin Books, →ISBN, page 96:

All the personal belongings, writings and information of an individual.


grundies

* As Grundies, an underwear brand name.
* Possibly an abbreviated form of Reg Grundies, rhyming slang for undies, after media magnate Reg Grundy.

So I shrugged and shifted like my grundies were too tight.

2003, Ken Catran, Bloody Liggie, page 95:

(Australia, New Zealand, UK, slang) Underpants.


faint of heart

en-adj

faint of heart (comparative more faint of heart, superlative most faint of heart)

more faint of heart (comparative)
most faint of heart (superlative)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-faint of heart.wav


slops

Chrysippus said that some Philosophers would in open view of all men shew a dozen of tumbling-tricks, yea, without any slops or breeches, for a dozen of olives.

1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 12, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book II, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC:

A pair of slops.

a. 1587, Philippe Sidnei [i.e., Philip Sidney], “(please specify the folio)”, in [Fulke Greville; Matthew Gwinne; John Florio], editors, The Countesse of Pembrokes Arcadia [The New Arcadia], London: […] [John Windet] for William Ponsonbie, published 1590, →OCLC:

The original "slops" were voluminous breeches of about knee length, reminiscent of 17th century "petticoat breeches", worn with stockings; these continue to be depicted as late as 1790s, but trousers, first introduced as slop-clothing in 1720s, were more functional and more popular.

2012, Philip Haythornthwaite, Nelson's navy, page 26:

(nautical, historical) Sailors’ breeches ending just below the knees or above the ankles, worn mainly in XVIII century.

(nautical, dated) Clothing and bedding issued to sailors.


Men in Black

Alternative form of men in black (“covert government operatives”)


bullocks

Traffic is very light and there I am, sweating my bullocks off and it seem, bike starting to seriously overheat, and rider bike combo isn't bloody heavy enough to set off the bloody trip wires.

2000 February 4, Dr Evil, “Traffic light road sensons Vic”, in aus.motorcycles (Usenet):

Robbie Keane should come up with something more suitable to his person, like scratching his bullocks after every goal.

2001 February 20, Bert Kwouk, “Re: Stupid Goal Celebtrations”, in uk.sport.football.clubs.liverpool (Usenet):

I think this summer's IJA, with its line-up of guests, is going to be quite good as well. I know I'm working my bullocks off to make the workshops line-up sparkle and shine.

2009 June 8, Matt Hall, “Re: Throwing higher, tiff bjc workshop”, in rec.juggling (Usenet):


bullocks

“Oh, bullocks!” she exclaimed. “Well, no real harm done. I remember the numbers.”

2001, Sanford H. Margalith, edited by Gail M. Hayden, Captains, Jona Books, →ISBN, page 122:

It looks as thoguh you’re in store for a live threed Chairman Olin, I should wan you that the following presentation has been deemed doublepluscrimethink by our Supreme Revolutionary Oceanic Ministry of Truth, and possession of this material in any form is...oh, bullocks, I gave myself away...

2003, Paul Lucian, Nineteeneightyfive; an Unnovel, iUniverse, →ISBN, page 191:

“Oh bullocks!” he shook his head in disgust. “You haven't heard a word I said!”

2008, Valjeanne JEffers, editor, Immortal, Lulu.com, →ISBN, page 42:

(slang, euphemistic) Expression of frustration.


seven virtues

(Catholicism) The seven heavenly virtues: the three theological and four cardinal virtues.


idiot mittens

(idiomatic, plural only) Mittens connected by yarn or string (idiot string (Canadian English)) running through one sleeve, along the back and out at the other sleeve of a coat, to prevent the mittens becoming lost. Generally worn by small children.


dykes

Likely a blend of diagonal + cut, with influence from dyke and dike.

If you use undersized dykes to cut large wire, you can damage or break them.

2008, John Hechtman, Audio Wiring Guide: How to Wire the Most Popular Audio and Video Connectors, page 15:

For cutting lead came, you’ll need ‘lead came dykes,’ which are simple nippers designed to avoid crushing the lead.

2022, Neile Cooper, Kicking Glass: A Creative Guide to Stained Glass Craft, page 40:

Diagonal cutting pliers; diagonal pliers; diagonal cutters; wire cutters.


megrims

Thou art properly my cephalick ſnuff, and art no bad medicine againſt megrims, vertigoes, and profound thinking—ha, ha, ha.

1766, George Colman, David Garrick, The Clandestine Marriage, a Comedy. […], London: […] T. Becket and P. A. De Hondt, […]; R[oberts] Baldwin, […]; R. Davis, […]; and T[homas] Davies, […], →OCLC, Act IV, scene ii, page 58:

I'm not myself, of course, an idealistic girl in love with a member of the staff of the Thursday Review and never have been, but if I were I know I'd get the megrims somewhat severely if I caught [my fiancé] in a clinch with anyone as personable as this stepdaughter of Aubrey Upjohn, for though shaky on the IQ, physically she was a pipterino of the first water.

1960, P[elham] G[renville] Wodehouse, chapter XIII, in Jeeves in the Offing, London: Herbert Jenkins, →OCLC:

Chiefly preceded by the: depression, low spirits, unhappiness.


powers that be

After Romans 13:1 in the Tyndale Bible and the King James Version.
The phrase is a translation of the Ancient Greek αἱ οὖσαι ἐξουσίαι (hai oûsai exousíai, “the existing authorities”). “Be” is the archaic third-person plural present indicative form, equivalent to the modern “are”, not a subjunctive.

der

αἱ οὖσαι ἐξουσίαι

It appeared as though the hospital at Barchester would fall into abeyance, unless the powers that be should take some steps towards putting it once more into working order.

1857, Anthony Trollope, chapter 2, in Barchester Towers. […], copyright edition, volume (please specify |volume=I or II), Leipzig: Bernhard Tauchnitz, published 1859, →OCLC:

Whoever you elect, he will legislate in favor of ‘law and order,’ to protect things as they are. The main concern of the powers that be is that the people should continue to believe in and uphold the existing system.

1929, Alexander Berkman, chapter 10, in Now and After: The ABC of Communist Anarchism, New York: Vanguard Press, →OCLC:

Time is truly wastin', there's no guarantee / Smile is in the makin', we've got to fight the powers that be

1975, “Fight the Power (Part 1 & 2)”, in The Heat Is On, performed by The Isley Brothers:

The powers that be, they trick us / Loopholes to evict us

2021, “Skyline”, in Parallel World, performed by Cadence Weapon:

(idiomatic) The holders of power or the authorities in a given situation, especially if seen as being faceless or unreasonably bureaucratic.


gay rights

The concept that people of minority sexual orientations such as homosexuality (gay people), are entitled to the same rights and considerations as heterosexuals.


longs

We then got dressed in our assault kit; one vest, two shirts, two jerseys, one lumber jacket, one pair of shorts, one pair of pajama longs, one pair of longs, one pair of snow goggles, a balaclava, two pairs of gloves, one pair of mitts […]

1957, Boys' Life, volume 47, number 5, page 81:

On the other hand, Bruce Camlin was one of the new generation of ang moh who knew their place in the new order, the post-colonial era. When he walked in on his first day, he wore longs made of coarse khaki and shirts that came off a supermarket peg.

2013, Clement Mesenas, The Last Great Strike:

Long trousers/pants, as opposed to shorts.


animal rights

Certain fundamental rights that animals are entitled to, such as the right to be spared undue suffering.


greaves

From Low German (compare German Low German Greev, Greve (“greaves”)), from Middle Low German grêve, from Old Saxon *griovo, from Proto-West Germanic *greubō (“roughage, brushwood, kindling”), the root of German Griebe (“greaves, crackling”). Possibly related to gruff. Also compare Old High German grob (“coarse”) (modern German grob).

The unmeltable residue left after animal fat has been rendered.


BCGs

birth control glasses
birth control glasses#English

(military slang) Initialism of birth control glasses.


birth control glasses

(plural only, US, military slang) The brown-framed prescription eyeglasses issued to new recruits in the U.S. military, and perceived as notoriously unattractive.


Anamnia

(biology) All the vertebrates, fish and amphibians, which lack an amnion during development.


the bigs

He played AA ball for years, but never made it to the bigs.


hedonic damages

(law) Damages awarded to the plaintiff, in a personal injury case, for the loss of joy of living.


packaged forces

(military) Forces of varying size and composition preselected for specific missions in order to facilitate planning and training


soap suds

Lather, suds, foam produced by soap in water.


sparrow dominoes

calque of Chinese 麻將／麻将 (májiàng) + dominoes.

There is probably no town in China where the click of the Sparrow dominoes is so little heard.

1921, John Dewey, “Impressions from Canton”, in China Monthly Review:


bankers' hours

From the traditional opening hours of banks in the 1800s, and in some parts of the United States, maintained until the 1960s.

Q: How's she like her new job?
A: She's careful not to admit it, but it's bankers' hours and she knows it.

(figuratively) Any easy job, especially one with a short working day.


subtropics

The region between the tropics and the temperate latitudes of the world.

亞熱帶

the region between the tropics and the temperate latitudes of the world


crossed fingers

Alternative spelling of fingers crossed (“hopefully, wishfully”)


crossed fingers

A superstitious hand gesture of good luck.


Adam and Steve

(humorous, often attributive) A phrase, often satirical, recasting the Biblical couple of Adam and Eve as a homosexual couple, Adam and Steve. In context, it may be used as a pejorative against either homosexuality or religious opposition to it.

Adão e Ivo

a phrase recasting the Biblical couple of Adam and Eve as a homosexual couple


greige goods

/ɡɹeɪʒ ˈɡʊdz/

/ɡɹeɪʒ ˈɡʊdz/

From greige (“of clothing, textiles, etc.: neither bleached nor dyed, nor otherwise fully processed”) + goods.

compound

(textiles) Clothing, textiles, etc., which have neither been bleached nor dyed, nor otherwise fully processed.

raakakankaat

clothing, textiles, etc., which have neither been bleached nor dyed, nor otherwise fully processed


orientalia

Things from the Orient, especially decorative objects from eastern Asia.


angels dancing on the head of a pin

en-noun

angels dancing on the head of a pin pl (plural only)

An allusion to the theological question “How many angels can dance on the head of a pin?” — a question cited to debunk mediaeval angelology in particular and scholasticism in general. The point is that explorative discussions that the discussants consider important can be academic in both senses of that word—not only arcane but also irrelevant.

We are not talking about angels dancing on the head of a pin here.

1965, United States Congress House Government Operations, Procurement of a Cryogenic Cooling System for Fighter Aircraft: Hearing, 89-1, June 8–9, 1965, page 47:

…logically indistinguishable from the argument that because we do not know at what rate the angels dancing on the head of a pin are dying off…

1995, Julian Lincoln Simon, The State of Humanity, page 358:

The issues Dr. Wolfensberger wrestles with and writes about are not intellectual discussions of angels dancing on the head of a pin.

2001, William C. Gaventa, David L. Coulter, The Theological Voice of Wolf Wolfensberger, page 6:

(figurative) The subject of arcane intellectual speculation; used as an example of a subject of enquiry in which the pursuit is of no value.


mechanic arts

(archaic) In the 19th century, engineering and other mechanical fields of expertise (comparable to performing arts and the fine arts).

useful arts

probably encompassed the mechanic arts as well as craftsmanship in general.


microelectronics

(plural only) Microelectronic devices as a non-specific mass.


coals to Newcastle

Newcastle upon Tyne and Newcastle, New South Wales were major coal-exporting cities, so sending coal there would be pointless.

No more coals to Newcastle, no more Hoares to Paris.

1935, attributed to King George V of the United Kingdom (but possibly a then-circulating joke; see wikiquote)

(idiomatic) A pointless venture, in the sense of sending something to a place where it is made, or where they already have an abundance.

Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle, New South Wales


teinds

In Scotland, tithes derived from the produce of the land for the maintenance of the clergy.


piano keys

(aviation, slang) The large white striped section at the ends of a runway, used as a landing aiming point and as a distance indicator.


Sakha

Borrowed from Russian саха́ (saxá), from Yakut саха (saqa), from Proto-Turkic *yaka (“edge; collar”).


rubbery figures

Inaccurate or incomplete statistical data (especially economic) used to support misleading conclusions.


transfer earnings

factor of production
factor of production

(economics) The amount that a factor of production must be paid in order to prevent it from transferring to an alternative use.


sands of time

[…] And, departing, leave behind us / Footprints on the sands of time […]

1838 October, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, “A Psalm of Life. […]”, in Voices of the Night, Cambridge, Mass.: […] John Owen, published 1839, →OCLC, stanza 7, page 7:

(literary) time considered as a finite commodity that is gradually running out, as the sand in an hourglass


Lincoln Logs

Named after Abraham Lincoln; instructions for building a model of his cabin were originally included.

(US) A construction toy consisting of miniature, notched logs from which log cabins and similar buildings may be made.


smallclothes

One hand slid up her thigh and underneath her smallclothes.

2000, George R. R. Martin, A Storm of Swords: A Song of Fire and Ice, →ISBN, page 701:

Are red socks a secret handshake, a mark of Etonhood, of an allegiance to the place both claimed and disclaimed? And having seen one pair I'm noticing them all over the place, a conspiracy of smallclothes.

2007 April 10, Tobias Hill, “School Stories”, in The Guardian, UK, retrieved 2014-05-17:

(British, archaic) Underwear and other small items of clothing.


shirtsleeves

shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations

Even though there were dangerous chemicals about, they worked in their shirtsleeves rather than hazmat suits.

For children in shirtsleeves or summer dresses, the optimum temperature was 24.5 degrees Centigrade, and for children wearing jumpers or blazers, it was 21.5 degrees Centigrade.

1973 December, MA Humphreys, “Classroom Temperature, Clothing and Thermal Comfort--A Study of Secondary School Children in Summertime. Building Research Establishment Current Paper 22/74”, in The Building Services Engineer, volume 41:

After a while hte sun grew warm enough to remove her sweatshirt and work in shirtsleeves.

1993, Dana Stabenow, A Fatal Thaw, →ISBN:

In a cluttered study Lincoln sits in shirtsleeves and slippers, at work on the document.

2007, Darrel E. Bigham, Lincoln, Race, and Slavery:

While they were drinking prelunch martinis, a staffer entered the room nervously, the urgency of the moment signaled by the fact that he approached Graham in just his shirtsleeves.

2017, R Aldous, Schlesinger: The Imperial Historian:

Street clothes, without a jacket or special protection.


carabinieri

Then were heard a few scattered yells of derision and protest, a few shouts of anger and derision against the carabinieri.

1922, D.H. Lawrence, Aaron's Rod, BiblioBazaar, published 2008, →ISBN, page 196:


paralipomena

paralipomena pl (normally plural, singular paralipomenon)

/ˌpæɹəlɪˈpɒmənə/

Borrowed from Ancient Greek παραλειπόμενα (paraleipómena, literally “things omitted”), from παραλείπω (paraleípō, “to leave out”), from παρά (pará) + λείπω (leípō).

bor+

παραλειπόμενα

af

παρά (pará) + λείπω (leípō)

(literary analysis) The different text variants or text witnesses researched when creating a critical edition.


Chalcese

In order to provide victims for the ſolemn coronation of their kings, the Mexicans uſed to quarrel with ſome neighbouring nation, and ſlaughter their priſoners. This was now the fate of the Chalcheſe.

1782, review of Storia antica del Messico, in The Critical Review: Or, Annals of Literature, vol. 54, page 144

Itzcoatl died in 1436, at an advanced age, and Montezuma was called to the throne; one of the first acts of his reign was to build an immense temple, and he was no sooner placed on the imperial seat, than he was called to a war between the Chalcese and the Tezcucans

1818, R. H. Bonnycastle, Spanish America, volume 1, page 111:

The Chalchese immediately fell on the Mexicans, and they were all destroyed.

1827, John Ranking, Historical Researches on the Conquest of Peru, Mexico, Bogota, Natchez, and Talomeco, page 308:


Rocky Mountains

en-proper noun

the Rocky Mountains pl (normally plural, singular Rocky Mountain)

the Rocky Mountains (canonical plural)
Rocky Mountain (singular)

Calque of French Montagnes de Roche first recorded in 1752 by Jacques Legardeur de Saint-Pierre, believed to itself be a calque from an indigenous language, possibly a calque of Plains Cree ᐊᓯᓃᐘᒋᕀ (asinîwaciy), a compound which includes ᐊᓯᓂᕀ (asiniy, “rock”) + ᐘᒋᕀ (waciy, “mountain”).

calque

Meronym: Sangre de Cristo Mountains

A range of mountains running from Northern New Mexico to Alaska.


Chalca

en-adj

Chalca (comparative more Chalca, superlative most Chalca)

more Chalca (comparative)
most Chalca (superlative)


inner workings

Nobody really understands the inner workings of politics.

The mechanisms that function internally to a system and are not outwardly visible


Paralympic Games

An international sports competition participated in by sportspeople with physical disabilities, which is held every four years as a counterpart of the Olympic Games and nowadays at the same venue.

أَلْعَاب بَارَالِمْبِيَّة

international sports competition participated in by sportspeople with physical disabilities — see also Paralympics


outsiders

In the wagon, were found, under the seat, a pistol, a billy, and a pair of outsiders.

1885, Cases Determined by the St. Louis, Kansas City and Springfield Courts of Appeals of the State of Missouri, volume 14:

A pair of nippers for turning a key in a keyhole from the outside.


combings

Fragments of hair etc. removed with a comb.


quads

(music) A set of four tenor drums played by a drummer, typically in a marching band or drum corps.


hard feelings

If you will name the price you put upon the articles, it is possible the damage may be quietly settled between us, and all hard feelings forgotten.

1827, James Fenimore Cooper, chapter 31, in The Prairie:

This foreign visitor asked me how I felt about the war, and I told him that it was over, and I bore no hard feelings.

1922, Upton Sinclair, chapter 1, in They Call Me Carpenter:

The eviction itself went relatively smoothly, but the hard feelings it generated resound deep inside Israeli army barracks.

2007 August 16, Tim McGirk, “The West Bank: Mission Critical”, in Time:


underhanded

underhanded (comparative more underhanded, superlative most underhanded)

more underhanded (comparative)
most underhanded (superlative)

Between 9.30, when the first shot was fired, and 11.45 a.m., the enemy, well aware of his vast superiority in men — the ' Intrepid,' being, as was usual with the Company's cruisers, underhanded — made two attempts to run her on board and throw an overpowering force on the brig's decks.

1877, Charles Rathbone Low, History of the Indian Navy: (1613-1863), page 209:

Jude and me can make out to work the boat and get a livin', but we're too underhanded for a big job.

2008, H. De Vere Stacpoole, Satan: a Story of the Sea King's Country, →ISBN, page 51:

The government believed that most plantations in St. Vincent were “underhanded” and the phenomenon of runaways, or marronage, only exacerbated the problem.

2012, Christopher Taylor, The Black Carib Wars: Freedom, Survival, and the Making of the Garifuna, page 1617033111:


exoterica

/ɛksəˈtɛɹɪkə/

Writing, facts, principles, etc. that are widely known.


turkey tones

(slang) The intercept sound and frequencies a PBX system generates due to dialing error or denial of the service as requested.

An alternating high/low tone and frequency generated on PBX/PSTN systems (hi-lo-hi-lo-hi-lo).


gleanings

the crops leftover from farmers' fields after they have been commercially harvested, or on fields where it is not economically profitable to harvest

pakopako

the crops leftover from fields after harvesting


Boston baked beans

A mixture of navy beans or pinto beans and molasses baked slowly.


laughter lines

Especially visible when smiling or laughing.

A fat, orbicular and jolly soul / With laughter-lines upon each rosy jowl

1903, Ambrose Bierce, “The Saint and the Monk”, in Shapes of Clay:

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see laughter, lines.


analects

1658, from Ancient Greek ἀνάλεκτα (análekta, “things chosen”), from ἀνα- (ana-, “up”) + λέγω (légō, “I gather”). Compare lecture.


crossbones

A representation of two femurs (thighbones) crossed diagonally, chiefly combined with a human skull as a symbol of danger or death.

luut ristissä

representation of two femurs crossed diagonally


Africana

/ˌæfɹɪˈkænə/

/ˌæfɹɪˈkɑnə/

/ˌæfɹɪˈkeɪnə/

From Latin āfricāna, the neuter plural of āfricānus (“African”). By surface analysis, Africa + -ana (“things (plural)”), analogous to Americana. First attested in 1908.

surf

Africana is a word of many different meanings; to one it means books and other printed or manuscript material, to another it means objects other than books. For Africana Notes and News it is used in its widest sense ... it is restricted only from a geographical point of view; it denotes not the whole of Africa but only Southern Africa. (Africana Notes & News, 1943)

Collectible objects, such as maps, documents and artifacts, peculiar to Africa, especially Southern Africa.


facetiae

Originated 1520–30 from Latin facētiae, plural of facētia (jest); see facete+-ia and facetious.

The Facetiae of Poggio Bracciolini.

(rare) Witty or amusing writings or remarks.


Awabakal

A people indigenous to New South Wales, Australia.


Awabakal

The extinct Pama-Nyungan Australian Aboriginal suffixing language, within the Yuin-Kuric group, formerly spoken by these people.


Amaimon

The Papuan language spoken by these people.


Plains Apache

The Apache peoples living primarily in Oklahoma.


Plains Apache

The now-extinct Southern Athabascan language spoken by the Plains Apache people.


strategics

The field or activity of using strategy.


Mende

A large West African ethnic group, speakers of the Mende language, living primarily in Sierra Leone and Liberia.


pseudepigrapha

en-noun

pseudepigrapha pl (normally plural, singular pseudepigraphon or pseudepigraph)

pseudepigraphon (singular)
pseudepigraph (singular)

From Ancient Greek ψευδής (pseudḗs, “false”) + ἐπιγραφή (epigraphḗ, “inscription”), literally “false title”.

af

The Jewish pseudepigrapha bear the names of Old Testament patriarchs, kings, or prophets.

1906, Henry Barclay Swete, “Authorship”, in The Apocalypse of St. John: the Greek text with introd., notes and indices, Macmillan, page clxx:

Now, the myth theory, as it happens, is neither made nor marred by any decision as to the spuriousness of the Pauline letters. The crucial point is that, whether early or late—and the dating of them as pseudepigrapha is a difficult matter—the cardinal epistles have been interpolated.

1916, J. M. Robertson, “The Pauline Problem”, in The Historical Jesus: A Survey of Positions:

The difference between a pseudepigraph and a peroration is that the peroration is composed by the author of the main message. A pseudepigraph is composed by a different author, trying to leave the impression that it was the same. Heb 13 is clearly a pseudepigraph.

2006, George Wesley Buchanan, The Book of Hebrews: Its Challenge from Zion, Wipf and Stock, page 415:

The title of her^([Clare K. Rothschild]) monograph Hebrews as Pseudepigraphon¹³ reflects one of her main claims: "Hebrews should be classified as a Pauline [my italics] pseudepigraphon," because "although Paul's name does not occur in the text, the postscript makes a claim to Paul's authorship, particularly through appropriation of autobiographical details of Paul's life as the author's own."

2021, Gabriella Gelardini, Deciphering the Worlds of Hebrews: Collected Essays, BRILL, page 16:

Writings falsely ascribed to famous persons (historical or mythical) to lend them greater legitimacy, typically composed many centuries after the ostensible author's death.


Devil's Rings

Any of several circular markings on flat ground, some supposed to have been made by the Druids celebrating their religious rites.


townsfolk

Etymology tree
English town
English -s-
English folk
English townsfolk
From town + -s- + folk.

etymon

The people who live in a town, especially the lower and middle classes.


methamphetamines

From methamphetamine, apparently by analogy with amphetamines.


Mutsun

The extinct language of this people, an Ohlone dialect in the Utian family.


jug ears

2007, "The Next Crusade", John Cassidy, The New Yorker, September 4 http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/04/09/070409fa_fact_cassidy.
Wolfowitz, who is sixty-three, has jug ears, hazel eyes, a furrowed brow, and thinning gray hair that he combs to the right. -

(idiomatic) Ears whose plane is markedly not parallel to the plane of the head.


blinkers

(plural only) A kind of goggles, used to protect the eyes from glare, dust, etc.


buckskins

trousers and other clothing made from buckskin


heelies

Blend of heel + wheelie. Heelys, the original, are a branded version.

Trainers with one or more wheels fitted to the heel, allowing the wearer to walk normally then skate by shifting the weight to the rear.


bocconcini

Borrowed from Italian bocconcini, plural of diminutive of boccone (“mouthful”).


unwashed masses

(derogatory) The collective group of people who are considered to be uneducated, uninformed, or in some other way unqualified for inclusion in the speaker's elite circles.


Greater Antilles

The large islands of Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico in the Caribbean Sea.


Lesser Antilles

The smaller islands of the West Indies, to the south and east of Puerto Rico, in the Caribbean Sea.


Esselen

The name Esselen "probably derived from the name of a major native village", possibly from the village known as Exse'ein, or the place called Eslenes, the site of the Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo. The Spanish extended the term to mean the entire linguistic group (Hester 1978:498-499).

An indigenous population native to the region of Big Sur on the Central Coast of California.


Antilles

From Antilia or Antillia, a legendary island lying west of Spain and Portugal, from Antulia; the name is of disputed origin, with many different theories proposed; see Antillia.

The islands of the West Indies, bounded to the north by (and including) the islands of Cuba, Hispaniola and Puerto Rico, in the Caribbean Sea.


facts on the ground

Back-formation from put facts on the ground

back-formation

(idiomatic) The situation in reality as opposed to in the abstract.


Valley Miwok

The eastern Miwok groups of people native to the Sacramento Valley, comprising the Plains Miwok, Bay Miwok, and Sierra Miwok.


gruds

I need a new pair of gruds.

(slang, New Zealand) Underpants, underwear.


Bay Miwok

A division of the Miwok people, who resided east of the San Francisco Bay.


Bay Miwok

The Utian (Penutian) language spoken by this people.


Marin Miwok

A subdivision of the Coast Miwok people, who resided in present-day Marin County, California.


Bodega Miwok

A subdivision of the Coast Miwok people, who resided at Bodega Bay, California.


Awaswas

The spoken language of this people, an Ohlone dialect in the Utian family.


Sierra Miwok

The linguistic divisions of Miwok people who resided in the western foothills Sierra Nevada Mountains, California (often sub-divided on maps as Northern Sierra Miwok, Central Sierra Miwok, and Southern Sierra Miwok).


Chochenyo

The language of this people, an Ohlone dialect in the Utian family.


Chalon

One of eight divisions of the Ohlone Native American people of northern California native to the Salinas Valley.


two birds with one stone

en-noun

two birds with one stone pl (plural only)

From the phrase kill two birds with one stone.

They talk about how 'these places' [pornographic bookstores] are gathering spots for homosexuals. The implication is that if you close down 'these places' you get two birds with one stone.

1985 August 17, Janice Irvine, quoting Nan Hunter, “Meese's Crew Looks at Porn”, in Gay Community News, volume 13, number 6, page 3:

On another occasion, when trying to brainstorm things I could do to make myself feel better despite all the pandemic restrictions, Woebot suggested I “try doing something nice for someone in your life,” like make a calming tea for my housemate or check in with a loved one. I poured my mum some chamomile: Two birds, one stone.

2022 September 27, Barclay Bram, “My Therapist, the Robot”, in The New York Times:

(idiomatic) Any two things that were performed or completed at the same time by one action.

האַרגענען צװײ פֿליגן מיט ײן קלאַפּ (hargenen tsvey flign mit eyn klap, literally “strike two flies with one blow”)

שיסן צװײ האָזן מיט ײן שאָס (shisn tsvey hozn mit eyn shos, literally “shoot two hares with one shot”)

כאַפּן צען סאָראָקעס בײַ איין וויידל (khapn tsen sorokes bay eyn veydl, literally “catch ten magpies by one tail”)


Ramaytush

From Northern Ohlone Rammay-tuš (“people from the west”), used by the Chochenyo people of the East Bay.


Soledad

A city in Monterey County, California, United States.


Faroes

A breed of domestic sheep, native to the Faroe Islands


big boys

If you think you can do better than the big boys of electronic engineering, then good luck.

Joe said: “You big boys ought to find a farm,
And make good farmers, and leave other fellows
The city work to do. There's not enough
For everybody as it is in there.”
“God!” one said wildly, and, when no one spoke:
“Say that to Jimmy here.[…]

2016 November 5, Robert Frost, The Collected Poems of Robert Frost (Classic Thoughts and Thinkers), Book Sales, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 143:

(idiomatic, plural only) The people or bodies with the most influence and/or power.


hamantaschen

en-noun

hamantaschen pl (normally plural, singular hamantasch)

Borrowed from Yiddish המן־טאַשן (homen-tashn).

A workshop for children and adults on making hamantaschen, the triangular pastries that are traditional for Purim, the Jewish feast being celebrated Saturday and Sunday, will be held tomorrow[…].

2007 February 28, Florence Fabricant, “Food Calendar”, in New York Times:

Traditional Ashkenazi three-cornered cookies eaten during the Jewish holiday of Purim. The filling may be made from variously from poppy seeds, prunes, nuts, dates, apricots, fruit preserves, chocolate, caramel, or cheese.


paraphernalia

Borrowed from Medieval Latin paraphernālia (“goods which a wife brings over and above her dowry”), use as noun (short for paraphernālia bona (“paraphernal goods”)) of neuter plural of paraphernālis, from Late Latin parapherna + Latin -ālis (suffix forming adjectives), from Ancient Greek παράφερνα (parápherna), a compound of παρά (pará, “beside”) + φερνή (phernḗ, “dowry”). In the propertied classes, a dowry was placed under the control of the husband, while the paraphernalia which she brought with her remained the wife’s property.

com

So she told her what her husband had said and sat with her awhile; but, presently, up came porters, who brought all her clothes and paraphernalia and what not else belonged to her of goods and vessels from her husband’s house and deposited them in that of her mother.

1901, Unknown, “The House with the Belvedere”, in John Payne, transl., The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, volume 5:

(archaic, family law) Things a married woman owns, such as clothing and jewellery, apart from her dowry.


sloppy seconds

the way I look at it you're taking my seconds and pretty sloppy seconds at--

Reed Richards (Mister Fantastic) "Still making threats, eh, Namor?? Stay back Ben! I'm going to ram those mocking words down his throat!! I'm going to make him swish he'd never heard of the human race!! He's my pigeon... mine alone!
Ben Grimm (The Thing) "Okay, tall man! But how's about giving me sloppy seconds?!"

I've got business with Murdock, too-- and I hate to take sloppy seconds!

1972, Sloppy Seconds is the 2nd album released by "Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show"

1978, Grease
Danny: You’re looking good, Riz.
Rizzo: Eat your heart out.
Danny: But sloppy seconds ain’t my style.

(vulgar, plural only) Having sex with someone soon after the person has had sex with someone else.


threes

(UK, prison slang) The cells located on the second floor.


microglia

(biology) The glial cells of the immune system; they can function as phagocytes


fixings

I'll have all of the fixings on Thanksgiving!

a sandwich with all the fixings

Side dishes or other appropriate accompaniments such as condiments; trimmings.


civil rights

en-noun

civil rights pl (normally plural, singular civil right)

The US supreme court has ruled unanimously that natural human genes cannot be patented, a decision that scientists and civil rights campaigners said removed a major barrier to patient care and medical innovation.

2013 June 21, Karen McVeigh, “US rules human genes can't be patented”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 2, page 10:

(US) Those rights which are guaranteed protection by the US Constitution and are considered to be unquestionable, deserved by all people under all circumstances, especially without regard to race, creed, religion, sexual orientation, gender, and disability.

eskubide zibilak

rights deserved by all people under all circumstances


swings and roundabouts

If, in order to save money, you never buy a parking ticket, you are more likely to get fined, so it's all swings and roundabouts really.

Whether we pick up Mary first and then John or John first and then Mary is a matter of swings and roundabouts.

(UK, Ireland, Australia) Gains and losses that offset each other.

what you gain on the swings you lose on the roundabouts

what you lose on the swings you gain on the roundabouts


blues and twos

Originally 1960s police slang, from the blue colour of the lights and the two-tone sound of the siren. Publicised by Blues and Twos, a documentary series broadcast on ITV from 1993.

Five minutes later, Bella, efficient as ever, radioed him back with an address near Hove station, about ten minutes drive away, going soberly, or ninety seconds with the blues and twos on.

2006, Peter James, Looking Good Dead, New York: Pan, →ISBN, page 142:

The new directive says risks associated with the use of so-called ‘blues and twos’ by coastguard vehicles “need to be mitigated”.

2019 February 20, MacDara Conroy, “No More Blue Lights & Sirens For Irish Coast Guard Road Vehicles Under New Directive”, in Afloat.ie:

“The hospital rang home and said somebody needs to get here quickly,” Coffey told the paper. “So my mum, who must have been in her eighties by then, came up and we did the flashing blues and twos down to King’s [College hospital] and I was operated on that night.”

2023 December 2, Hayden Vernon, “Thérèse Coffey says she ‘came close to dying’ from brain abscess”, in The Guardian, London:

(chiefly UK, Ireland, informal) The flashing lights and loud siren of an emergency vehicle.


blues and twos

He glanced at his watch. “Blues and twos,” he said. “I want to get there before the train.” [...] They pulled out of the forecourt at the rear of the police office and drove straight across into Vauxhall Bridge Road, ignoring the one-way circuit, their siren and blue light carving a priority passage through the afternoon traffic.

1990, Graham Ison, A Damned Serious Business, Ulverscroft Large Print, →ISBN, pages 351-352:

If Mondo was alive, he'd be long gone, the ambulance hurtling blues and twos to the nearest hospital.

2003, Val McDermid, The Distant Echo, HarperCollins, →ISBN, page 304:

(chiefly UK, Ireland, informal) [of an emergency vehicle] with the blues and twos switched on


The decade beginning in 1970 and ending in 1979.

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

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


If the '60s were over in 1972, the ’70s were in trouble by 1977. Don't get me wrong — the Eagles and Foreigner and Earth, Wind & Fire are, er, survivors. Good or bad they're careerists, they jog two miles a day, and they're all destined to outlast the Ramones.

1981, Robert Christgau, Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the '70s, as republished (unabridged) in 1990 asRock albums of the '70s: a critical guide; page 10


NIPA

National Income and Product Accounts
w:National Income and Product Accounts

Initialism of National Income and Product Accounts.


phytometrics

From Ancient Greek (phyto) "plant" + (metron) "measure".

(ecology) The study of methods for uniquely recognizing or predicting physiological processes in plants based upon one or more intrinsic physical or behavioral traits


Cheetos

Cheetos pl (normally plural, singular Cheeto)

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

A snack made from pieces of crunchy, cheese-flavored extruded cornmeal, originally from the US, now distributed globally.


Ankave

A people of Kerema District, Gulf Province, Papua New Guinea.


stirpes

From Latin stirpēs, a plural and a collateral form of stirps (“rootstock”).

(law) branches, lines of descent, used in the legal expression per stirpes.


arts and crafts

All the handicrafts based upon making decorative and useful things manually.


strewments

A Shakespearean coinage: strew + -ment + -s.

Her Maiden ſtrewments,

c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i]:

(obsolete) strewings; flowers strewn on a coffin


shortalls

An overall, particularly with short-cut legs, like a pair of shorts.


mudflats

mudflats pl (normally plural, singular mudflat)

(New Zealand) Synonym of bottomland: lowland plains and/or farms.


ignorati

(title)

2011 October 28, Joseph Romm, “The New York Times joins the energy and climate ignorati”, in Grist Magazine:

First, we'll show you why you want to erase every piece of misinformation with which the wellness ignorati have indoctrinated you.

2013, Tom Emerick, Al Lewis, Cracking Health Costs: How to Cut Your Company's Health Costs and Provide Employees Better Care, →ISBN:

Amazon didn't patent the white cyc or the white background as the ignorati have claimed; they only patented a clever method to get the reflecting floor to blend seamlessly into the background, as-shot in-camera.

2014 June 2, Steve Schuler, “DIY Photo Light Box: Did Amazon Patent Photography Against A White Background”, in Science 2.0:

Carly has to appease the Ignorati (as I dub the right-wing base), so she touts a nonexistent fetus-harvesting video.

2015 September 23, Richard J. Rosendall, “Appeasing the Ignorati”, in Washington Blade:

The Islamic State group is doing well recruiting thousands from Europe and America, mainly young ignorati, with its pitch that they are defending Muslims against the crusaders bent on extermination of their religion.

2015 December 14, Mortimer B. Zuckerman, “To Defeat the Islamic State Group, Fight Smarter”, in U.S. News & World Report:

(slang, derogatory) The wilfully ignorant; those who choose to ignore inconvenient facts or make public claims based on falsehoods.


polygonboden

polygonal patches of ground, found especially in frozen environments.


emanata

Now that we have our characters, there's a lot more we can do with them to show what's going on inside them. Those of you who believe in mental telepathy should not be at all surprised at the things cartoonists have emanating from their characters.

1980, Mort Walker, The lexicon of comicana, Emanata, page 28:

Emanata can come from things as well as people to show what's going on.

1980, Mort Walker, The lexicon of comicana, Emanata, page 29:

(comics) Unrealistic pictorial elements emanating from a character, symbolizing something about that character, such as a sweatdrop for anxiety or a question mark for confusion, or emanating from an object, such as heat rays from the sun.


cross-trees

Quick as thought, I sprang into the mizzen shrouds, rattled up hand over hand, and did not draw a breath till I was seated on the cross-trees.

1883, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island:

(nautical) Two horizontal beams at the top of the lower and top masts, used to spread rigging and as a standing place for sailors.


Eʋe

He continued that Lome, which was mainly Aŋlɔ-speaking, would become the capital town, the educational headquarters, and the terminal for the proposed railway system which was to service the interior. This would give the western Eʋes more trading advantages. He added that already, indigenous clerks in the provincial centres of Kpalime and Kpando were western Eʋes (mostly Aŋlɔs) and not Popos (Anexɔs).

1971, Gilbert Ansre, “Language Standardisation in Sub-Saharan Africa”, in Thomas A[lbert] Sebeok, editor, Current Trends in Linguistics, volume 7 (Linguistics in Sub-Saharan Africa), The Hague, Paris: Mouton, →LCCN, page 687:

As the Eʋes (that is the people of Ho with some Ewes from surrounding towns) fled to Ave during the Asante war, they brought it with them from there.

2011, Jakob Spieth, “[The HO – Tribe] Economic Life”, in Emmanuel F. Tsaku, Marcellinus Edorh, Raphael Avornyo, Mary Esther Kropp Dakubu, transl., edited by Komla Amoaku, The Ewe People: A Study of the Ewe People in German Togo, Legon, Accra, Ghana: Sub-Saharan Publishers, →ISBN, page 375:

The coastal Eʋes, being mostly traders and fishermen, are found in almost every town in Ghana.

2011, D. N. A., Hey, You Better Know Before You Go!, Trafford Publishing, →ISBN, page 35:

Chris Abotchie undertakes an elaborate exploration of the various mechanisms for social control among the southern Eʋes by isolating the relevant factors of lineage identity, rites of passage, traditional leadership, and what he calls the “magico-religious mechanism.” Abotchie’s magico-religious category emphasizes that the Eʋes hold criminal acts as offensive to the gods, who consequently engage supernatural forces to regulate human behavior in the community.

2014, Dela Quampah, “Ghanaian Traditional Leadership Milieu and the Contextualization of Christianity”, in Good Pastors, Bad Pastors: Pentecostal Ministerial Ethics in Ghana, Eugene, Ore.: Wipf & Stock, →ISBN, page 46:

These regions are occupied by three main migrant groups - the Northern Eʋes, Central Eʋes and the Southern Eʋes, respectively.

2014, Dorothy BEA Akoto-Abutiate, “The Eʋe-Speaking Peoples”, in Proverbs and the African Tree of Life: Grafting Biblical Proverbs on to Ghanaian Eʋe Folk Proverbs, Leiden, S.H., Boston, Mass.: Brill, →ISBN, page 31:

For her this explains why the Eʋe call a human shadow cast on a surface luʋᴐ, while that of other solid objects is differently described as vᴐvᴐli.

2020, Ebenezer Yaw Blasu, “Glossary”, in African Theocology: Studies in African Religious Creation Care, Wipf & Stock, →ISBN:

Eʋes, in general, are found in the Volta Region of Ghana and some parts of Togo, Benin and Nigeria. […] Although the Eʋe migrated from Yorubaland in Nigeria almost six centuries ago, they still possess a few Yoruba cultural elements, some of which are exhibited in their music and dance forms. […] However, Galoeta (1985) writing on drum making among the southern Eʋes of Ghana and Togo, notes that Akpese musical instruments consists of two Congas and the “patange” (pati) drum (a small two-sided drum play with a thin stick), added to bells and rattles. […] In this chapter, we have recounted its history, placing it in the socio-cultural lives of the Eʋe of Ghana and some African on the diaspora communities.

2022, Fernando Palacios Mateos, editor, Comprendiendo/Understanding América, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador [Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador], →ISBN:


Eʋe

Today standard Eʋe is the variety that is used in educational and religious literature.

1971, Gilbert Ansre, “Language Standardisation in Sub-Saharan Africa”, in Thomas A[lbert] Sebeok, editor, Current Trends in Linguistics, volume 7 (Linguistics in Sub-Saharan Africa), The Hague, Paris: Mouton, →LCCN, page 688:

Eʋe is spoken in the Volta Region of Ghana, Benin, Togo, Nigeria and by nationals residing in the diaspora.

The language and culture of these groups of Eʋe-speaking peoples differ from each other only slightly.

Bernhard Schlegel, the first missionary to study Eʋe systematically, after considerable research, reached the decision that the standardized Eʋe be based on the coastal Aŋlɔ dialect.

2017, David C. K. Tay, “[Bremen Mission Society and E. P. Church: 1847-1955] Berlin Conference”, in Mawuli School: The Early Years, FriesenPress, →ISBN:

Ablɔɖe was initiated and sustained by a shoemaker named Holiday V. K. Komedja, and written almost entirely in his mother-tongue, Eʋe.

2019, Katharine Alexandra Collier Skinner, Wilson Yayoh, editors, Writing the New Nation in a West African Borderland: Ablɔɖe Safui (the Key to Freedom) by Holiday Komedja, Oxford University Press, →ISBN:

The Eʋe used in this study predominantly reflects the Eʋe spoken by the Tᴐŋu districts of Southern Volta Region of Ghana.

The Eʋe people, spread across West Africa, use the phrase “amenyenye gborbor eno zi deme” (Eʋe: the spirit of becoming human has settled in him/her) to describe someone who has become truly human.

2020, Takako Mino, Prince Paa-Kwesi Heto, “Educating Humans”, in Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies in Education, volume 9, number SI, →DOI, page 41:


Eʋe

From the Eʋe context, Dawubo Gavɔ, the priest in charge of Anyigbatɔ Shrine in Denu, Ghana, explains that a prospective priesthood candidate is normally observed for six months before admission, then trained for a further three years.

2014, Dela Quampah, “Issues in Pentecostal Ministerial Ethics in Ghana”, in Good Pastors, Bad Pastors: Pentecostal Ministerial Ethics in Ghana, Eugene, Ore.: Wipf & Stock, →ISBN, page 141:

Several values or virtues can be associated with Eʋe folk proverbs, which this book considers as the African tree of life, on to which ‘shoots’ of the biblical tree of life in Proverbs 25:1–29:27 can be ‘grafted’.

After the Asante War ended in 1874, a number of the Eʋe refugees returned home to put into practice what they had learned.

2017, David C. K. Tay, “[Bremen Mission Society and E. P. Church: 1847-1955] Post Asante War Growth”, in Mawuli School: The Early Years, FriesenPress, →ISBN:

For instance, the aim of the Eʋe & Proud-focused group is to translate Ewe names into English.

2018, Elvis Yevudey, “The representation of African languages and cultures on social media: a case of Ewe in Ghana”, in Augustine Agwuele, Adams Bodomo, editors, The Routledge Handbook of African Linguistics, Routledge, →ISBN, part IV (Language and society: theory and practice):

Birgit Meyer observes among the Peki-Eʋe in Ghana that the pietistic salvation message of the Norddeutsche Missionsgesellschaft (NMG) did not only “demonise” the “Eʋe gods and spirits,” but also drew a “boundary between Christianity and Eʋe religion,” and, hence, ecocultural self-understanding.

2019, Ebenezer Yaw Blasu, “The Bible and Caring for the Land: African Thecology as Christian Impulsion for Creation Care”, in Benjamin Abotchie Ntreh, Mark S. Aidoo, Daniel Nii Aboagye Aryeh, editors, Essays on the Land, Ecotheology, and Traditions in Africa, Eugene, Ore.: Resource Publications, →ISBN:

In the Eʋe tradition, barring any medical complications, a child is to be named on the seventh or the eighth day after birth by the child's father or male relation of the father, if the latter is not physically present.

2020, Gertrude Dzifa Torvikey, “Feminist Parenting: A Memoir in Motion”, in Rama Salla Dieng an Andrea O’Reilly, editors, Feminist Parenting: Perspectives from Africa and Beyond, Demeter Press, →ISBN, part I (Feminist Mothering Journeys):

Its popularity among the Eʋe communities and other ethnic groups in Ghana and beyond has been extraordinary.


problematica

From Latin problēmatica (“problematic things”).

bor

(paleontology) Fossil specimens or elements that cannot be identified or assigned to a taxon.


anelli

From Italian anelli (literally “rings”).

(cooking) Small, thin rings of pasta, mainly used in soup or salads.


ruote

Unadapted borrowing from Italian ruote (“wheels”). Doublet of rotor and rota.

ubor

A type of pasta in the shape of a spoked wheel.


feet of clay

Used in the Bible, part of the description of the huge statue in the dream of Chaldean King Nebuchadnezzar.

He was disillusioned to find that even Lincoln had feet of clay.

Those Pagod things of sabre-sway, / With fronts of brass, and feet of clay.

1814, Lord Byron, Ode to Napoleon Buonaparte:

Oh yes, man is a fool / And he thinks he'll be okay / Dragging on, feet of clay

1980, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson (lyrics and music), “Happy New Year”, in Super Trouper, performed by Abba:

(idiomatic) In someone apparently strong and without failings, a hidden weakness which could lead to downfall.

na glinianych nogach (almost always in collocation with kolos)


cognati

with the consent of her cognati

1858, George Long, M. Tulli Ciceronis Orationes:


fioriture

/fjɔːɹɪˈtʊəɹeɪ/

From Italian, plural of fioritura (“a flowering”).

(music) flourishes in a melody by a singer or musician.


curiosa

/ˌkjʊə.ɹɪˈəʊ.sə/

Late 19th century: from Latin, neuter plural of curiosus (see curious).

Curiosities, especially erotic or pornographic books or articles.


lochia

Learned borrowing from Latin lochia, from Ancient Greek λοχεία (lokheía), neuter plural of λοχείος (lokheíos, “of childbirth”), from λόχος (lókhos, “childbirth”).

In April 1819, I attended a young married lady in her first pregnancy, in whose case the lochia began to diminish on the seventh day after parturition, [...]

1822, Edinburgh Medical and Surgical Journal:

Variations in the quantity, quality, or odour of the lochia not unnaturally excite great alarm in the mind of the patient, who regards any deviation in this secretion as a proof of serious disease. Yet very remarkable differences do occur, without any morbid affection of the uterus or vagina.

1866, Fleetwood Churchill, On the theory and practice of midwifery:

In three or four days the distinctly bloody character of the lochia is altered. They have a reddish watery appearance, and are known as the lochia rubra or cruenta [...]

1884, William Smoult Playfair, A Treatise on the Science and Practice of Midwifery, volume II (fifth edition), part III, chapter IX:

Normal post-partum vaginal discharge; blood, mucus, and placental tissue that are discharged from a female's vagina (similar to menstruation) for several weeks after she has given birth.


Aborigines

Learned borrowing from Latin aborīginēs, which see for more.

The native peoples of various regions, especially the Australian Aboriginal peoples, but also the original inhabitants of Canada and Argentina. Often considered offensive.


aborigines

Learned borrowing from Latin aborīginēs.

The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles

Oxford University Press
w:Oxford University Press

The original people of a location, originally Greek and Roman.

(history) The inhabitants of a location before colonization by the Europeans occurred.


abdabs

Unknown. Possibly imitative of the spluttering speech of one who is extremely nervous or anxious.

onom

imitative

(slang) Extreme nervousness or anxiety; terror; heebie-jeebies.


harakat

From Arabic حَرَكَات (ḥarakāt), plural of حَرَكَة (ḥaraka)

(linguistics) Diacritics marking short vowels in Arabic script.

حَرَكَات

Arabic diacritic — see also vocalization


hip-huggers

(US) Tight-fitting pants (trousers) with a waistline that rests on the hips


olema

the land of Egypt was ruled by a Sultan endowed with justice and generosity, one who loved the pious poor and companied with the Olema and learned men

1885, Sir Richard Burton, The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, Night 20:


capri pants

Part of the Capri Collection by fashion designer Sonja de Lennart (1920–), named after her family's preferred holiday destination, the Italian island of Capri.

I see women wearing capri pants nearly every day; they're not as bad as cargo capris, but they aren't the capri pants of Grace Kelly and Audrey Hepburn, either. Those 1960s capri pants were fitted.

2012, Tim Gunn, Ada Calhoun, Tim Gunn's Fashion Bible: The Fascinating History of Everything in Your Closet, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN, page 90:

Casual pants or trousers, usually for women, with the bottom hem reaching to below the knee but above the ankle; usually lightweight and summery.


living dead

(fiction, usually with the) The undead; zombies, vampires, etc.


15 minutes

That singer's second single didn't chart; I guess his 15 minutes are almost up.

15 minutes of fame
15 minutes of fame#English


raster graphics

(computing) A data file or structure representing a generally rectangular grid of pixels, or points of colour, on a computer monitor, paper, or other display medium.


ifs, ands, or buts

Earlier as ifs and 'ans, plurals of if and 'an (or an, en, or and), dialectal for then, influenced by the conjunction an (meaning if) (See OED entry on and conj.2). Thus it meant ifs and thens. Brewer's analyzes it as ifs and ans, with the meaning ifs and ifs, and that the spelling ands is a mistake. In any case, it was later supplemented with buts.

1947, Tennessee Williams, A Streetcar Named Desire, Dramatists Play Service, Inc. (1952), →ISBN, page 29,
BLANCHE. That must’ve been what happened. ¶ STANLEY. I don’t want no ifs, ands or buts! What’s all the rest of the papers?

1962, advertisement, in Popular Science, Popular Science Publishing Company, page 175,
There are no gimmicks. There are No Exceptions, No Exclusions, No Limitations, waiting periods, no ifs, ands or buts.

I think individuals do a better job than agencies because agencies have a lot of' ifs, ands or buts' because of insurance.

1992 March 18, Alice Kahn, “House Cleaners Come Clean; Straight talk about their work, their lives and you”, in San Francisco Chronicle, page Z1:

A relationship with a grandmother doesn't contain the same ifs, ands, or buts of a mother-daughter pairing.

2003 August, Alice Hoffman, “What I wish I'd told my mother”, in Redbook, volume 201, number 2, page 106:

2007, Walt Love, The Gospel According to Rev. Walt "Baby" Love: Inspirations and Meditations from the Gospel Radio Legend, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN, page 32,
There are no ifs, ands, or buts if we are going to stand on the promises found in the Holy Bible.

Modifications, limitations, or addenda; qualifications of any kind; speculations about whether a particular idea or enterprise is good.


irons in the fire

Describing a blacksmith working on several pieces at the same time.

Although she plans to step back from the boards of NSAR and East West Rail, there are "a couple of other irons in the fire".

2024 January 24, Dyan Perry talks to Nick Brodrick, “The industry has given me so much”, in RAIL, number 1001, page 45:

Tasks in progress; involvement in ongoing projects.


delicates

Garments or cloth items that are delicate and need gentle handling when being laundered, especially underwear or lingerie


loppers

(plural only) Pruning shears with long handles, used for lopping


motorsports

Canada, US standard spelling of motorsport. the class of all motorsports


short commons

The master, in his cook's uniform, stationed himself at the copper; his pauper assistants ranged themselves behind him; the gruel was served out; and a long grace was said over the short commons.

1838, Boz [pseudonym; Charles Dickens], Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy’s Progress. […], volume (please specify |volume=I, II, or III), London: Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC:

Kitty, the cook, who took life 'aisy', kept him on short commons.

1868–1869, Louisa M[ay] Alcott, Little Women: […], (please specify |part=1 or 2), Boston, Mass.: Roberts Brothers, →OCLC:


malfatti

No need to explain where the lamb went or to shape your malfatti to look like hens' eggs.

2009 January 11, Amanda Hesser, “1971: Mrs. Sebastiani’s Malfatti”, in New York Times:

A type of hand-rolled dumpling, or gnocchi


KIRK: We're reading it, Lieutenant. I thought you said it couldn't possibly be an Earth vessel.
SPOCK: I fail to understand why it always gives you pleasure to see me proven wrong.
KIRK: An emotional Earth weakness of mine. There it is.
KIRK: An old Earth vessel, similar to the DY-500 class.
SPOCK: Much older. DY-100 class, to be exact. Captain, the last such vessel was built centuries ago, back in the 1990s.
KIRK: Then it's a derelict, its signal left on automatic.
SPOCK: Or an old Earth ship being used by aliens.

1967 February 16, Space Seed (Star Trek), season 1, number 22 (Science Fiction), Paramount Domestic Television:

That programme, begun in the early 1990s, cost billions of Taiwan dollars, but eventually tamed the river, especially because of the Yuanshanzih flood diversion tunnel (sluiceway), which helps redirect run-off from the upper reaches of the river to the sea on the north-east coast, thus saving the often flooded townships of Rueifang and Hsichih (Sijhih)⁷ when future typhoons and heavy rains hit the area.

2008, Jack Williams, Ch’ang-yi David Chang, “Back from the brink: resolving Taiwan's environmental problems”, in Taiwan's Environmental Struggle: Toward a Green Silicon Island, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 108:

The period from year 1990 to 1999; almost the same period as the 10th (and last) decade of the 20th century, which, however, was from 1991 to (the end of) year 2000


sacrificati

(historical) In the early Christian church, those who sacrificed to idols in persecution, but returned as penitents afterwards.


guldgubber

embossed gold foil plaques bearing male or female figures


spirali

(cooking) Pasta in the form of twisted tubes.


theatrics

/θiːˈætɹɪks/

Drogba's main contribution prior to his goal was to go through his full range of theatrics but this was an example of exactly why Di Matteo made him his choice.

2012 April 18, Phil McNulty, “Chelsea 1-0 Barcelona”, in BBC Sport:

Even though Susan thought her somewhat flappish at times, behind all her theatrics, she was a sound friend.

2013, Dick Donaghue, Crash and other Stories:


bovver boots

Their byword is Aggro (Aggravation) and their crucial enemies are hippies, homosexuals and Pakis (Pakistanis or Indians). When they catch one, they use their shaven skulls for butting, their Bovverboots for caving in ribs.

1970 March 29, Nik Cohn, “England's New Teen Style Is Violence”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

1991, Rupert Loydell, review of England's Dreaming: Sex Pistols and Punk Rock, in December 1991-January 1992, ThirdWay, page 41,
I remember a punk friend - cockerel haircut, leather trousers, bovver boots, and ripped jumper - being shocked at the TV retrospective of the mid-eighties where long-haired oiks in flared trousers stared desultorily at some screaming youths on stage.

The various youth subcultures have been identified by their possessions and objects: the boot-lace tie and velvet-colourd drape jacket of the Ted, the close crop, parker^([sic]) coats and scooter of the Mod, the stained jeans, swastikas and ornamented motorcycles of the bike-boys, the bovver boots and skinned-head of the Skinhead, the Chicago suits or glitter costumes of the Bowieites, etc.

2006, Stuart Hall, Tony Jefferson, Resistance Through Rituals: Youth Subcultures in Post-War Britain, 2nd edition, page 42:

Their image of racism was not what our political culture has come to expect – that is, the Nazi, the shaven-headed skinhead with bovver boots. Rather, they were stylishly dressed in suits and wearing Ben Sherman shirts and Armani sunglasses.

2011, Christine Barter, David Berridge, Children Behaving Badly: Peer Violence Between Children and Young People, page 96:

(1970s British slang) Stout lace-up boots, especially Dr. Martens, perceived to be worn for the purpose of kicking people in fights, and popular with skinheads or other troublemakers out looking for bovver.


bell-bottomed trousers

bell-bottom trousers
bell-bottom trousers


aces and spaces

(bridge slang) A bridge hand with opening points based primarily on aces, so that there are not enough winners.


two pips

(poker slang) A pair of aces as a starting hand in Texas hold 'em


pocket rockets

(poker slang) A pair of aces as a starting hand in Texas hold 'em.


flix

(slang) Alternative form of flicks (motion pictures)


boys' toys

The property is littered with giant flat-screen TVs and expensive boys' toys, with lacquered sliding panels hiding any mess.

"The richest Rothschild of them all", Daily Mail, 2nd April 2007

Products such as mechanical and electronic gadgets and gizmos, games, fast cars, motorbikes etc., targeting adult male consumers.

Huge excitement in the world of boys’ toys! Britain has launched a nuclear submarine called HMS Astute.

"Tale of a willow that’s enough to make you weep", The Times, June 13, 2007

Non-consumer products involving high-tech engineering, such as rockets, submarines, helicopters etc., that are likely to interest men.


Kele

Democratic Republic of the Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo

A Bantu ethnic group in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.


makings

I have bread, mayonnaise, mustard, turkey, and lettuce: all the makings of a sandwich as far as I'm concerned.

The project has the makings of success: a strong leader, a committed workforce, and a workable plan.

He has the makings of a fine leader, and we, the nominating committee, are pleased to present him to the membership as our candidate.

Add a little sugar, honeysuckle and / A great, big expression of happiness / […] / The joy of children laughing around you / These are the makings of you / It is true, the makings of you

1970, “The Makings of You”, in Curtis, performed by Curtis Mayfield:

That which is needed for something: necessary ingredients.

madera (usually in the phrase tener madera de)


Sixty other former ASNA raiders, captured by the Communists while conducting commando activities on the mainland in the early 1960s, were released on the same day from Amoy to Tatan, an offshore island just off the mainland.

1975 October 26, “Propaganda behind commando release”, in Free China Weekly [自由中國週報], volume XVI, number 42, Taipei, →ISSN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 2, columns 2, 3:

The story of Ms. He and her mother began in the early 1960s, shortly before the Cultural Revolution shook China.

2014 January 20, Didi Kirsten Tatlow, “‘She. Herself. Naked.': The Art of He Chengyao”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-08-16, Sinosphere:

The decade beginning in 1960 and ending in 1969.


last respects

I went to pay my last respects to my aunt, who has cancer.

Final visit to a person nearing death, or to a person who has just died.


Nyunga

Borrowed from Nyunga nungar (“a person, a man”).

The Pama-Nyungan Australian Aboriginal language, or group of related languages/dialects, spoken by the Nyunga.


table stakes

(poker) A rule whereby players are only allowed to bet the money they have on the table.


trifocals

From tri- + focal (see focus). Coined by John Isaac Hawkins, their inventor, in 1826.

(optics) Spectacles with corrective lenses that have three different powers per eye.


The decade beginning in 1950 and ending in 1959.


His knowledge of both Hong Kong and the Mainland made a deep impression on me during the hour we spent over lunch. Huang had learned Cantonese from his wife, who studied Chinese medicine in Guangzhou during the 1940s, and now owned a Chinese herbal medicine shop in the Yau Ma Ti district.

2009, Stanley S.K. Kwan, Nicole Kwan, “New China”, in The Dragon and the Crown: Hong Kong Memoirs (Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Studies Series), Hong Kong University Press, published 2011, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 135:


dribs and drabs

From drib (“a drop”) and drab (“a small amount”).

The tea drinking has done a great deal in bringing this nation into the state [of] misery in which it now is; and the tea drinking, which is carried on by "dribs" and "drabs;" by pence and farthings going out at a time; this miserable practice has been gradually introduced by the growing weight of the taxes on Malt and on Hops, and by the everlasting penury amongst the labourers, occasioned by the paper-money.

1823, William Cobbett, “Brewing Beer”, in Cottage Economy: […], new edition, London: Printed for J. M. Cobbett, […], →OCLC, paragraph 30:

Passengers join in dribs and drabs along the way, but at Barnsley the numbers really began to swell and by Elsecar we have several standing.

2020 November 18, Paul Bigland, “New infrastructure and new rolling stock”, in Rail, page 48:


highlands

A high area of land, lands higher than surrounding areas.


great unwashed

/ˌɡɹeɪt ʌnˈwɒʃt/

/ˌɡɹeɪt ʌnˈwɔːʃt/

/ˌɡɹeɪt ʌnˈwɑːʃt/

Attributed by many to Edmund Burke, the first published use of the phrase was by Edward Bulwer-Lytton in a dedicatory epistle for 1830, Paul Clifford.

[T]he gentlemen of the inns of court, and the gentlemen of the universities… live in abodes which were erected long before the custom of cleanliness and decency obtained among us. … Gentlemen, there can be but little doubt that your ancestors were the Great Unwashed: and in the Temple especially, it is pretty certain, that only under the greatest difficulties and restrictions the virtue which has been pronounced to be next to godliness could have been practised at all.

1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 30, in The History of Pendennis. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1849–1850, →OCLC:

The Liberal campaign was so carefully orchestrated that McLeod was never in a position to be confronted by the great unwashed. Unfortunately, the great unwashed rarely vote for a leader whom they have never met.

1995, Christina Blizzard, Right Turn: How the Tories Took Ontario:

(idiomatic, derogatory) The general populace, particularly the working class.

vulgum pecus

a contemptuous term for the populace, particularly the working class


galligaskins

He was generally seen trooping like a colt at his mother's heels, equipped in a pair of his father's cast-off galligaskins, which he had much ado to hold up with one hand, as a fine lady does her train in bad weather.

1819 June 23, Geoffrey Crayon [pseudonym; Washington Irving], “Rip Van Winkle”, in The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent., number I, New York, N.Y.: […] C[ornelius] S. Van Winkle, […], →OCLC, pages 64–65:

(archaic, historical) Large, loose breeches, fashionable in the 16th and 17th centuries.


volge

[Y]ea, he would profer to fight with any mean perſon, if cried up by the volge for a tall man: this daring being a generall fault in great ſpirits, and a great fault in a Generall, who ſtaketh a pearl againſt a piece of glaſſe.

1639, Thomas Fuller, “Prince Edwards Performance in Palestine: He is Dangerously Wounded; yet Recovereth, and Returneth Home Safe”, in The Historie of the Holy Warre, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: […] Thomas Buck, one of the printers to the Universitie of Cambridge [and sold by John Williams, London], →OCLC, book IV, page 219:

(obsolete) The common people; the crowd, the mob.


DKP

(gaming) Initialism of dragon kill points.


net sales

(business) The value of sales generated by a company after deduction of returns, discounts and the value of damaged or lost goods.

淨銷售額

total sales minus customers' discounts etc.


mutton-chop whiskers

To judge from the photos Gerald's hippy phase had reached its counter-cultural extreme in a pair of mutton-chop whiskers and a floral tie.

2004, Alan Hollinghurst, chapter 12, in The Line of Beauty […], 1st US edition, New York, N.Y.: Bloomsbury Publishing, →ISBN:

Synonym of muttonchops (“facial hairstyle”)


menfolk

At our family reunion, the menfolk generally have a ball game, while the womenfolk gossip and trade snapshots.

[…] when the pleasant time of night is come, and the stewardess is tucking up the ladies, and putting oranges and other goodies under their pillows, and the menfolk assemble in the capstan house to smoke their last cigar.

1877, Official Guide and Album of the Cunard Steamship Company, page 95:


mercuricals

(medicine) Medicines made from mercury, generally used for purgative purposes from the 17th to the 19th century in European and American medicine.


characters per inch

Please use a type that is 10 characters per inch.

(design, typography) A unit of measurement of the number of typographic characters that fit on a one inch line of printed type. This unit is mainly used to specify font sizes that have the same width for each character (monospaced), however it may also be used to give an average for fonts with characters of varying widths.

(electronic media) A unit of measurement of the number of characters per inch ("linear packing density") when storing data on certain types of magnetic media or tape, used to measure storage density that the encoding medium possesses.


Iddio

Synonym of Adio (“African ethnic group”)


liquidated damages

(law) An amount owed to a plaintiff in a lawsuit by the defendant that is determined by operation of law, such as the unpaid amount in a breach of contract.


unliquidated damages

(law) An amount owed to a plaintiff in a lawsuit by the defendant that can not be determined by operation of law, such as the value of pain and suffering in a tort case.


implied odds

(poker) The odds offered by the amount one must call against the amount currently in the pot plus the amount one stands to gain from future betting. (In contrast to pot odds)


pot odds

Pot = $360. Cost to call = $180. Pot odds = 2:1 or 33.3%.

(poker) The ratio of pot size to the cost of a contemplated call.


reverse implied odds

(poker) The odds offered by the amount one stands to lose in future betting when one has the worst hand against the amount one stands to win when one has the best hand.


Sicani

(historical) An ancient people of Sicily and parts of Italy.


Tans

Intuitively, on Bloody Sunday, the Tans recognized where their trouble lay: the Irish were playing their own game once again.

1931, John Bowyer Bell, To Play the Game: An Analysis of Sport:

Close quarter fighting did not suit them. It does not suit the Essex or the Tans.

1955, General Tom Barry, Guerilla Days in Ireland:

The Dawn contains two problems for its male protagonists: namely, Ireland's fight against the British forces, the RIC, and the Tans, and the patriotic commitment of the Malone family's sons.

1995, Lance Pettitt, Screening Ireland: Film and Television Representation:

(Ireland, British) The Black and Tans, a British irregular army group operating against Irish republicans in the War of Independence 1920/21.


sticky fingers

There are too many sticky fingers around for me to leave my purse unattended.


mental gymnastics

To cope with these mental gymnastics we apply various ways of simplifying and reducing the information.

Difficult and complex logical thought processes, especially when performed effortlessly.

hjärngymnastik

difficult and complex logical thought processes


incidentals

Small items of expenditure that are not individually identified.

Kleinmaterial

small items that are not individually identified


Pumas

England were on the scoreboard after only one minute, Wilkinson, who missed five penalties in his side's opener against the Pumas, knocking over a three-pointer from bang in front, despite boos from the crowd.

2011 September 24, Ben Dirs, “Rugby World Cup 2011: England 67-3 Romania”, in BBC Sport:

the national rugby union representative team of Argentina


puppy dog eyes

A facial expression showing credulous or unsophisticated innocence or naivety.


jaws of death

"And then at last I see him, and behold, my chance is gone but by a hair's breadth even before I have it, for he is in the very jaws of death, whence no power of mine can draw him."

1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC:

(poetic, figuratively, cliche) A very narrowly avoided, or close to, fatal situation.


jaws of life

By analogy with an actual jaw and the fact that this mechanical device allows the possibility of preserving the life of the victim being rescued.

2005, Mary Gordon, Pearl
Isn't there some machine used in car wrecks to extricate people called the jaws of life?

The power of the “jaws of life” were shown first and set aside.

2005, Chuck McCann, Short, Shorter and Shorter Stories, Volume 1, page 388

2009, Tony Evans, Tony Evan's Book of Illustrations
Even when drivers have had wrecks through no one's fault but their own, rescue crews still employ the "jaws of life" to get them out of trouble.

For the most terrible of car accidents, jaws of life have to be used to extricate the injured.

(firefighting) Emergency rescue equipment used to open a severely damaged passenger vehicle with a strong mechanical jaw function that forcibly pushes or pulls metal components apart, to quickly and somewhat safely extricate the trapped occupants.


ingenui

(law) In civil law, a class of freemen who were born free. They were distinguished from the class known as liberti or libertini who, born slaves, had afterwards legally obtained their freedom.


decennials

en-noun

decennials pl (normally plural, singular decennial)

(historical) Synonym of decennalia, the festivals and religious rituals held in the 10th year of a Roman emperor's reign.


dikes

Likely a blend of diagonal + cut, with influence from dyke and dike.

For quotations using this term, see Citations:dykes.

Alternative spelling of dykes (“diagonal cutting pliers”)


Umbararo

An ethnic group from Nigeria, Libya, Chad and Sudan


spuria

From the Latin spuria, the nominative neuter plural form of spurius, whence spurious; compare trivia.

The laſt will and teſtament of Grunnius, a Roman pig, publiſhed among Gruter’s Spuria, betrays not more evident marks of impoſition.

1790, The Gentleman’s Magazine, volume 67, page 292:

Spurious things; especially, a counterfeit or forged written work or one of doubtful attribution.


pullikins

On Sundays he mounted the pulpit instead of black bare bones, and as a preacher he drew the fangs of Satan with his spiritual pullikins, almost as skillfully as he did the teeth of his brother sinners on week days, with his metallic ones.

1867, Leigh Burton, American Journal of Dental Science, page 180:

(dated) Pliers once used to extract teeth.


Vai

The Niger-Congo language of the Vai people of Liberia and Sierra Leone.


Allies

Allies of World War I
Allies of World War II

Proprialisation of allies, the plural of ally.

The countries allied against the Axis Powers during World War II. The major signatories included the United Kingdom, Soviet Union, United States, and China.


Karo

The indigenous people of the Karo Plateau in North Sumatra.


swimming goggles

You should wear a pair of swimming goggles because of all the pollen.

Goggles to protect the eyes from material in the water, while swimming.

ulleres de natació

goggles for protecting the eyes in the water


radiatori

Unadapted borrowing from Italian radiatori (“radiators”). Doublet of radiator.

ubor

A type of pasta in the shape of a radiator.


antenati

Those born before a certain event, such as the Union of England and Scotland Act 1603 or the United States Declaration of Independence.


rolled oats

Oat groats that have been rolled into flat flakes under heavy rollers.


net earnings

Earnings of a person after deduction of all taxes, social security charges and other obligatory payments; the take-home pay.


three guys in a garage

"By next year, three guys in a garage will be able to build a Layer 3 terabit backbone router by buying merchant silicon and writing software, and the box will be as fast and as cheap as an ASIC-based product," says David Husack […]

1999, Network World, volume 16, number 16, page 81:

(informal, idiomatic) A small, agile group of startup innovators with a big idea, passion, and modest resources.


worried well

Coined in 1970 by Sidney Garfield, founder of Kaiser Permanente.

"In cities with a high and more visible number of men becoming sick and dying from AIDS, the worried well report panic attacks, somatic preoccupations, and difficulty functioning on the job because of obsessional worrying about the syndrome."

1987, Kathy J. Harowski, “The Worried Well: Maximizing Coping in the Face of AIDS”, in Psychotherapy With Homosexual Men and Women, →ISBN, page 302:

(medicine) Users of medical or psychiatric services who are not suffering from any diagnosable disease.


ducks on the pond

* (coded warning): Originally used in shearing sheds; later extended to other normally all-male environments, such as some pubs.

Usually the wool presser calls first, because most visitors to a shed come through the wool room. ‘Ducks on the Pond!’ he calls, and the warning is taken up again down along the shearing board.

1982, Patsy Adam-Smith, The Shearers, Thomas Nelson Australia, →ISBN, page 245:

(Australia) A coded warning used by men to alert each other that female guests ("ducks") are present ("on the pond"), so that for politeness they should moderate their language.

There are two ducks on the pond for the cleanup hitter.

(baseball) Members of a batting order who are on base; baserunners.

Ducks on the pond. Who is up?

(Car Sales) There are customers arriving on the car lot.


vasa vasorum

From the Latin vāsa, plural of vās (“vessel”) + vāsōrum, the genitive plural of vās (“vessel”). Meaning "vessels of the vessels."

(anatomy) The capillaries that supply blood to vessels larger than 1 mm. They supply blood to the adventitia and middle tunicae.


uilleann pipes

en-noun

uilleann pipes pl (normally plural, singular uilleann pipe)

Partial calque of Irish píb uilleann, literally "elbow pipe".

The bagpipes of Ireland, which have a bellows strapped around the wrist and arm to inflate the bag rather than the player blowing to do so.


Laz

A Kartvelian language of Turkey and Caucasian Georgia, related to Georgian, Mingrelian, and Svan.


clackers

A toy consisting of two plastic spheres suspended on string which, when swung up and down, banged against each other, making a clacking sound


Tenochca

en-adj

Tenochca (comparative more Tenochca, superlative most Tenochca)

more Tenochca (comparative)
most Tenochca (superlative)

From Classical Nahuatl Tenōchcah, plural of Classical Nahuatl Tenōchcatl.


bad manners

In some cultures, it is considered to be bad manners to talk with your mouth full.

We walked out into the sunlight and rode from the church to Rose Hills Memorial Park. My mother was buried in the family plot, alongside my father, my brothers Arthur and Harold, her mother and father, and her sister Elizabeth, who died of cancer. Only one reporter had the bad manners to stick a microphone in my face and ask how I felt. I just walked past him.

1978, Richard Nixon, RN: the Memoirs of Richard Nixon, Grosset & Dunlap, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 288:

The treatment of other people in an impolite or discourteous way, or incorrect behaviour in public.


titanides

(Greek mythology) The daughters of Uranus and Gaia; the female titans.


good manners

In most countries, it is considered good manners to offer your seat to an elderly person on crowded public transport.

The treatment of other people with courtesy and politeness, and showing correct public behaviour.


stars in one's eyes

After their first kiss the pair of them walked around with stars in their eyes for days.

(idiomatic, figuratively) The state of being overly or extremely impressed with something; enchanted with romance


rags and tatters

...she was sworn just as she was, all rags and tatters.

2002, C. L. Brightwell, Memorials of the Early Lives and Doings of Great Lawyers, page 198:


boys and their toys

(idiomatic) Used to evoke the idea that adult men sometimes dote excessively on machines, automobiles, and gadgets in a childish manner.


opia

Heat burned in my cheeks, for I had kissed the opia quite passionately before I realized he was the spirit of a dead ancestor.


BVDs

→ Spanish: bividí

From the initials of an early manufacturer: Bradley, Voorhees & Day (founded 1876).

The dealers apparently got a big inventory and since the war all nobody seems to be buying pajamas. Learned to sleep in their ‘BVDs’ during the war years in the armed services all these young men did.

1953, Richard Bissell, “7½ Cents”, in Atlantic, Little, Brown, page 53:

Thus, the light switched on, there was Einhorn in his BVDs, wasted arms freckled, grizzled hair afly from his face that was inclined to flatness, the shrewd curved nose and clipped mustache.

1953, Saul Bellow, chapter 5, in The Adventures of Augie March, New York: Viking Press, →OCLC, pages 64–65:

We frolicked like dolphins – Graeme and I in shorts and Bob in his B.V.D.'s – and then stretched out on the ancient waveworn shingle to let the sinking sun dry and warm us.

1970, John Glassco, Memoirs of Montparnasse, New York, published 2007, page 97:

(informal, initialism) Underpants; usually, men's underpants.


Dales

The Yorkshire Dales, an upland area, in Northern England.


economies of scale

en-noun

economies of scale pl (normally plural, singular economy of scale)

When plant size increased from 400 heavy young hens per hour to about 1,500 per hour average costs per pound declined from 6.6 to 5.4 cents per pound. While these costs suggested the existence of economies of scale in processing, they did not provide a standardized measure of the exact nature and extent of potential cost savings.

1963, George Burnet Rogers, Costs and Economies of Scale in Turkey Processing Plants, Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, page i:

(economics) The characteristics of a production process in which an increase in the scale of the firm causes a decrease in the long run average cost of each unit.

մասշտաբի էֆեկտ

the characteristics of a production process


flat feet

A physical condition of the feet where the sole of the foot is in full contact with the ground, either because the arches have collapsed or because they never developed.


beer and skittles

Found as early as 1837, in Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens, where it appears in the form, “It’s a reg’lar holiday to them—all porter and skittles”. The most common form, as a negative admonition, appears to have been popularized by Thomas Hughes in Tom Brown's School Days (1857, see quotation below).

Well, well, we must bide our time. Life isn't all beer and skittles—but beer and skittles, or something better of the same sort, must form a good part of every Englishman's education.

1857, Thomas Hughes, chapter 2, in Tom Brown's School Days:

Being a soldier's wife isn't all beer and skittles.

1911, Anthony Hope, chapter 22, in Mrs. Maxon Protests, page 259:

His plight reveals a truth that's often obscured by the envy of newspaper readers; that it's not all beer and skittles in restaurant-critic land.

2012 March 24, John Walsh, “The perils of reviewing restaurants”, in The Independent:

Such highly intensive deployment left little wriggle room, something with which Dunster is all too familiar. "It hasn't all been beer and skittles," he says dryly.

2022 October 5, Nick Brodrick, “Pendolinos: a huge role to play”, in RAIL, number 967, page 41:

(chiefly UK, idiomatic) Fun times; pleasure and leisure.


mad dogs and Englishmen

mad dogs and Englishmen pl (plural only)

From the verse/song by Noel Coward: "Mad dogs and Englishmen / Go out in the midday sun."

Only mad dogs and Englishmen would go out in this heat!


Yehudim

Latinized masculine plural form of יהודי.


full marks

Expressing complete satisfaction with someone's efforts.


scanties

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[…] and what little girl would not like to whirl in a circular skirt and scanties?

Small panties; skimpy underwear for a woman or girl.


funny pages

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


rules of the road

A regional security framework with a relatively broad mandate could also establish badly needed "rules of the road" for regional states in a post-Saddam environment, which would be highly valued by the Saudis.

2005, Flynt Leverett, The Road Ahead: Middle East Policy in the Bush Administration's Second Term, page 105:

That clinical instructor will begin the course by giving you an “orientation day.” Pay attention! You need to know the rules of the road for each instructor and each clinical facility.

2012, Susan Stabler-Haas, Fast Facts for the Student Nurse:

As it's evolved, the for-profit organizational form rewards short-term thinking and a profits-first, social-and-environmental-damage-be-damned attitude. While this is especially true at the global corporate level, the rules of the road for small businesses aren't much better.

2013, Carl Frankel, Allen Bromberger, The Art of Social Enterprise: Business as if People Mattered, page 8:

(figuratively) A set of standard procedures or regulations governing the way something is done.


my fellow Americans

A less sexist adaptation of earlier salutations my countrymen, fellow countrymen, &c. after women attained the right to vote.

(US) Used to establish credibility and connection with an audience of Americans, used mostly in speeches by US politicians.


fish 'n' chips

(plural only) Alternative spelling of fish and chips


birds of a feather

c1710, Jonathan Swift, "A Conference," lines 11-12,
And since we're so near, like birds of a feather,
Let's e'en, as they say, set our horses together.

Birds of a feather do fall out sometimes.

1876, Anthony Trollope, chapter 51, in The Prime Minister:

Paul Blanshard has two bogeymen of almost equal fearsomeness: one dwells in the Kremlin, the other in the Vatican.... Blanshard has satisfied himself that Stalin and the Pope are pretty much birds of a feather.

1951 May 21, “As Bad or Worse?”, in Time:

(idiomatic) People having similar characters, backgrounds, interests, or beliefs.

一丘之貉 (yīqiūzhīhé, literally “goods of the same road”)

одного поля ягоды (odnovo polja jagody, literally “berries from the same field”)


grannies

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And there I was, standing in the middle of the room, in my bra and undies, wearing a Burger King crown, balancing on one leg and praying. A peal of laughter arose from the rest of the girls, who were all clothed. ‘I knew she’d be wearing grannies!’ I heard someone say.

2007, Karen Yampolsky, Falling out of Fashion, Headline Publishing Group, published 2009, →ISBN:

“I’m just a little shocked.” / Monica laughs. “Shocked! You should have seen his face when he pulled down my shorts! He looks at me and says, ‘I wasn’t expecting a hot number like you to wear grannies.’ Then we have hot wild sex in the parking lot of the gym!” […] “What did Jena say?” / Monica laughs. “I guess you didn’t expect me to catch you climbing out of a Ford wearing grannies!’”

2011, Lexi Michaels, Time for a Fresh One, AuthorHouse, →ISBN, page 19:

“See, you’ve been enhancing yourself all along. A thong serves a specific purpose as does a balconette, or demicup, otherwise you’d just be wearing grannies all the time, right? I mean, if all you wanted to do was cover your ass and support your boobs.”

2012, Quincy Poaches, Dismal: The Maria Patterson Memoirs, Xlibris, →ISBN, page 167:

(US, Canada, slang, derogatory) Granny panties.


equal rights

The concept that every person is to be treated equally by the law.


French knickers

For this reason, any woman would much, much rather receive a pair of silk French knickers trimmed with antique lace that require handwashing in Evian water and which she will never actually wear than the three-pack of tummy-control pants from M&S that she desperately needs.

2004 December 3, Jess Cartner-Morley, “Present perfect”, in The Guardian:

(UK) A type of full-fitting women's underwear.


fasti

The calendar in Ancient Rome, which gave the days for festivals, courts, etc., corresponding to a modern almanac.


congratudolences

: And soon to be an eligible bachelor guy!
Congratudolences, or whatever.

1996 October 31, Dennis Monbourquette, “Re: DemoniK for hire”, in alt.1d (Usenet):

(humorous) Used to express congratulations and condolences simultaneously.


Eloi

From French Éloi, from Medieval Latin Eligius, chiefly after Saint Eligius, from Latin ēligere (“to pick, to choose from”) + -ius (“-y: forming adjectives and names”).


ladies and gentlemen

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There are quays there and lamps and some squares of grass; a ladies and gentlemen, and a cinema.

1941, Joyce Cary, chapter XLIV, in Herself Surprised, page 108:

(rare and euphemistic) Public toilets: a ladies' room and a gentlemen's room.


pelmeni

en-noun

pelmeni pl (normally plural, singular pelmen)

Borrowed from Russian пельме́ни (pelʹméni, singular пельме́нь (pelʹménʹ)), which in turn is borrowed from Permic (Komi/Udmurt) пельнянь (peľňaň).

bor

singular <i class="Cyrl mention" lang="ru">пельме́нь</i> (pelʹménʹ)

The dish most closely associated with Siberia is pelmeni, meat-filled dumplings. In Siberia, pelmeni are traditionally filled with horse meat and are served with vinegar.

2000, Sydney Schultze, Culture and Customs of Russia, page 66:

My favorite dish was a wonderful broth with pelmeni, Siberian dumplings filled with seasoned chopped meat.

2005, Adam Hochschild, Half The Way Home: A Memoir Of Father And Son, page 59:

"This is pelmeni — Siberian dumplings," he said, "And you better get used to it, because you're going to be eating a lot of it while you're here."

2006, Jim Moore, Going the Distance: A Story of Faith in Action, page 52:


Congaree

A tribe of Native Americans who lived alongside the Congaree River.


net tangible assets

(business) The total assets of a company, less any intangible asset such as goodwill, patents, and trademarks, less all liabilities and the par value of preferred stock. Similar to Book Value and Net Asset Value.