Paschal Lamb

Paschal Lambs (plural)
paschal lamb (alternative)

[…]but when the Holy or Paschal Lamb is intended then the face should be guardant or reguardant.

1894, James Parker, A Glossary of Terms used in Heraldry, revised edition, page 362:

(heraldry) A lamb depicted with nimbus and bearing a flag (usually St. George's cross: argent a cross gules).

paaslam

heraldry: a lamb depicted with nimbus and bearing a flag


neck down

en-verb

neck down (third-person singular simple present necks down, present participle necking down, simple past and past participle necked down)

necks down (present singular third-person)
necking down (participle present)
necked down (participle past)
necked down (past)

(firearms, transitive) To alter (a cartridge) by forcing it into a smaller calibre and size.


Bruceploitation

From Bruce (“Bruce Lee”) + -sploitation.

(film, martial arts) A genre of exploitation film that exploits the legacy of Bruce Lee through copycats.


foresister

From fore- + sister. Compare forefather.

Another method of concealing lesbian history is the post-mortem straightening out of the lesbian, in which Haiviette becomes Joan of arc's "girlhood friend," Ebba Sparre becomes Queen Christina of Sweden's "companion," and the Ladies of Llangollen become "famous friends." Many of our fore-sisters have been stolen from us in this manner.

1976, Xenia S. Williams, “The Power of History...or History Is Written by the Powerful”, in Dave Peterson, Johnathan Cross, Lyn Rosen, editors, A Gay Person's Guide to New England, 2 edition:

Only then will we be able to adequately tell what our foresisters have done in memory of her.

1984, Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza, In memory of her: a feminist theological reconstruction of Christian origins:

Of course, women and men are always children of their time, and feminists today are children of their time, sitting on the shoulders of their foresisters even if they do not recognize it.

1999, Deborah F Sawyer, Diane M Collier, Is there a future for feminist theology?:

(feminism) A feminist of an earlier generation.


Obamacrat

(US politics) A Democratic supporter of Barack Obama.


bullpup

bullpups (plural)
bull pup (alternative)
bull-pup (alternative)

From bull + pup. The firearms sense originated from firearm designers in the United States during the 1930s. The unconventional configuration of bullpup rifles was compared by analogy to bulldog puppies, which were considered "squat, ugly, but still aggressive and powerful".

(firearms) A firearm configuration in which the trigger is located forward of the magazine and breech, as opposed to a conventional configuration in which the trigger is located rear of the magazine and breech.


DADT

don't ask, don't tell
don't ask, don't tell#English

(US, politics, military) Initialism of don't ask, don't tell.


antiatomic

(politics, military) Opposing or countering atomic weapons.


antimarxism

en-adj

antimarxism (comparative more antimarxism, superlative most antimarxism)

more antimarxism (comparative)
most antimarxism (superlative)

(politics) Opposed to the tenets of Marxism.


antisocialist

antisocialists (plural)
anti-socialist (alternative)

Hayden's problem here, I think, is an excessive consistency: not being a socialist, or at least not wanting to take his political stand on that principle, he assumes he must, then, be an antisocialist.

1981, The Nation - Volume 232, page 406:


IBSA

(politics, economics) Initialism of India, Brazil and South Africa.


hang fire

hang fires (plural)
hangfire (alternative)
hang-fire (alternative)

(firearms) The situation when a gun does not immediately fire when the trigger is pulled, but may fire shortly after.


ISV

en-noun

ISV (countable and uncountable, plural ISVs)

infantry squad vehicle
w:Infantry Squad Vehicle

(military) Initialism of infantry squad vehicle An unarmored wheeled troop transport land vehicle


firing pin

(firearms) the part of the firing mechanism which strikes the cartridge's primer to ignite the gunpowder.


saddle ring

(firearms) A small metal ring on the side of a firearm, allowing it to be hung on a saddle hook or attached to a lanyard.


solonic

en-adj

solonic (comparative more solonic, superlative most solonic)

more solonic (comparative)
most solonic (superlative)
Solonic (alternative)


bouget

The heraldic sense derives from an older spelling and meaning of budget, "small bag" (compare Middle English bouget, bowgett (“a leather bag or wallet”)), from Middle French bougette (“little pouch”).

cog

(heraldry) A charge resembling a yoke and a pair of the water bags that were formerly used to supply an army in battle.


exfiltrate

en-verb

exfiltrate (third-person singular simple present exfiltrates, present participle exfiltrating, simple past and past participle exfiltrated)

exfiltrates (present singular third-person)
exfiltrating (participle present)
exfiltrated (participle past)
exfiltrated (past)

(military, transitive) To withdraw (troops) surreptitiously from a dangerous position.

kimenekít

to withdraw troops surreptitiously from a dangerous position


antiliberalism

en-noun

antiliberalism (usually uncountable, plural antiliberalisms)

(politics) Antiliberal beliefs and practices.


ALCON

AERIAL PREPARATION OF THE BATTLEFIELD IS ESSENTIAL TO FUTURE OPERATIONS, AND ARCENT WILL CONTINUE COORDINATION WITH ALCON TO EFFECT REALIGNMENT OF AIR APPORTIONMENT PRIORITIES.

1991 February 14, Steven Arnold, ARCENT [Army Central Command] SITREP [Situation Report], quoted in Richard M. Swain, Lucky War: Third Army in Desert Storm, DIANE Publishing (1999), page 188

page 249: 3.C.1. DIRECT COORDINATION AUTHORIZED FOR ALCON./
page 365: 1.D. […] AS SUCH, ALCON SHOULD BE PROACTIVE IN PLANNING SUPPORT TO THE GREATEST EXTENT POSSIBLE. […] .//
page 377: 4.C. DIRLAUTH ALCON. KEEP THE DOMS AND THE JOINT STAFF INFORMED./

a. 2004, various sources, quoted in Center for Law and Military Operations, Domestic Operational Law (DOPLAW) Handbook for Judge Advocates, William S. Hein & Co., Inc. (publisher, 2004)

2. Conduct safety brief for ALCON. Discuss type of approach, safety precautions, and sound signals.

a. 2007, James Stavridis and Robert Girrier, Watch Officer's Guide, Fifteenth Edition, Naval Institute Press (2007), page 375

(military) Abbreviation of all concerned.


primary election

primary election (plural primary elections)

(politics) A preliminary election to select a political candidate of a political party.

փրայմերիզ

preliminary election to select a candidate

(politics) The first round of a two-round election.


special election

special election (plural special elections)

(politics, government, Philippines, US) An election scheduled at other than the usual date for a specific purpose, often to fill an office that has become vacant before the incumbent has completed the term.


polling place

(politics, government) A place where voters cast their ballots in elections.


gonfalon

gonfalons (plural)
gonfalone (alternative)
gonfanon (alternative)

/ˈɡɑːn.fəˌlɑːn/

From Middle English gonfalon, from Old French gonfalon, from Frankish *gunþifanō, from Proto-Germanic *gunþifanô.

(heraldry) Alternative form of gonfanon.


gonfanon

/ˈɡɑːn.fəˌnɑːn/

(heraldry) A banner with three "tails", typically with the middle one longer than the others, and three loops at the top representing where it would have been attached to a pole.


couple-close

(heraldry) A diminutive of the chevron, always borne in closely placed pairs.

två smala sparrar

heraldry: diminutive of the chevron, always borne in pairs


Victor Charlie

From the US military phonetic spelling alphabet for VC, the acronym for Vietcong.

Watch out for Victor Charlie — they're everywhere.

As for Victor Charlie here, we captured him and disarmed him.

(US, military slang, historical) The Vietcong (the group or its members collectively); a member of that group.


F/O

(military, aviation) Abbreviation of flying officer.


CCM

CCM (countable and uncountable, plural CCMs)

Combined Cypher Machine
w:Combined Cypher Machine

(military, US) Initialism of Combined Cypher Machine.


Holyrood

From Middle English Holy Rood, Holyrode, holy-rode, holy roode, hali rode, halgorode, equivalent to holy + rood (“crucifix, cross”).
The town in Newfoundland is named after a location near Crewkerne, Somerset.

But Matheson has indicated that the Scottish Government will not be responding to the consultation because transport policy in Scotland is a matter for ministers at Holyrood and not at Westminster.

2020 December 16, “Network News: Scotland set to snub Johnson's Union Connectivity Review”, in RAIL, page 21:

Yousaf is almost certain to be confirmed as Scotland’s next first minister in a nominal vote at Holyrood on Tuesday but now has to bridge those divides by bringing the SNP’s warring wings together.

2023 March 27, Severin Carrell, Libby Brooks, “Humza Yousaf elected leader of Scottish National party”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

(UK politics, by extension, metonymic) The Scottish Parliament.


HMX

(military, US) Abbreviation of Marine Helicopter Squadron One.


sick man of Asia

Coined in reference to the term sick man of Europe.

(archaic, politics) Qing Empire/Empire of China/China


sick man of Europe

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-sick man of Europe.wav

A calque of a phrase coined by Czar Nicholas I, Romanov, of the Empire of Russia: больно́й челове́к Европы (bolʹnój čelovék Jevropy). This name for the Turkish Ottoman Empire refers to the sickly state of the Ottoman state in the 19th century.

Yes, we were known as the “sick man of Europe” until we joined the European Union and – guess what – we have left the EU and have regained that dubious status.

2022 November 27, William Keegan, “Brexit has made Britain the sick man of Europe again”, in The Guardian:

(politics) Any European country undergoing economic difficulty.

Euroopan sairas mies

any European country undergoing economic difficulty


sick man of East Asia

(archaic, politics) Qing Empire / Empire of China / China


antifilibuster

(US, politics) Opposing or preventing filibuster.


antileft

en-adj

antileft (comparative more antileft, superlative most antileft)

more antileft (comparative)
most antileft (superlative)

This outlook, masterfully given shape in Borges's best books, furnished artistic fuel for the supine antiwar and hostile antileft politics of our 1960s liberal literati.

1999, Gene H. Bell-Villada, Borges and his fiction: a guide to his mind and art:


NOD

Night Optical/Observation Device
w:Night Vision Device

(military, US) Initialism of Night Optical/Observation Device.


minority government

en-noun

minority government (plural minority governments)

(politics) Government by a political party or a coalition that does not have a majority of seats or votes in parliament.

少數政府 /少数政府

government backed by less than half of votes in parliament


re-up

en-verb

re-up (third-person singular simple present re-ups, present participle re-upping, simple past and past participle re-upped)

re-ups (present singular third-person)
re-upping (participle present)
re-upped (participle past)
re-upped (past)
reup (alternative)

"Reenlist" sense is a possible blend of re-enlist + sign up


porkish

en-adj

porkish (comparative more porkish, superlative most porkish)

more porkish (comparative)
most porkish (superlative)

Congressional leaders are frank about using their clout for porkish purposes, and DeLay is no exception.

(US, politics, informal) Relating to pork barrel funding.


ICB

integrated care board
w:integrated care board

(UK, healthcare) Initialism of integrated care board.


antisanctions

(politics) Opposing or countering sanctions.


tankodrome

tankodromes (plural)
tankdrome (alternative)

1918, tank + -o- + -drome, after aerodrome.

Prospective tank-drivers tramped up early every morning to the Tank Park or “Tankodrome”—a couple of large fields in which workshops had been erected, some trenches dug, and a few shell-craters blown

1919, Blackwood's Magazine, volume 205, W. Blackwood, page 588:

(obsolete, military) A training location for use of tanks; tank park.


Rockefeller Republican

en-noun

Rockefeller Republican (plural Rockefeller Republicans)

Named after the center-left Republican political positions of Nelson Rockefeller.

United States of America
United States of America

(US politics, dated) A moderate or liberal member of the Republican Party of the United States of America, especially one from the northeast of the USA.


Dixiecrat

A Dixiecrat is nothing but a Democrat in disguise.

1964 April 3, Malcolm X, The Ballot or the Bullet:

Confederate States of America
Confederate States of America

socially conservative
social conservative

(US politics, dated) A member of the Democratic Party of the United States of America from the southern States, especially one of the former territories of the Confederate States of America, who hold socially conservative viewpoints, and supports racial segregation and white power.

Throughout the controversy, most prominent southern leaders stayed within the Democratic Party. After the election, the Dixiecrat movement evaporated. The South's vocal dissent in 1948, however, forecast the sectional unrest of the following decades, weakened the region's loyalty to the Democratic Party, and prepared the way for future political realignment.

2014, James W. Ely Jr., Bradley G. Bond, The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture, UNC Press Books, →ISBN, page 190:

States' Rights Democratic Party
States' Rights Democratic Party

(US politics, historical) A member of the short-lived States' Rights Democratic Party of the United States of America.


War Democrat

(US politics, historical) A member of the Democratic Party of the United States of America who supported the prosecution of Confederates and sympathizers during the American Civil War.


deep state

A calque of Turkish derin devlet (“deep state”) (early uses were in relation to Turkey, especially the 1996 Susurluk scandal).

calque

The ‘deep state’ remains hidden from the public. It is staffed by the security personnel. Its activities and the driving principles behind those activities are not decided by the legislature, controlled by the judiciary, or challenged by the popular will […]

1997, Turkish Probe, Ankara, Turkey: Turkish Daily News, →OCLC, page 111:

The term "deep state" is used in two different senses in Turkey. The first is rooted in a type of secret organization affiliated with NATO, which, with time, degenerated into an organized crime group engaged in the pursuit of private gain. In the second sense, the "deep state" is a type of special organization entrenched within the state apparatus and strives to keep the state on a predetermined course.

2010, Atay Akdevelioğlu [et al.], translated by Mustafa Akşin, edited by Baskın Oran, Turkish Foreign Policy, 1919–2006: Facts and Analyses with Documents (Utah Series in Turkish and Islamic Studies), Salt Lake City, Utah: University of Utah Press, →ISBN, page 658:

Since 1989–90, Pakistan’s ‘deep state’ – the army and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) – has been waging a war against India through asymmetric means. The deep state has been sponsoring radical extremist organisations […]

2017, Gurmeet Kanwal, “India: Reluctant Nuclear Power”, in Sharpening the Arsenal: India’s Evolving Nuclear Deterrence Policy, Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India: HarperCollins Publishers India, →ISBN:

Deep states do not arise in economic and historic vacuums; rather, they reflect their societies' economies and histories. Most deep state analysis comes out of the United States and Turkey and concentrates on military and security interests joining with corporate, technological, and financial interests to form deep states.

2017, Kevin Taft, “Oil and the Deep State”, in Oil’s Deep State: How the Petroleum Industry Undermines Democracy and Stops Action on Global Warming – in Alberta, and in Ottawa, Toronto, Ont.: James Lorimer & Company, →ISBN, part 2 (Capture), page 121:

The Storm boils down to the idea that the US president is working to wipe out the effects of globalisation, a concept much hated by his supporters. To achieve this, he will apparently dismantle the 'deep state'.

2018 January 15, Kashmira Gander, “What is The Storm? Conspiracy theory that mysterious White House official QAnon is leaking secrets”, in International Business Times:

But over the last three weeks, the deep state has emerged from the shadows in the form of real live government officials, past and present, who have defied a White House attempt to block cooperation with House impeachment investigators and provided evidence that largely backs up the still-anonymous whistle-blower.

2019 October 23, Peter Baker, Lara Jakes, Julian E. Barnes, Sharon LaFraniere, Edward Wong, “Trump’s War on the ‘Deep State’ Turns Against Him”, in The New York Times:

The group was convinced modern Germany was run by a “deep state” conspiracy that was about to be exposed by an alliance of German intelligence agencies and the militaries of foreign states including Russia and the US.

2022 December 7, Philip Oltermann, “German police raids target far-right extremists ‘seeking to overthrow state’”, in The Guardian:

(politics, conspiracy research) A large group of people, typically members of government agencies and the military, believed to have enduring political influence that is difficult for an administration that is voted into power to counter or dislodge.

دَوْلَة عَمِيقَة

large group of people believed to have long-lasting political influence


armshield

(military) A badge worn on the sleeve of a soldier's uniform in the shape of a shield, used to denote allegiance


carousel fraud

en-noun

carousel fraud (countable and uncountable, plural carousel frauds)

(finance, taxation) The theft of value-added tax from a government by exploiting the way VAT is treated within multijurisdictional trading where the movement of goods between jurisdictions is VAT-free.


ROKS

Republic Of Korea
Republic of Korea#English

(South Korea, military, nautical) Initialism of Republic Of Korea Ship, a warship of South Korea.


ultraleft

en-adj

ultraleft (comparative more ultraleft or further ultraleft, superlative most ultraleft or furthest ultraleft)

more ultraleft (comparative)
further ultraleft (comparative)
most ultraleft (superlative)
furthest ultraleft (superlative)


ultraright

ultraright (comparative more ultraright or further ultraright, superlative most ultraright or furthest ultraright)

more ultraright (comparative)
further ultraright (comparative)
most ultraright (superlative)
furthest ultraright (superlative)


spider hole

The ragged fugitive dragged from a spider hole near Tikrit in December 2003 was physically diminished - Saddam lost weight on the run - and the subsequent incarceration and near invisibility whittled his relevance.

2005 October 18, Rory Carroll, “Trial of the Century? Not for Iraqis”, in The Guardian:

The grenade launcher was passed to Davis, who fired a beehive round into the spider hole.

2006, Keith Nolan, House to House: Playing the Enemy's Game in Saigon, page 323:

(military) A small, usually camouflaged hole dug in the ground where someone can hide.


vetoproof

vetoproof (comparative more vetoproof, superlative most vetoproof)

more vetoproof (comparative)
most vetoproof (superlative)

(US, politics) Having a strong enough majority to override any presidential veto.


antivandal

(law enforcement) Opposing or proscribing vandalism.


mukhtar

mukhtars (plural)
muhtar (alternative)
mooktar (alternative)
mookhtar (alternative)
muktar (alternative)
muqtar (alternative)
mooktear (alternative)
muktear (alternative)

From North Levantine Arabic مختار (“village headman”), from substantive application of Arabic مُخْتَار (muḵtār, “chosen”), the passive participle of اِخْتَارَ (iḵtāra, “to elect, to choose”). Specific application with influence from various local languages including Ottoman Turkish مختار (muhtar, “village headman”) and Bengali মুখতার (mukhtar), Marathi मुख्तार (mukhtār), and Urdu مختار (muktār, “agent; lawyer”). Within Indian English, the application of mukhtar is influenced by a folk etymology derivation from Sanskrit मुक्ति (mukti, “liberation, becoming or setting free”). Doublet of myftar.

myftar

A minor official in various Arab and Turkish contexts

Mukhtar Khan, the ſoubadar, who was attached to Azim Shaw, and father-in-law to Bedar Bukht, hoping to impede his progreſs, ſunk all the boats in the Jumna, and placed guards at the neareſt fords.

[1786, Eradut Khan, translated by Jonathan Scott, A Translation of the Memoirs of Eradut Khan, a Nobleman of Hindostan, Containing Interesting Anecdotes of the Emperor Aulumgeer Aurungzebe, and of His Successors Shaw Aulum and Jehaundar Shaw; […], London: […] John Stockdale, […], →OCLC, page 18:

Afterwards, when the Raja complained against us, Mr. Ogilvy issued an order to me, No. 836 of 1845, directing us not to interfere with the jumebundee matters of the Raja, who was mooktar of his territory, but only to report cases in which he or his kharbarree might levy more than the assessment; accordingly I made several reports of over-exaction, which are on the agency records.

1848 May 21, Seentakroy Anundroy, “[Charges of Bribery against Hurree Lall, Connected with the Succession of the Bhaderwa State.] Substance of a Petition from Seentakroy Anundroy, Karkoon at Jhuguria, Tahe Rajpeepla, Illaka Rewa Kanta, to the Right Honourable the Governor in Council, Dated 21st, and Received 24th May 1848.”, in Accounts and Papers: […], volumes 14, part I (East India. Baroda.—Part I.), [London: Her Majesty’s Stationery Office], →OCLC, paragraph 1, page 113:

The Cypriote, like other Turkish, and, indeed, most Oriental villages, is under the charge of a head man, called a Mukhtar, assisted by a Council or Commission, consisting of three or more members belonging to a village. The Mukhtar is elected annually, and is paid by a contribution of so much per head of the population of the village. In some of the larger ones there are two Mukhtars: usually one Christian, and the other Moslem (they prefer this style to being called simply Greek and Turk).

1880, [Esmé] Scott-Stevenson, “The New Administration”, in Our Home in Cyprus, London: Chapman and Hall, […], →OCLC, page 75:

On my arrival at the gate I found that the doctor was absent; but I could see the mukhtar. The mukhtar is the principal man in every Cypriote village – a kind of mayor on a reduced scale. [From St. James's Gazette.]

1884 January 12, “A Leper Farm in Cyprus”, in Littel’s Living Age, volume XLV (5th Series; volume CLX overall), number 2064, Boston, Mass.: Littel & Co., →OCLC, page 128, column 1:

The Mudîr and Mukhtar are inferior officials of the Kaimakam. The Mukhtars, properly only village magistrates, have to look after the punctual payment of the taxes, and are responsible for them.

1888, G[ottlieb] Schumacher, “Position, Extent, Limits, and Administration of the Jaulân”, in [anonymous], transl., The Jaulân. Surveyed for the German Society for the Exploration of the Holy Land, […], London: Richard Bentley and Son, […], →OCLC, page 10:

The villages comprised in the nahié shall each have a Mukhtar; if a village contains several wards, and if the inhabitants are divided into different classes, there shall be a Mukhtar for each ward and for each class of inhabitants.

[1897], N. Ter Gregor, History of Armenia (Illustrated) from the Earliest Ages to the Present Time, London: J. Heywood, →OCLC, article 16, page 223:

Leaflets in Arabic on some subjects, distributed to and through Mukhtars, might do good.

1919 October 17, “Palestine Notes”, in The Near East, volume XVI, number 441, London: The Near East Editorial and Publishing Offices, →OCLC, page 405, column 1:

The above areas [cazas, mudirieh, and villages] shall be administered respectively by Kaimakams, Mudirs, and Mukhtars. These officials shall meet periodically at the chief town of the district for the discharge of current business.

1930 May 14, “Organic Statute of the Government of the Jebel Druse, Promulgated by Decree of the High Commissioner of the French Republic, No. 3114 of May 14th, 1930”, in League of Nations – Official Journal, number 9, [Geneva]: [League of Nations], published September 1930, →OCLC, article 20, page 1129:

At Acre, 15,000 Druzes elected a six-member council comprising sheiks and mukhtars, their first official representative body since the establishment of Israel.

1950 February 27, “Druzes in Israel Elect Council”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

Having done our initial assessments of community institutions, we began meeting with local leaders to gain their support of the US effort. In Iraq, we met with secular community leaders (called Muktars), local religious leaders, academic leaders from the university and city leaders from the newly selected Mosul City Council.

2004 September–October, Robert M. Chamberlain, “101st FIST Platoon in SOSO: Lessons Learned from CMO”, in Patrecia Slayden Hollis, editor, Field Artillery: A Joint Magazine for US Field Artillerymen, Fort Sill, Okla.: Headquarters, Department of the Army, under the auspices of the US Army Field Artillery School, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 34, column 1:

I encouraged people to speak with their muqtars (informal mayors of small villages or city districts) and mayors about petitioning the Provincial Government for a portion of the funds for their dilapidated community.

2008, Caleb S. Cage, Gregory M. Tomlin, “Revisionistas: An Interlude”, in The Gods of Diyala: Transfer of Command in Iraq (Texas A&M University Military History Series; 118), College Station, Tex.: Texas A&M University Press, →ISBN, part 4 (Good Things, Bad People, and the Pictures to Prove It), page 158:

He and Hal started up the hill together towards the mukhtar’s house, as the trucks rattled away from them.

2009 August, Sadie Jones, Small Wars: […], 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper, published 2010, →ISBN, page 34:

During Israel's early years, there were three distinct types of mukhtars. […] All mukhtars were monitored constantly by the security forces, who produced frequent reports on them. […] In some villages and neighborhoods there was competition for the post of mukhtar, and winning the job was itself adequate compensation for assistance offered. But other mukhtars and collaborators frequently expected more concrete returns, and security officials grappled with the subject of how to compensate collaborators from the time the state was founded.

2010, Hillel Cohen, “Beginning a Beautiful Friendship: The Rise of the Collaborator Class”, in Haim Watzman, transl., Good Arabs: The Israeli Security Forces and the Israeli Arabs, 1948–1967, Berkeley, Los Angeles, Calif., London: University of California Press, →ISBN, page 25:

Ahmed Jasso, the leader of the village (also known as the Muqtar) told everyone that living under ISIS would not be much different from the way life had been under Saddam Hussein.

2018, Ville Männistö, I Found Myself in Iraq, [Kolkata, West Bengal]: Living Word Publications, published 2020, page 92:

(politics) A minor official—usually overseeing a village or town—in many Arab countries and (historical) in the Ottoman Empire and its successor states, including Turkey, Northern Cyprus, and formerly Albania.

(specifically) Alternative spelling of muhtar: an elected official overseeing a village or neighborhood in modern Turkey.


shadow boxing

(boxing) The action of practicing moves where the opponent is the boxer's own shadow.

σκιαμαχία

practicing boxing moves against one's shadow


mixed martial arts

Though mixed martial arts has successfully peeled away fans from boxing (a sport that’s lost any compelling champions and much of its dignity) and WWE (a “sport” that’s always existed in quotation marks) it’s had trouble shaking its reputation as “human cockfighting.”

2002 April 19, Scott Tobias, “Fightville”, in AV Club:

Other top talent in the Central Vision library includes Black Belt Hall of Fame members Ernie Reyes Sr., Frank Shamrock, Bill “Superfoot” Wallace, mixed-martial arts champion Pat Miletich, breaking champion Larry Fields and Olympic judo medalist Mike Swain.

2003 November, “Century Completes 100th Martial Arts Video”, in Black Belt, page 111:

Jiu jitsu competitions are vastly different from mixed martial arts, as they are grappling-only, and if an athlete does well in jiu jitsu, it doesn't guarantee that he'll also do well in mixed martial arts (and vice versa).

2005, Jeremy Wall, UFC′s Ultimate Warriors: The Top Ten, page 202:

Mixed martial arts is essentially about making the opponent tire out before you do so you are at an advantage in dealing devastating moves.

2008, Mickey Dimic, Christopher Miller, Mixed Martial Arts Unleashed: Mastering the Most Effective Moves for Victory, page 20:

(sports, martial arts) A style of combat sport allowing a wide range of combat techniques such as striking and grappling.


wadcutter

(firearms) a special-purpose bullet designed for shooting paper targets, usually at close range and at subsonic velocities.


Nosler

The bullet is named after gunsmith John Nosler.

(firearms) A bullet having two lead-filled partitions separated by a copper or brass section, intended to retain hitting power after the initial expansion on impact.


social democratic

en-adj

social democratic (comparative more social democratic, superlative most social democratic)

more social democratic (comparative)
most social democratic (superlative)

The undermining social-democratic downhill slide into abysmal
lost-lamb-off-the-precipice into the trickle-down runoff pool.

1992 October 5, R.E.M., “Ignoreland”, in Automatic for the People:

(politics) Of or pertaining to social democracy.


antistatism

(politics) Opposition to state intervention into personal, social or economic affairs.

antiétatisme

opposition to state intervention into personal, social or economic affairs


antistatist

(politics) One who opposes state intervention into personal, social or economic affairs.

ანტისახელმწიფოებრივი

one who opposes state intervention into personal, social or economic affairs


windage

en-noun

windage (usually uncountable, plural windages)

(ballistics) The difference in diameter between the bore of a firearm and the shot.

(ballistics) Horizontal adjustment of the sight of a firearm or bow.


mess dress

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


anti-immigration

en-adj

anti-immigration (comparative more anti-immigration, superlative most anti-immigration)

more anti-immigration (comparative)
most anti-immigration (superlative)
antiimmigration (alternative uncommon)

Emmanuel Macron’s ruling centrist party was divided and soul-searching on Wednesday after a strict new immigration law was approved by parliament but contained so many hardline measures that the far-right Marine Le Pen claimed it as an “ideological victory” for her own anti-immigration platform.

2023 December 19, Angelique Chrisafis, “France passes controversial immigration bill amid deep division in Macron’s party”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

In another worrying development for Germany’s mainstream, the fledgling Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) – a far-left party that has questioned the country’s support for Ukraine and shares some of the AfD’s anti-immigration streak – came third in both states, despite only being founded earlier this year.

2024 September 2, Christian Edwards, Claudio Otto, Matties Otto and Nadine Schmidt, “AfD becomes first far-right party to win German state election since 1945”, in CNN:


anti-immigrant

anti-immigrant (comparative more anti-immigrant, superlative most anti-immigrant)

more anti-immigrant (comparative)
most anti-immigrant (superlative)
antiimmigrant (alternative)

(politics) Opposing immigrants or immigration.


increaser

(firefighting) An adapter for connecting hoses of differing diameters.


arrestable

A person who lies frequently may be cut of the same mental fabric as the arrestable criminal.

2000, Samuel Yochelson, Stanton Samenow, The Criminal Personality: A Profile for Change, page 253:

(law enforcement) Capable of, or suitable for, being arrested (taken into police custody).


dimidiate

en-verb

dimidiate (third-person singular simple present dimidiates, present participle dimidiating, simple past and past participle dimidiated)

dimidiates (present singular third-person)
dimidiating (participle present)
dimidiated (participle past)
dimidiated (past)

From Latin dīmidiātus, past participle of dīmidiāre (“to halve”).

[…] hybridization in the same vein is the beast shown as supporters to arms granted in 1971, where a unicorn dimidiates a lion rampant.

1973, Rhodesiana, numbers 28–31, The Rhodesia Africana Society, page 36:

(transitive, heraldry) To represent one half of, or undergo dimidiation with.


dimidiation

en-noun

dimidiation (countable and uncountable, plural dimidiations)

/dɪˌmɪdɪˈeɪʃən/

/daɪˌmɪdɪˈeɪʃən/

Continuing the Middle English dimydicion (circa 1425, in an arithmetical sense), from the Late Latin dīmidiātiō.

(heraldry) A marshalling of two coats of arms by the bisection per pale of their escutcheons and forming a new coat of arms from the dexter half of one coat and the sinister half of the other.

dīmidiātiō

heraldry: marshalling of two coats of arms from the dexter half of one coat and the sinister half of the other


undifferenced

In speculating upon this curious controversy, the question naturally arises, whether a plain and undifferenced coat-armorial descends to a man's heirs, according to the ordinary rules of heritable succession, or whether it happens[…]

1863, George Seton, The Law and Practice of Heraldry in Scotland, page 336:

Nowadays, even the successive heirs to the principal or undifferenced coat of arms usually rematriculate after a few generations, or bring up to date a pedigree in the Public Register of Genealogies, both for the purpose of putting on[…]

1956, Sir Thomas Innes of Learney, Scots Heraldry: A Practical Handbook on the Historical Principles and Modern Application of the Art and Science, Genealogical Publishing Com, →ISBN, page 109:

(heraldry) Not having a mark of difference.


impossibilism

(politics, Marxism) A socialist doctrine that stresses the limited value of political, economic, and social reforms within a capitalist economy, arguing that the pursuit of such reforms strengthens support for the existing system.


interdictor

(military) An aircraft designed to bomb enemy supply operations.


wristguard

(firearms) A metal band between the stock and the receiver.


wristwork

[...] in actual fact the Gresley Pacifics are not difficult to fire; the accurate wristwork needed to shoot the coal into the back corners of the grate calls for knack rather than brute force.

1941 May, O. S. Nock, “The Locomotives of Sir Nigel Gresley: Part III—The "A1" Pacifics”, in Railway Magazine, pages 196–197:

(in particular, fencing) movement of the hand without movement of the arm


military time

Again, Bravo pointed. “Look!” As they watched, they saw a ghostly shape rising slowly out of the sea. Jenny, glancing at her watch, said, “One, five, three, zero. Fifteen-thirty—it's military time! Three-thirty in the afternoon.

2014, Eric Van Lustbader, The Testament, Bloomsbury Publishing, →ISBN:

(military, US and allied forces) A specific system of denoting and pronouncing the times of the 24-hour clock.


AES

actually existing socialism
actually existing socialism#English

(socialism) Initialism of actually existing socialism.


millrind

(heraldry) A heraldic charge resembling a stylized millstone support of this kind.


If the police at the G20 protests were pumped-up, testerical, itching for a fight, it was partly because their commanding officers have spent years blurring the distinction between peaceful campaigners and terrorists.

2009 April 21, George Monbiot, “G20 videos won't change the Met”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

(politics, economics) A group of finance ministers and central bank governors from 20 economies: 19 countries plus the European Union.


bastille

bastilles (plural)
bastile (alternative)

French Revolution
Poor Law Amendment Act 1834
William Cobbett
William IV
storming of the Bastille

The noun is derived from Middle English bastile, bastel (“fortification for attack mounted on a barge or wheels; projecting part of a fortification, bastion, turret; fortified encampment of a besieging army; structure carrying armed men on an elephant’s back; (figuratively) refuge, shelter; protector”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman bastile, bastille, Middle French bastille, and Old French baastel, basstel (“fortification; fortified tower; temporary fortification constructed for attack or defence; (small) castle or fortress”) (modern French bastille; compare Medieval Latin bastīle), from bastide (“fortification; fortress”) with the ending modified after nouns ending in -ille (from Latin -īle (suffix forming place names)). Bastide is derived from Old Occitan bastida (“fortification; (Provence) country mansion”), from bastir (“to build, construct”) + -ida (suffix forming nouns); while bastir is from *bastīre, from Frankish *bastijan (“to sew; to weave”), from Proto-West Germanic *bast (“fibre; rope”), from Proto-Germanic *bastaz (“fibre; rope”); further etymology uncertain, perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *bʰask- ~ *bʰasḱ- (“bundle, heap, load”) but this is disputed.
Sense 2.1 (“jail or prison, especially one regarded as mistreating its prisoners”) is from the Bastille in Paris, France. Known in full as the Bastille Saint-Antoine, it was a former fortress used as a prison by the French monarchy in the 17th and 18th centuries. The Bastille was stormed by a crowd on 14 July 1789 at the start of the French Revolution and later demolished, becoming an important symbol for the French Republican movement.
Sense 2.2 (“workhouse”) was possibly popularized by the English politician William Cobbett (1763–1835) who opposed the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 (4 & 5 William IV, chapter 76; often called the “New Poor Law”). This Act made relief or welfare for poor people only available through workhouses, and ensured that the working conditions were harsh so that only the truly destitute would apply for relief.
The verb is derived from the noun.
Cognates
Late Latin bastile (“wooden siege tower”), bastilla, bastillia, bastillus, bastellum (“fortification; wooden siege tower”)

nb...

bastayle, bastele, bastell, bastelle, bastil, bastill, bastyle, bastyll, bastylle, (Northern England) baistell,

nb...

Commencing with the Accession of William IV.

J. Booker; Longman, Rees, Orme, and Co.; J. M. Richardson; Parbury, Allen, and Co.; J. Hatchard and Son; J. Ridgway; E. Jeffery and Son; J. Rodwell; Calkin and Budd; R. H. Evans; J. Booth; and T. C. Hansard.

col

Cognates

VVhen they ſhould have ſtood to it in field, and fought, then they fled back to their tends: vvhen they vvere to guard and defend their trench and rampart, they ſurrendered them to the enemy: good no vvhere, neither in battel nor in baſtil.

1659, T[itus] Livius [i.e., Livy], “[Book XXII]”, in Philemon Holland, transl., The Romane Historie […], London: […] W. Hunt, for George Sawbridge, […], →OCLC, page 380:

(military, historical) The fortified encampment of an army besieging a place; also, any of the buildings in such an encampment.

bastilji

fortified encampment of an army besieging a place; any of the buildings in such an encampment


sheltron

sheltrons (plural)
cheldrome (alternative)
childrome (alternative)
sheltrum (alternative)
schiltrom (alternative)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-I learned some phrases-sheltron.wav

PIE word
 *dóru
From Middle English scheltroun, sheltroun (“group of soldiers or army in fighting formation, phalanx; battle, fighting; group of warships, fleet; (by extension) line or row of bones”) [and other forms], from Old English sċieldtruma (“company of soldiers, phalanx; covering; shed, shelter; tortoise”) [and other forms], from sċield (“shield; (figuratively) protection”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kelH- (“to cut; to separate, split”)) + truma (“band or troop of men”) (possibly from trum (“firm, strong; stable, steadfast”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *drew- (“firm, hard, solid; strong; tree”), *dóru (“tree”)).
Doublet of shelter (which is the less conservative of the two).

nb...

cheltrone, cheltroun, childrome, chiltrone, scheltrom, scheltrome, scheltron, scheltrone, scheltrum, schetrome, schiltrom, schiltron, schiltrum, schiltrun, schilteroun, schiltroun, scholtrom, scholtrum, sheldrun, sheltirne, sheltorn, sheltrom, sheltrome, sheltron, sheltrone, sheltronne, sheltroun, sheltrum, sheltrume, sheltrun, shildryme, shilterne, shilteroun, shiltrom, shiltrome, shiltron, shiltrone, shiltroun, shiltrumme, shiltrun, shiltrunne, sholtrom, sholtrum, shultrom, shyltron, shyltroun, (Early Middle English) sceld-trome, sceldtrume, sheldestrome, sheltrome, soltrome, sultrome

nb...

sceltruma, scildtruma, sciltruma, scyldtruma, scyld-truma, scyltruma

der

The ſheltron of the foremen of the fyrſt ſort, ſhalbe ſet in the ryght corner, and wete thou well that cohort is not ellis but the numbre of fyfty hundred knyghtis, and eṽry legion is ten comportes. Than as I ſaid before, the ſheltron of foremen of the fyrſt cohort, ſhude be ſet in the fyr[ſ]t corner of the ſheldron, and to hem the ſecunde cohort ſhalbe joined. [From an anonymous English translation of Vigetus de re Militari.]

[1408, R. Green, “Of the Warlike Weapons of the Ancients”, in Sylvanus Urban [pseudonym], editor, The Gentleman’s Magazine, and Historical Chronicle, volume XXIX, London: […] D[avid] Henry and R. Cave, […], published 14 November 1759, →OCLC, page 521, column 1:

As the group tops a crest, there is a skip of panic among them, and they instinctively cluster around the youngest, a schiltrom of hooves and teeth.

2022, Thomas Halliday, Otherworlds, Penguin, published 2023, page 12:

(now chiefly historical) A compact body of troops forming a battle array or phalanx, especially such a body of Scottish troops armed with pikes during the Wars of Scottish Independence in the late 13th and early 14th centuries.

schiltron

any compact body of troops forming a battle array or phalanx


CQC

(military, US) Initialism of close quarters combat.


old sweat

old sweats (plural)
old-sweat (alternative)

(British, military slang, chiefly World War I) An experienced soldier.

A lifelong buddy of mine, this Herring, linked to me by what are called imperishable memories. Years ago, when striplings, he and I had done a stretch together at Malvern House, Bramley-on-Sea, the preparatory school conducted by that prince of stinkers, Aubrey Upjohn MA, and had frequently stood side by side in the Upjohn study awaiting the receipt of six of the juiciest from a cane of the type that biteth like a serpent and stingeth like an adder, as the fellow said. So we were, you might say, rather like a couple of old sweats who had fought shoulder to shoulder on Crispin's Day, if I've got the name right.

1960, P. G. Wodehouse, chapter I, in Jeeves in the Offing:

(British, military slang) A veteran soldier or war veteran.


sight in

en-verb

sight in (third-person singular simple present sights in, present participle sighting in, simple past and past participle sighted in)

sights in (present singular third-person)
sighting in (participle present)
sighted in (participle past)
sighted in (past)

(firearms) To align the sights of a firearm.


anocratic

en-adj

anocratic (comparative more anocratic, superlative most anocratic)

more anocratic (comparative)
most anocratic (superlative)

Highly coherent polities have higher mean durability scores than incoherent and anocratic polities, both for the whole sample and for each subsample.

1980, Ted Robert Gurr, Handbook of political conflict: theory and research:

To examine standardization of change in anocratic traits, the sequences of transformation in anocracy that European nations have followed over time are explored.

1984, Mark Irving Lichbach, Regime Change and the Coherence of European Governments:

The rise of the populist leader who led the failed February 1992 coup against the Pérez government is a clear indication of the people's aversion to the anocratic order.

2016, David C. Jordan, Drug Politics: Dirty Money and Democracies, page 141:

(politics) Characterized by a mixture of autocratic and democratic government.

ანოკრატიული

characterized by a mixture of autocratic and democratic government


rightish

rightish (comparative more rightish, superlative most rightish)

more rightish (comparative)
most rightish (superlative)
Right-ish (alternative)

(politics) Towards the political right wing.


cinqfoil

The wife of Saher was Margaret sister and coheir of Robert Earl of Leicester, whose seal exhibits a cinqfoil.

1869, William Smith Ellis, The Antiquities of Heraldry, pPage 226:

(heraldry) Alternative spelling of cinquefoil.


debruise

en-verb

debruise (third-person singular simple present debruises, present participle debruising, simple past and past participle debruised)

debruises (present singular third-person)
debruising (participle present)
debruised (participle past)
debruised (past)

STEPANOV -1- A : Per bend argent and gules, a lion rampant contourne proper; surtout on the sinister three costs azure the second and third debruising and clenched in the lion's forepaws. M: Gules lined argent.

1992, Donald R. Mandich, Joseph Anthony Placek, Russian Heraldry and Nobility, Dramco:

(heraldry) To partially obscure one charge with another.


restrictionism

(economics, politics) The advocacy of restrictions on free trade, immigration etc.


tierced

(heraldry) Divided into three (e.g. vertically, horizontally, or per pall).


WAE

(US, government) Initialism of when actually employed.


issuant

(heraldry) Issuing or emerging from something, especially from the bottom (or a division) of the field or chief, or from an ordinary.

(heraldry, by extension, of an animal) Having only the upper half depicted, especially if because it is issuing from something (such as a division of the field). (Compare naissant.)


warmist

These elites “understand the real significance of climate change better than most of the ‘warmists’ in the political centre, the ones who are still insisting that the response can be gradual and painless and that we don’t need to go to war with anybody…

2014 September 22, John Gray, quoting Naomi Klein, “This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs the Climate review – Naomi Klein’s powerful and urgent polemic”, in The Guardian:

(politics, chiefly derogatory) A person who believes that global warming is real, and is caused by human activity.

réchauffiste

believer in global warming caused by human activity


Major

* As an English surname of Norman origin, from the personal name Malgier, via Old French from the Germanic name *Madalgari. See Mauger.
* As a Hungarian surname, shortened from majorosgazda (see Majoros), or borrowed from German Meyer.
* As a Polish, Czech, and Slovak surname, from the military rank major.
* As a Jewish surname, variant of Meyer.
* As a French and Occitan surname, from the adjective majeur and the military rank major. The latter appears in Canadian French, sometimes also as La Major.

(military) Title for an army officer with the rank of major.


code enforcement

(law, government) The act of enforcing a set of rules, principles, or laws, especially written ones, and ensuring observance of a system of norms or customs.


GSA

Employees at GSA tell WIRED that Coristine has appeared on calls where workers were made to go over code they had written and justify their jobs.

2025 February 2, Vittoria Elliott, “The Young, Inexperienced Engineers Aiding Elon Musk’s Government Takeover”, in WIRED, archived from the original on 2025-02-02:

General Services Administration
w:General Services Administration

(US politics) Initialism of General Services Administration.


surprisal

en-noun

surprisal (countable and uncountable, plural surprisals)

From surprise + -al.
(information measure): Defined by Myron Tribus in the 1961 book Thermostatics and Thermodynamics.

Their chiefe attempts are by Stratagems, trecheries, or surprisals.

1624, John Smith, Generall Historie, Kupperman, published 1988, page 146:

(obsolete, military) A surprise attack or ambush; a sudden or unexpected assault.


SxS

SxS (plural SxS or SxSes or SxS's or SxSs)

SxS (plural)
SxSes (plural)
SxS's (plural)
SxSs (plural)

(firearms) Abbreviation of side by side (a double barrelled shotgun with both barrels beside each other, rather than over and under).


antiseparatist

en-adj

antiseparatist (comparative more antiseparatist, superlative most antiseparatist)

more antiseparatist (comparative)
most antiseparatist (superlative)


prodeath

prodeath (comparative more prodeath, superlative most prodeath)

more prodeath (comparative)
most prodeath (superlative)
pro-death (alternative)

A contrary view was expressed by Helen Cindrich, president of People Concerned for the Unborn Child.
"He (Huyett) has not crumpled under the pressure of the well-funded prodeath profiteers," she said in a press release.

1982 December 8, “Abortion Clinics Prepare For New Law”, in Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:


pro-abort

pro-abort (comparative more pro-abort, superlative most pro-abort)

more pro-abort (comparative)
most pro-abort (superlative)
proabort (alternative)

In its newsletter, Defense of Life described Thornburgh as "pro-abort" and said Woods had no recorded abortion position.

1987 April 29, “Thornburgh turns down Reagan offer”, in Gettysburg Times:

As she stood outside the clinic on Saturday, she lamented the lost opportunities as the counterdemonstrators clogged the sidewalks. "They're the real lunatic, pro-abort people," she said[…]

1989 July 17, “Abortion Battle: 2 Foes on Front Lines”, in The New York Times:


pro-abort

pro-aborts (plural)
proabort (alternative)

The leader of a Utah anti-abortion group told those attending a rally at the state Capitol on Wednesday they should target the elected offices being vacated in 1992.
"If we lose the governor's seat to a pro-abort, then he can say there isn't enough money to support the abortion law. You must register to vote in 1992 so you can vote those pro-aborts out of office and keep them out," said Rosa Goodnight[…]

1992 January 23, “Utah Abortion Foes Seek to Elect Pro-Lifers to Keep Political Edge”, in The Salt Lake Tribune:

(US, politics, derogatory) A person with pro-choice views.


proabort

(US, politics, derogatory) Alternative spelling of pro-abort.


Mannlicher stock

en-noun

Mannlicher stock (plural Mannlicher stocks)

* From a 1903 carbine designed by Ferdinand Mannlicher.

(firearms) A stock on a rifle that runs the full length of the weapon.


sealift

en-verb

sealift (third-person singular simple present sealifts, present participle sealifting, simple past and past participle sealifted)

sealifts (present singular third-person)
sealifting (participle present)
sealifted (participle past)
sealifted (past)


sealift

We’re looking at both an airlift and a sealift,” Mr. Fugate told reporters in a conference call.

2009 October 1, Liz Robbins, “Over 300 Die in Sumatra and Samoas Quakes”, in New York Times:


point man

The point man is the only one besides the Shooter who could verify the kill shots firsthand, and he did just that to another SEAL I spoke with.

2013 February 11, Phil Bronstein, “The Man Who Killed Osama bin Laden… Is Screwed”, in Esquire Magazine:

(military) In combat, the soldier who takes point; the soldier who assumes the first and most exposed position in a combat military formation; the lead soldier/unit advancing through hostile or unsecured territory.


take point

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

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

(military) To assume the first and most exposed position in a formation in combat; to serve as the lead soldier or unit advancing through hostile or unsecured territory.


Kaserne

Borrowed from German Kaserne (“barracks”), ultimately from Latin quaterna through French caserne.

bor+

(US military) A United States Military barracks or installation in Germany.


sick call

(US, military) A daily lineup of military personnel requiring medical attention.


rezident

rezidents (plural)
resident (alternative)

From Russian резиде́нт (rezidént). Doublet of resiant and resident.

(espionage) The head spy in a rezidentura.


WRNS

Women's Royal Naval Service
w:Women's Royal Naval Service

(UK, military, nautical) Initialism of Women's Royal Naval Service.


SEAT

(US, aviation, firefighting) Acronym of single-engine air tanker.


fieldcraft

(military) The basic military skills required to operate in the field, such as stealth, camouflage, and observation.


compony

From French componé, from Old French compondre, from Latin compōnere (“put together, arrange, compile”). Cognate with English compose, compound.

der

(heraldry, postpositive) Divided into a line of squares of alternating tinctures.


outland

en-verb

outland (third-person singular simple present outlands, present participle outlanding, simple past and past participle outlanded)

outlands (present singular third-person)
outlanding (participle present)
outlanded (participle past)
outlanded (past)

(martial arts) To land more (punches, kicks etc.) than.


breechblock

breechblocks (plural)
breech block (alternative)

(firearms) The metal block that closes the breech of a breech-loading gun after insertion of the cartridge.


antihelicopter

Perhaps one of the most ingenious antihelicopter mines was constructed by planting a group of pressure-sensitive mines in a potential landing zone and then covering the mines with a sheet of metal.

2006, Norman Youngblood, The development of mine warfare: a most murderous and barbarous conduct:

Britain, which has not experienced a helicopter escape since the late 1970s, has been more aggressive about installing antihelicopter nets in its prisons.

2009 August 9, Nicola Clark, “In Some Prison Breaks Across Europe, Helicopters Replace the File in the Cake”, in New York Times:

(military) Intended for use against helicopters.


vuln

vuln (third-person singular simple present vulns, present participle vulning, simple past and past participle vulned)

vulns (present singular third-person)
vulning (participle present)
vulned (participle past)
vulned (past)

Irregularly derived from Latin vulnerāre.

The shield depicts a pelican vulning herself.

Of many other literary references to the pelican briefest mention can be now made . The variant relations of the piety of the bird are very interesting : according to one set of legends , it is to feed its young that the pelican vulns[…]

To left a gold pelican in nest vulns itself to draw blood for its young . 0287.0 pen : A naked arm and hand from clouds on left holding an iron stilus ( pen ) pointing to an inscription : ' I Petri Cap . 2 Ve .

1995, Peter Maurice Daly, Leslie T. Duer, Anthony Raspa, The English Emblem Tradition: Emblematic flag devices of the English Civil Wars 1642-1660:

The pelican was my high school's mascot, taken from the crest of our school's founding family. The pelican is a Christ symbol, I had been told, because according to legend it vulns itself to feed its young. I saw a second pelican[…]

2007 May 15, Mark Oppenheimer, Thirteen and a Day: The Bar and Bat Mitzvah Across America, Macmillan, →ISBN, page 103:

... no to rent rise " posters'.40 Other campaign posters featured a giant pelican - the symbol of Corpus Christi - feasting on a group of tiny human beings , with the tag line : ' The vampire pelican vulns its young to feed itself.

2012 September 26, Mehdi Hasan, ED: The Milibands and the Making of a Labour Leader, Biteback Publishing, →ISBN:

(heraldry) Of a pelican, to wound (oneself) by biting at the breast.


unblouse

unblouse (third-person singular simple present unblouses, present participle unblousing, simple past and past participle unbloused)

unblouses (present singular third-person)
unblousing (participle present)
unbloused (participle past)
unbloused (past)

Some straight legs caught a trooper at the post exchange (PX) one day and made him unblouse his boots.

2002, Jack Allsup, Mountains of Hope, page 50:

"Alright men. Lay your ponchos out on the ground and take everything out of your rucksacks. Empty your pockets, too. Everything goes on the poncho. Hurry up! We haven't got all day.
"You, Parker! Unblouse those boots. Do it! What's all this shit? Cans of Spam. Tuna fish. Nice try, Asshole. Okay, everybody. Unblouse those boots."

2003, Edward F. Fitzgerald, Bank's Bandits, page 162:

Not only were the soldiers not allowed to tell anyone what was happening, but they had to remove their shoulder patches and the airborne patches from their hats, take off their jump wings, and unblouse their trousers to hide their jump boots.

2004, Ed Ruggero, Combat Jump: The Young Men Who Led the Assault Into Fortress Europe, July 1943, page 89:

In front of the entire regiment, the condemned trooper was forced to unblouse his trousers, remove his airborne boots, and replace them with regular shoes.

2006, Major Richard D. Winters, Beyond Band of Brothers, page 37:

(military) To untuck (leggings from footwear); to make (pants or trousers) unrestricted or untightened at the ankle, often as a sign of rank or service.


statant

a lion statant

(heraldry, of an animal) Standing on all four feet or paws.


thunderflash

(military) A pyrotechnic device that generates a loud noise, used to simulate battlefield conditions.


triangled

The third, Gules triangled, or […]

1729, Abel Boyer, Le Grand théâtre de l'honneur et de noblesse … [assisted by John Innes?] Fr. & Eng, page 331:

Fish are borne different ways; upright, embowed, extended, endorsed, surmounted of each other, fretted, triangled, &c. All fish borne feeding should be termed devouring ...

1788, George Shelby Howard, THE NEW ROYAL CYCLOPAEDIA, page 1129:

(heraldry) Divided into triangles (said of the field).


loadmaster

(military) The member of an aircrew responsible for the loading and internal stowage of heavy cargo (so as to minimise the disruption of the aircraft's trim).


antisub

British antisub countermeasures did not begin to show significant results until major reforms were instituted early in 1941.

1974, Clark G. Reynolds, Command of the sea: the history and strategy of maritime empires:


antirepublican

en-adj

antirepublican (comparative more antirepublican, superlative most antirepublican)

more antirepublican (comparative)
most antirepublican (superlative)

(politics) Opposing the formation of a republic.


antirepublican

(politics) One who opposes the formation of a republic.

ანტირესპუბლიკელი

one who opposes the formation of a republic


antiguerrilla

(military) Opposing or countering guerrillas.


terreplein

terrepleins (plural)
terre-plein (alternative)
terraplene (alternative)
teraplene (alternative)
terrepleine (alternative)
terraplana (alternative)
terraplane (alternative)
terraplain (alternative)
terreplaine (alternative)
terreplain (alternative)

Originally a borrowing of Italian terrapieno (“earth-fill(ed)”), later altered after the model of French terreplein (now terre-plein). Its former misspellings arose from confusion of the second element of the name with Italian piano or French plain, plane (“flat, level”) based on the appearance of the earth-filled central platforms of walls.

(obsolete military) The sloping earthen embankment behind a defensive wall.

(military) The level platform atop a wall, typically protected by a parapet and (strictly) distinguished from the slightly higher banquette used by its defenders.

(military) Any level base used by artillery in the field.


antiarmor

armored personnel carrier
armored personnel carrier

(military) Designed for attacking armored vehicles, such as tanks and armored personnel carriers.


batwoman

(UK, military) A female batman (servant)


guardant

From Old French guardant, present participle of guarder (“to watch”).

(heraldry, of an animal) Positioned with the body viewed from the side, but with the head turned toward the viewer.


antidictatorship

antidictatorship (comparative more antidictatorship, superlative most antidictatorship)

more antidictatorship (comparative)
most antidictatorship (superlative)

(politics) Opposing political dictatorship.


battlegroup

(military) A grouping of several types of troops assembled to fight together.


antipaedophile

antipaedophile (comparative more antipaedophile, superlative most antipaedophile)

more antipaedophile (comparative)
most antipaedophile (superlative)
antipedophile (alternative)

For example, a voice accusing a man of being a paedophile might be based on recent TV news programmes about antipaedophile vigilante groups, plus the memory of having been accused of being a pervert by a neighbour, plus fears that he might be a secret paedophile because he enjoyed reading Lolita.

2005, Hazel E. Nelson, Cognitive-behavioural therapy with delusions and hallucinations, page 217:


hurty

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

(heraldry) Semé (strewn) with hurts (roundels azure).


vorant

For quotations using this term, see Citations:vorant.

(heraldry, of an animal) Devouring something.


androcracy

(government, sociology) Government or rule by men.


ACP

(firearms) Initialism of automatic Colt pistol, a class of handgun ammunition.


assenter

(UK, politics) One of the eight voters who endorse the proposer and seconder's nomination of a candidate for election to the parliament of the United Kingdom.


freedom ride

freedom rides (plural)
Freedom Ride (alternative)

It is a slight miracle, I think, that in the almost two years since February of 1960 there has not been a fatality. But we have come amazingly close to it several times. Let me mention the case of William Barbee who was on the Freedom Ride when it arrived at Montgomery and met with mob violence.[…]

1961, Diane Nash, “Inside the Sit-ins and Freedom Rides: Testimony of a Southern Student”, in Mathew H. Ahmann, editor, The New Negro, New York, N.Y.: Biblo and Tannen, published 1969, →OCLC, page 58:

Segregation must be stopped. It must be broken down. Those of us on the Freedom Ride will continue. No matter what happens we are dedicated to this. We will take the beatings. We are willing to accept death. We are going to keep coming until we can ride anywhere in the South.

1961 (year of quotation), Rachel Tisdale, quoting James Zwerg, “The Nation Takes Notice”, in The Freedom Riders (We Shall Overcome), New York, N.Y.: Rosen Publishing Group, published 2014, →ISBN, page 20:

A Negro leader said today the "freedom riders" whose arrival here touched off race riots last Saturday will continue their test of Southern bus station segregation barriers. [...] [T]he Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. [...] told a news conference the group met for four hours last night and decided that "the freedom ride must continue, we will not specify the exact time, but it will continue."

1961 May 23, “‘Freedom ride’ must continue—Rev. King”, in Sarasota Journal, volume 10, number 27, Sarasota, Fla.: Lindsay Newspapers, →OCLC, page 2, column 7:

The Freedom Rides had reached their peak in June but were not over, and the ferment stirred up by them had by no means subsided. [...] It was the Nashville Student Movement that had continued the Freedom Rides when CORE [Congress of Racial Equality], the original sponsor, had declared them too dangerous and had withdrawn. These students had a right to feel proud and sure of themselves.

1972, James Forman, “Lucretia Collins: ‘The Spirit of Nashville’”, in The Making of Black Revolutionaries, illustrated edition, Seattle, Wash., London: University of Washington Press, published 2000, →ISBN, book 1 (A Constant Struggle), page 146:

Challenging legal obstacles to equality, the civil rights movement inspired mass protests—sit-ins, freedom rides, marches to Birmingham, Montgomery, and Selma—that eliminated obvious forms of racial discrimination as it won support from sympathetic whites.

1982, Peter N. Carroll, “‘This Terrible Division between Us’: The Politics of Race”, in It Seemed Like Nothing Happened: America in the 1970s, New Brunswick, N.J., London: Rutgers University Press, published 2000, →ISBN, part 1 (The Loss of Connection), pages 38–39:

Abbie [Hoffman] took his freedom ride at the tail end of the freedom movement. He had missed the chance to be among the Freedom Riders of 1961 or the Freedom School teachers of 1964, and he was determined not to let the South slip through his fingers again. The summer of 1965 would be the last time that significant numbers of Northern whites would go to Mississippi for civil rights, and Abbie would be among them.

1996, Jonah Raskin, “White Mischief, Black Power”, in For the Hell of It: The Life and Times of Abbie Hoffman, Berkeley, Los Angeles, Calif., London: University of California Press, published 1998, →ISBN, page 55:

CORE [Congress of Racial Equality] organized some of the earliest sit-ins for civil rights in Chicago in 1943, and in 1947 sponsored the first interracial freedom ride, called the "Journey of Reconciliation."

2014, Ron Young, “Meeting the Vietnamese ‘Enemy:’ Resisting the Draft; Mass Marches in D.C.”, in Crossing Boundaries in the Americas, Vietnam, and the Middle East: A Memoir, Eugene, Or.: Resource Publications, Wipf and Stock Publishers, →ISBN, page 66:

(US, politics, historical) In the United States in the 1960s (chiefly 1961), any one of a number of trips taken by bus or other forms of transport through parts of the southern U.S., made by groups of civil rights activists demonstrating their opposition to racial prejudice and segregation.

The year of the first Aboriginal freedom ride is the year the principal of Fineflour Central boards up a group of kids in the toilet block roof.

1990, Gillian Mears, “Fineflour”, in Fineflour, St. Lucia, Qld.: University of Queensland Press, published 1997, →ISBN, page 25:

Led by young activists, black and white, who were conducting ‘freedom rides’ modelled on those of the civil rights movement in the United States, a change in attitudes was in progress which would lead in 1967 to the removal, by a large majority in a referendum, of the provision in the Constitution that prevented the Parliament from making 'special laws' in the interests of Aboriginals.

1997, Peter Edwards, “Australia on the Eve of the Vietnam War”, in A Nation at War: Australian Politics, Society and Diplomacy during the Vietnam War 1965–1975 (The Official History of Australia’s Involvement in Southeast Asian Conflicts 1948–1975; 6), St. Leonards, N.S.W.: Allen & Unwin, →ISBN, page 18:

Ann Curthoys is Professor of History at the Australian National University, Canberra. She has written widely on questions of gender, race and ethnicity in Australian history, and is currently working on a history of the Freedom Ride of 1965.

1997, “Contributors”, in Wayne Hudson, Geoffrey Bolton, editors, Creating Australia: Changing Australian History, St. Leonards, N.S.W.: Allen & Unwin, →ISBN, page vii:

Then, in February 1965, Charles Perkins led the famous and extremely effective freedom rides that made him probably Australia's best known civil rights activist. [...] The freedom rides were an extremely dangerous and confronting form of public protest. At one stage the bus was run off the road in Walgett after being pursued by a truck and ten cars, and the bus driver later withdrew from the tour because of safety concerns.

2005, John Chesterman, “Defending Australia’s Reputation: Ending Commonwealth Discrimination”, in Civil Rights: How Indigenous Australians Won Formal Equality, St. Lucia, Qld.: University of Queensland Press, →ISBN, page 76:

(Australia, politics, historical, by extension) A similar excursion undertaken by protesters in Australia in 1965 in opposition to unfair discrimination against Indigenous Australians.


freedom rider

/ˈfɹiːdəm ˌɹaɪdə/

(US, politics, historical) In the United States during 1961, a civil rights activist who participated in one or more trips by bus or other forms of transport, known as freedom rides, through parts of the southern U.S. to demonstrate opposition to racial prejudice and segregation.

(Australia, politics, historical, by extension) A participant in a similar excursion undertaken by protesters in Australia in 1965 in opposition to unfair discrimination against Indigenous Australians.


zouave

Borrowed from Arabic زَوَاوِيّ (zawāwiyy).

bor+

The French soldiers, for whom this uniform was patterned and made, were, as a rule, much smaller in stature than the American soldier, and hence the imported zouave uniforms distributed, in many cases, were entirely too short for the many giants in stature in the One Hundred and Fifty-fifth Regiment.

1910, Under the Maltese Cross, Antietam to Appomattox: The Loyal Uprising in Western Pennsylvania, 1861-1865; Campaigns 155th Pennsylvania Regiment, Pittsburgh, PA: 155th Regimental Association, page 226:

During the Civil War in the United States, some of the Northern Volunteer regiments adpoted ^([sic]) the zouave uniforms and were known as zouaves.

1918, Grosvenor Library Bulletin, volume 1, number 1, Buffalo, NY: Grosvenor Library, page 19:

I also engaged a French zouave, named Bornet, belonging to the Third Regiment, whose term of service was just out.

1921, United States Naval Medical Bulletin, volume 15, Washington: United States Navy Government Printing Office, page 154:

(military, historical) a French soldier in the Union army of the Unites States civil war, or a Union soldier in a French soldier's uniform.


hauriant

From Latin hauriēns (“drawing (water, etc.); draining”), the present participle of hauriō (“to draw (water, etc.); to drain”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ews- (“to draw water”).

der

three salmon hauriant

(heraldry) Of a fish, etc.: in a vertical orientation, with its head up (to chief) and tail down (to base).


zero-zero

Test vehicles used during this extensive programme were a launching stand for the zero-zero ejections...

Both cockpits were enclosed under a large canopy and both crew sat on zero-zero ejector seats.

1988, René J. Francillon, McDonnell Douglas aircraft since 1920:

To lessen these forces, as well as achieve zero-zero seat capability—the ability to eject while sitting motionless on the ground—rocket sustainers were added.

2002, Walter J. Boyne, Air warfare: an international encyclopedia: Volume 1, page 190:

(aviation, military) Pertaining to the ejection of the occupant of an aircraft from a grounded stationary position (i.e. zero altitude and zero airspeed).

a zero-zero treaty

(military) Involving neither of two powers increasing their stockpile of nuclear weapons.


after Saturday comes Sunday

From Arabic مِن سَلَّف السَبت لاقا الحَدّ قَدّاموه (min sallaf es-sabt lāqā el-ḥadd qiddāmūh), literally "When Saturday is gone, one will find Sunday". The phrase is a classical proverb that means "the good or bad you do comes back to you".

مِن سَلَّف السَبت لاقا الحَدّ قَدّاموه

(politics, rare) A phrase sometimes attributed to fundamentalist Muslims, implying that they wish to kill the Jews, whose sabbath is Saturday, and then the Christians, whose sabbath is Sunday.


chronoclasm

From Ancient Greek χρόνος (khrónos, “time”), and κλάστης (klástēs, “a person who breaks something”); from κλάω (kláō, “break”).

(politics) The desire to crush the prevailing sense of time, due to a conflict regarding the fixation of linear time in a community


iron eagle

The term refers to the rank a colonel wears, which resembles an eagle.

(idiomatic, US, military) An American military officer who has attained the rank of colonel but will not be promoted to the rank of general.


regimental sergeant major

en-noun

regimental sergeant major (plural regimental sergeants major or regimental sergeant majors)

regimental sergeants major (plural)
regimental sergeant majors (plural)

warrant officer class 1
warrant officer class 1

(UK, Australia, army) The senior warrant officer in a regiment or battalion, usually a warrant officer class 1.


triarius

/tɹaɪˈɛəɹi.əs/

(military, historical of Ancient Rome) A veteran hoplite placed in the third rank in the early Roman military.


CSM

company sergeant major
company sergeant major#English

(Commonwealth, military) Initialism of company sergeant major.


LHX

light helicopter
light helicopter#English

(US, military, aviation) Initialism of light helicopter - experimental.


JSF

(aviation, military, US) Initialism of Joint Strike Fighter.


F/A

(US, military, aviation) fighter and attack aircraft (prefix)


NCIS

Naval Criminal Investigative Service
w:Naval Criminal Investigative Service

(military, US) Initialism of Naval Criminal Investigative Service.


planned economy

planned economy (plural planned economies)

(economics, politics) An economic system in which government directly manages supply and demand for goods and services by controlling production, prices, and distribution in accordance with a long-term design and schedule of objectives.


command economy

command economy (plural command economies)

Calque of German Befehlswirtschaft (“command economy”).

calque

Some scholars continue to blame the USSR's command economy for its 1991 collapse.

Following some National Socialist economists, we may distinguish three types of economies existing within Germany: a competitive economy, a monopolistic economy, and a command economy […]

1942, Franz Neumann, Behemoth: The Structure and Practice of National Socialism, New York: Harper and Row, page 291:

Willy Neuling saw three fundamental types of economic order, namely individualism, monopolism, and command economy (Befehlswirtschaft), and believed that a quite new type of economic theory, indispensable for analyzing the “command economy,” was in the offing […]

1943, Albert T. Lauterbach, Economics in Uniform: Military Economy and Social Structure, Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, page 82:

Khrushchev is turning the top-heavy administrative machinery of a gigantic command economy upside down. He is breaking overnight the customary links, thus clogging the well-worn channels of command; he is driving all the most competent higher administrators into frantic opposition […]

1957 September 7, Richard Löwenthal, “Party Vs. State”, in Problems of Communism, volume 6, number 5, page 1:

An expansion of tourism [sc. in Yugoslavia] is one purpose of the measure. It is also part of another move by Yugoslavia away from the Soviet-style “command” economy. When Marshall Tito broke with Stalin, his country's economy was organized on the Russian pattern […]

1965 July 29, “Yugoslavia Tries Incentives”, in The Times, number 56386, London: News UK, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 11:

Until now, the highly centralised command economy has worked better in East Germany than in other Comecon countries, especially the Soviet Union. But now it is being called on to propel East Germany into the micro-electronics age and to close the 30 per cent gap in labour productivity compared with West germany.

1984 January 31, Leslie Colitt, “How a wage tax is really a price subsidy – Leslie Colitt in Berlin reports on an important change in the East German economy”, in Financial Times, European News, page 3:

Yet it is hard to hand out enormous sums without turning poor countries into miniature command economies. Development projects mostly attempt to build entire industries, such as dairy farming or fisheries, from scratch.

2025 March 6, “Aiding and abetting”, in The Economist (Finance & economics section), London: The Economist Group, →ISSN, →OCLC:

(economics, politics) A planned economy in which the government (or some other central authority) is solely responsible for resource allocation, distribution and the setting of prices, with little to no market influence.

kommandoøkonomi

economy directly controlled by the government


saltant

From Latin saltans, present participle of saltare (“to dance”), v. intens. from salire (“to leap”): compare French sautant. See sally (verb).

Why the devil, can you deny that you've not a partiality for cats, ha! ha! ha! [...] the feline species is preserved - the crest is very evident a kitten saltant, ha! heh! heh!

1808, The Critical Review, Or, Annals of Literature, page 91:

"The luce is the fresh fish; the salt fish is an old coat." This speech is an heraldric puzzle. It is pretty clear that "the dozen white luces" apply to the arms of the Lucy family. [...] Since our first edition we have received an ingeniuous explanation from a correspondant, "A Lover of Heraldry." "The arms of the Lucies (not quartered by the Duke of Northumberland) are gules, three lucies hauriant, argent. [...] 'The salt fis (i.e. the fish or luce saltant) is an old coat.' Without taking it as a strict and formed adjective, I think in Shallow's mouth the salt luces may well mean the saltant lucies."

1867, The Comedies, Histories, Tragedies, and Poems of William Shakspere: Comedies, page 41:

Two lions saltant as vis-a-vis, but reversed, one with head up, the other down.

1893, Journal of the Derbyshire Archæological and Natural History Society, page 43:

The issue at the bottom is decorated by two lions saltant.

1905, Ferdinand Justi, Sara Yorke Stevenson, Morris Jastrow (Jr.), Central and eastern Asia in antiquity, page 91:

Crest a squerrill saltant gules upon a rugged staffe party per fece gold and vert the leaues counterchanged, sett upon a wreath siluer and Sable, the mantletts gules doubled siluer, Botoned gold as it appeareth in ye margent.

1925, The Publications of the Harleian Society, page 78:

(heraldry) In a leaping position; springing forward; salient.


running target

(firearms) A target that is towed across a range as the shooter shoots.


subordinary

(heraldry) Any device that is given less status (typically because it is less common or less simple) than the normal ordinaries.


antinepotistic

en-adj

antinepotistic (comparative more antinepotistic, superlative most antinepotistic)

more antinepotistic (comparative)
most antinepotistic (superlative)

(politics, business) Opposing or preventing nepotism.


Gorbachevian

Gorbachevian (comparative more Gorbachevian, superlative most Gorbachevian)

more Gorbachevian (comparative)
most Gorbachevian (superlative)

(politics) Of or pertaining to Mikhail Gorbachev (born 1931), the last head of state of the USSR, who introduced liberalizing reforms.


UNODIR

(military) Abbreviation of UNless Otherwise DIRected.


wedge politics

It was an ugly example of wedge politics, the politics of division.

1991 October 29, “Racial politics: Duke victory made GOP fear it had gone too far”, in Arizona Daily Star, USA:

John Howard . . . has, quite superbly, controlled the political agenda by wedge politics—by dividing the electorate on some emotional issue and forcing the Opposition to side with the moral but unpopular position.

2003 March 15, Alan Ramsey, “Hollow ring to Sir Echo”, in Sydney Morning Herald, Australia, retrieved 2010-09-20:

The quotes . . . are part of a Conservative divide-and-conquer strategy, said Liberal MP Anita Neville. "It's the worst kind of wedge politics—pitting one group against another: ‘We love you more than they love you,’" she said.

2009 June 17, “Flyers alleging Ignatieff is anti-Ukrainian cause stir in Manitoba”, in CBC News, Canada, retrieved 2010-09-20:

(politics) A strategy or pattern of behavior by a politician, political party, or advocacy group which is intended to have a divisive effect on one's political opponents or on the electorate, especially by emphasizing an issue which polarizes opinion along racial, regional, or other demographic lines.


BOTUS

Marlon Bundo is not only the first Botus (Bunny of the United States), but may be the first rabbit to: a) ride in Air Force Two; b) hold an official Instagram account that documents his every bemused lollop across a seemingly endless collection of Persian rugs; and c) have an unofficial Twitter account that reveals a much harder edge.

2018 March 20, Sian Cain, “Vice-president Mike Pence disappears down the rabbit hole”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-09-04:

Bundo had gained fame as the BOTUS (Bunny of the United States), and his Instagram account has more than 32,000 followers.

2022 January 17, Bryan Pietsch, “Marlon Bundo, Pence family rabbit and unlikely gay rights figure, dies”, in The Washington Post, Washington, D.C.: The Washington Post Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2022-01-17:

(US politics, humorous) Initialism of bunny of the United States; a tongue-in-cheek title bestowed on Marlon Bundo, a rabbit belonging to the family of Mike Pence.


multipayer

Single-payer systems tend to rely heavily on general tax revenues, whereas multipayer systems generally employ payroll-tax financing.

2004, Martin A. Levin, Martin M. Shapiro, Transatlantic policymaking in an age of austerity: diversity and drift, page 17:

(chiefly healthcare) Involving payment by more than one party.


tail wagging the dog

First used in the 1858 play Our American Cousin. The shortened form with the political sense was popularized by the film Wag the Dog (1997).

(idiomatic, politics) To divert negative political attention by use of a military operation.


dead drop

(espionage) A location used to secretly transfer items between two people, without requiring them to meet.

dode brievenbus

location used to pass items between two people in secret

тайни́к

e,g, шпио́нский

(espionage) The act of leaving an item in such a location for another person to collect.


live drop

(espionage) A location where two people meet to exchange items or information.

postilaatikko

location used to exchange items or information


pavement artist

en-noun

pavement artist (plural pavement artists)

(espionage) A specialist in outdoor surveillance as a pedestrian.

jalkamies

specialist of outdoor surveillance on foot


pocket litter

(espionage) Items in a spy's pocket (such as ticket stubs and coins) to make their cover seem more authentic.


wheel artist

(espionage) A specialist in outdoor surveillance in a vehicle.


eyes-only

(espionage, of documents) Meant to be read only, and not discussed, by the named recipient; classified.


ears-only

(espionage) Too secret to be put in writing; only to be transmitted orally.


non-official cover

non-official cover (plural non-official covers)

(espionage) The assumption of a covert role in an organization which does not have ties to the government of the operative in question.


official cover

(espionage) A cover which is a position at a governmental agency (e.g. posing as a member of the diplomatic service).


intelligence asset

intelligence asset (plural intelligence assets)

(espionage) Any resource by means of which intelligence is gathered.


burn notice

(espionage) An announcement of dismissal of an agent or source which an intelligence agency considers to have become unreliable.


senton

Being an idiot, I just now realized that the highspot of choice for the cool chubby worker is the Senton (or Cannonball as Ouilette refers to it).

1996 November 17, Dean&Angie, “Togo, Astro, A, B: wrestlings best fat guys”, in rec.sport.pro-wrestling (Usenet):

I guess at Smackdown one of the Hardy Boys pulls off a Senton Splash off the Big Show's shoulders.

1999 December 1, Brett Tennant, “Hardy's Senton off big show”, in alt.pro=wrestling.wwf (Usenet):

Technically, it's a somersault senton. The plain ol' senton is executed by leaping forward, almost past the target, and leaning back when you hit, which is why many call it a "senton back splash."

2000 May 10, Phil, “Senton Bomb or Swanton Bomb?”, in rec.sport.pro-wrestling (Usenet):

professional wrestling
professional wrestling

(professional wrestling) A variation of a splash in which a wrestler jumps, sometimes from a raised platform such as the top turnbuckle, and lands back first on an opponent lying below.


Question Period

Question Period (plural Question Periods)

Question Periods (plural)
question period (alternative)

Two Progressive Conservatives asked Mr Winters during the Commons question period what is being done about Parliament's electric clocks and the library of Parliament.

1955 January 24, “Parliament's Clock, Library Questioned”, in Ottawa Citizen, Canada, retrieved 2010-10-02, page 6:

Opposition members blasted the Tory budget during Question Period on Wednesday, charging that it raises income taxes on the poorest Canadians.

2006 May 3, “‘Neo-Conservative budget’ raises taxes on poor: Liberals”, in CBC.ca, Canada, retrieved 2010-10-02:

(Canada, politics, government) In the federal and provincial parliaments, a period of regularly scheduled time in the lower chamber during which members of the official opposition party and other members may direct questions to the prime minister and to cabinet ministers concerning affairs of state.


brisure

/bɹɪˈʒʊə(ɹ)/

From French brisure, from briser (“to break”).

The baton is made now very short by the French, who call it baton peri, and is always a brisure, frequently made use of by the younger sons of France, of which I have treated in my marks of cadency, and shall do so again[…]

1804, Alexander Nisbet, A system of heraldry ..., page 89:

But the bar (being a horizontal piece, a diminutive of the Fess), is not used like the French barre as a brisure for illegitimacy; a bar-sinister is an absurdity and impossibility.

1896, John Woodward, A Treatise on Heraldry, British and Foreign: With English and French Glossaries, page 172:

(heraldry) A mark of cadency or difference.


OPI

Please direct all suggestions to the OPI of the event, Mr. Smith.

(military, government) Initialism of office of primary interest.


Schengen Area

Named after Schengen, the town in Luxembourg where the treaty was signed.

(European politics) The group of European countries that have signed the Schengen Agreement, abolishing border controls between each other.


triangular division

triangular division (plural triangular divisions)

(military) A division composed of three regiments.


square division

square division (plural square divisions)

(military) a division composed of four regiments

(military) a division composed of two brigades of two regiments each


striking distance

striking distance (countable and uncountable, plural striking distances)

"Nay, sir, a soldier, who is about to be posted within striking distance of his enemy, can never speak, with confidence, of separations that are to be short."

1845, James Fenimore Cooper, chapter 19, in Satanstoe:

The two brigades at either end of the Boer lines had lost no chance of pushing in, and now they had come within striking distance.

1900, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “Paardeberg”, in The Great Boer War, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC, page 337:

(military) A distance at which a soldier, military force, vessel, etc. is sufficiently near to be able to attack an opponent.


MOCC

(US, military) Initialism of maintenance operations control center.


antiradical

en-adj

antiradical (comparative more antiradical, superlative most antiradical)

more antiradical (comparative)
most antiradical (superlative)

(politics) Opposing or countering a radical ideology.


claykicker

(slang, historical, UK, military) A member of a tunnelling engineering squad in World War I.


MIC

en-noun

MIC (countable and uncountable, plural MICs)

military-industrial complex
military-industrial complex#English

(military) Initialism of military-industrial complex.


superkick

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

(professional wrestling) A high side thrust kick attack, which sees the wrestler use the sole of the foot to strike an opponent's head or chin.

Thirty minutes later this superkick landed me, when I came crashing back to earth, at the door of the Egyptian tomb.

1920, The Saturday Evening Post, Benjamin Franklin Literary & Medical Society, page 129:

"Mere you-tickle-me-I-tickle you stuff. No Urge^([sic]) about that sort of thing; no Superkick;—well Starfire, if you know what I mean!"— she said it shyly, being young enough and Anglo-Saxon enough, to dread the language.

1933, Eleanor Mercein Kelly, Arabesque, Harper & Brothers, page 231:

Lori Couto's SUPERKICK?

1980, Berkley Middle School Yearbook, Berkley Public Library, page 29:

At the end of the season, in December, they have a competitive and hilarious “superkick,’ a contest measuring accuracy, distance, and style (“style meaning how mongrelly your kicks are”), but that’s generally the extent of formal ceremony, a fact Kelly savors.

2004, Brian Doyle, Spirited Men: Story, Soul & Substance, Cowley Publications, →ISBN, page 127:

(martial arts, video games, fantasy, science fiction, rare) An extremely strong kick, performed with proficiency, which differs from the common wrestling variation.


superkick

en-verb

superkick (third-person singular simple present superkicks, present participle superkicking, simple past and past participle superkicked)

superkicks (present singular third-person)
superkicking (participle present)
superkicked (participle past)
superkicked (past)

(professional wrestling) to perform a superkick


reclinant

en-adj

reclinant (comparative more reclinant, superlative most reclinant)

more reclinant (comparative)
most reclinant (superlative)

From Latin reclinans, present participle. See recline.


RMI

Republic of the Marshall Islands
Marshall Islands#English

(politics) Abbreviation of Republic of the Marshall Islands.


EVP

Estonian Left Party
w:Estonian Left Party

(politics) Initialism of Estonian Left Party.

w:Evangelical People's Party of Switzerland

(politics) Initialism of Evangelical People's Party of Switzerland.

w:Evangelical People's Party (Netherlands)

(politics) Initialism of Evangelical People's Party (Netherlands).


QEF

qualified election fund
w:passive foreign investment company

(taxation) Acronym of qualified election fund.


JCP

Japanese Communist Party
w:Japanese Communist Party

(Japanese politics) Initialism of Japanese Communist Party.


leader of the opposition

en-noun

leader of the opposition (plural leaders of the opposition)

Leader of the Opposition
Leader of the Opposition#English

(politics) Alternative form of Leader of the Opposition.

oppositionsleder

person in charge of the party in opposition


minority leader

minority leader (plural minority leaders)

minority leaders (plural)
Minority Leader (alternative)

Jeffries, 52, will assume the role of minority leader when the new Congress is sworn in early next year, inheriting the position held for nearly two decades by Pelosi, a towering figure in Democratic politics who was the first female speaker.

2022 November 30, Lauren Gambino, “House Democrats elect Hakeem Jeffries as first Black leader in Congress”, in The Guardian:

House of Representatives
House of Representatives

(US politics) In each of the legislative chambers of the United States Congress—the United States Senate and the House of Representatives—the elected member selected by the members of the political party with the second-largest number of elected members, who serves as principal spokesperson for the members of that party in that chamber and who plays a leading role in creating policies and strategies governing his or her party's business in that chamber.


murally

(heraldry) With a mural crown; found chiefly in the phrases murally crowned and murally gorged.


Antifa

Borrowed from German Antifa, originally an abbreviation for Antifaschistische Aktion, a wing of the Communist Party of Germany founded in 1932.

Similarly, Antifa organized local defense units that fought off Nazi assaults and factory and land-estate committees that blocked further wage cuts and other infringements.

1985, Andreas Dorpalen, German History in Marxist Perspective: The East German Approach, Wayne State University Press, page 385:

The active Communist participation in the leadership of the Antifa committees made them vulnerable to "red scare" propaganda, especially from the much more conservative city government.

1996, Rebecca L. Boehling, A Question of Priorities: Democratic Reforms and Economic Recovery in Postwar Germany : Frankfurt, Munich, and Stuttgart Under U.S. Occupation, 1945-1949, Berghahn Books, page 102:

After an anti-fascist punched a right-wing journalist in Portland, militant anti-fascists and Antifa have been branded as 'violent gangs,' even 'terrorists.' Those definitions are completely wrong.

2019 July 3, Stanislav Vysotsky, “Antifa in America: Militant Anti-fascism Isn't Terrorism, It's Self-defense”, in Haaretz:

(politics) A decentralized, radical political movement that opposes fascism.

(slang, informal, politics) Black bloc groups that fight fascist or far-right groups in public, usually anarchist, socialist, or communist groups.


Antifa

The stakes were high and the issues far-reaching; it is hardly astonishing that in cities like Bremen and Leipzig Antifas jumped the gun, exercised administrative powers without waiting for military government and continued them.

1949, Political Science Quarterly, volume 64, Academy of Political Science:

Both the pattern and participation and the internal structure of the Antifas recalled the French underground.

1981, James D. Wilkinson, The Intellectual Resistance in Europe, Harvard University Press, page 136:

After the war, Antifas varied in size and composition across the former Reich, now divided into four zones of occupation, and developed in interaction with the local occupying power.

2017, Loren Balhorn, “The Lost History of Antifa”, in Jacobin Magazine:

(politics) A local instance of this movement.

(slang, informal, politics) A member of an anti-fascist group.


minister without portfolio

minister without portfolio (plural ministers without portfolio or ministers without portfolios)

ministers without portfolio (plural)
ministers without portfolios (plural)

(government) A member of a government having the rank of cabinet minister, but not assigned to oversee a particular government department or other permanent area of responsibility.

不管部長 /不管部长

minister without permanent area of responsibility


area-denial

An area-denial mine might not kill a soldier, but will severely restrict, slow down, or endanger a tank. Many area-denial weapons continue to pose risks to civilians, years after they were first set up.

(military, of devices, typically weapons) Intended to prevent an adversary from occupying or traversing a certain area of land.

區域拒止 /区域拒止

intended to prevent an adversary from occupying or traversing a certain area of land


King's shilling

King's shilling (plural King's shillings)

King's shillings (plural)
Queen's shilling (alternative)

I have taken the King's shilling, but perhaps if you came for me they would let me go back with you. I was a fool when I did it. I don't want to be in the army.

1913, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, “Strife in Love”, in Sons and Lovers, London: Duckworth & Co. […], →OCLC, part II, page 182:

(British, historical) A shilling accepted by new recruits when agreeing to or tricked into enlisting into the British army or navy during the 18th and 19th centuries.

(figurative) The benefits and rewards of military service.


malapportioned

en-adj

malapportioned (comparative more malapportioned, superlative most malapportioned)

more malapportioned (comparative)
most malapportioned (superlative)

(politics) Of an electoral district, characterized by a disproportionate distribution of representatives to a legislative body.


fightable

fightable (comparative more fightable, superlative most fightable)

more fightable (comparative)
most fightable (superlative)

The challenge by Congress was to field an affordable, fightable tank on a compressed schedule within a specified design-to-unit-cost threshold.

1980, United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Armed Services, Department of Defense Authorization for Appropriations for Fiscal Year:


unicameralism

(government) The principle and practice of having a legislative body consisting of a single chamber.

一院制

principle of having single chamber legislative body


ringcraft

Episode 12, The Cyclops
Handicapped as he was by lack of poundage, Dublin's pet lamb made up for it by superlative skill in ringcraft.

They said that Hatton lacked authority in his jab and his ringcraft but they never cast a shadow over his fighting heart.

2007, The Independent, James Lawton: Hatton is open about his failings as the door...:

2010, Gareth A Davies, The Telegraph online version (blog); December 14 2010 Amir Khan v Marcos Maidana: Fight of the year ?
Khan moved to 24-1 with this victory – Maidana to 29-2 – and showed the edge in speed and ringcraft. But Maidana, a wall of stone with a granite chin, barely took a backward step.

(boxing) Tactical skill and positioning in the boxing ring.


antisoviet

antisoviet (comparative more antisoviet, superlative most antisoviet)

more antisoviet (comparative)
most antisoviet (superlative)
anti-Soviet (alternative)

(geopolitics) Opposing the Soviet Union.


AFE

(US, military) Acronym of Armed Forces Entertainment.


morning gun

1866 September 8, Carl Schurz, The Logical Results of the War, speech delivered at National Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, this version recorded in 1913, Frederic Bancroft (editor), Speeches, Correspondence and Political Papers of Carl Schurz, Volume I,
We have already heard the triumphant morning gun of Vermont, booming with increased volume. Far off San Francisco has merrily responded; old Maine in the North stands ready to send us a cheering echo, and all over the land our hosts are mustering with the inspiring confidence that to march on is to conquer.

(military) At military posts, a gun fired at the first note of reveille; the firing of this gun.


evening gun

That life is not worth living the whole army of suicides declare,—an army whose roll-call, like the famous evening gun of the British army, follows the sun round the world and never terminates.

1897, William James, “Is Life Worth Living”, in The Will to Believe and Other Essays in Popular Philosophy:

(military) The firing of a gun after the last note of the retreat, signalling the lowering of the flag at sunset; the gun thus fired.


SPG

(military) Initialism of self-propelled gun.


Das Reich

(military, historical) The 2nd SS Division.


Wiking

(military, historical) The 5th SS division in Nazi Germany.