polac

An accident involving a police car is known as a 'polac', and is investigated 'independently' by the area traffic department rather than by the division to which the driver belongs.

1990, Robert Chesshyre, Force: Inside the Police, Pan Macmillan, →ISBN:

Before getting out of his van, he sent out a Polac (police accident) bulletin on his radio.

2001 February 12, John Sutherland, The Guardian:

Two weeks in my opinion cant surely be enough.¶ Oh well, whatever saves money. (they way to stop Polacs is apparently to create an initial phase pursuit course (1 to 2 days)! mmmm I think perhaps the way might be to stop decreasing the length of the course and to give drivers some appropriate vehicles, but thats another thread!

2007 January 2, magoo, “Standard Driving Test for Special Constables”, in Police Community, archived from the original on 2021-02-05, Roads Policing:

(UK, law enforcement) A road-traffic accident that occurs due to presence of a police vehicle.


POLAC

I doubt that the organisation is going to be terribly concerned that you arrive at that call thirty seconds later than you would have done otherwise but can be pretty sure that they would have something to say had you smashed up your police car on the way there. I doubt also that CPS would be satisfied with the defence of '...It was my first night duty … and I was rather tired...' after your high profile POLAC gets splashed all over the national newspapers and television news.

2019, Darren Moor, How To Survive Your Police Career, Troubador Publishing, →ISBN:

And it really brought it home to me when I was involved in my own POLAC (police accident) in March 2012.

2015 January 14, Jessica Davies, “Pc moved into office role 'after telling bosses blue-flashing lights on police cars don't work'”, in The Telegraph:

First, a woman goes missing, and leaves her things and a mysterious note in her car. Now a POLAC with a DCI in the passenger seat.

2015, Martin Edwards, The Dungeon House, Allison & Busby, →ISBN:

When you have an at fault POLAC on camera!

2018 February 1, StopFightingTheDog, “That moment you have a POLAC . . . in the middle of the day in town . . . whilst being recorded for a television programme”, in Reddit, r/PoliceUK:

(UK, law enforcement) Alternative letter-case form of polac.


POLAC

(Nigeria, law enforcement) The Police Academy of Nigeria.


war cabinet

Liberal Prime Minister David Lloyd George was still holding meetings of the War Cabinet, a committee he had established on entering Downing Street three years earlier to put key decisions in the hands of a group of select ministers.

2020 January 2, Conrad Landin, “Strife and strikes in post-war Britain”, in Rail, page 51:

(government, often capitalised) A government committee formed in wartime to coordinate the war effort.


purser's crabs

(UK, naval slang) Boots issued by the navy.


Guzz

Uncertain; there are various speculative theories. See HMNB Devonport § Nickname on Wikipedia.Wikipedia


Funkspiel

From German Funkspiel; originally the name of a Nazi counterintelligence operation during World War II.

After a few months of Funkspiel, Giskes' bag was impressive: fifty-three agents taken prisoner immediately on arrival from England; […]

1969, Gilles Perrault, The Red Orchestra, page 147:

At the same time, Gehlen began to score successes with one of his other specialities, his own form of Funkspiel, […]

1981, Anthony Read, David Fisher, Operation Lucy: most secret spy ring of the Second World War:

Used the Russian version of funkspiel to do it, too.

2009, Dan Speers, Master Spies Die Laughing, page 93:

(espionage) The practice of sending deceptive information to the enemy by means of their official channels that have been subverted.


AWACS

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


run like a dry creek

en-verb

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


FEBA

(military) Initialism of forward edge of the battle area.


RAOC

Royal Army Ordnance Corps
w:Royal Army Ordnance Corps

(UK, military, historical) Initialism of Royal Army Ordnance Corps.


suicide squad

(military slang) A unit assigned to a particularly risky task.


FTX

(US military) Abbreviation of field training exercise.


UCT

(US, military) Initialism of uncorrelated target.


sleeper hold

(martial arts, wrestling) A chokehold from behind that restricts blood flow to the brain and can cause the recipient to become unconscious.


combat box

(military, historical) A staggered tactical formation of bomber aircraft used by U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II.


Arakcheyevism

From Arakcheyev + -ism, after Aleksey Arakcheyev (Russian: Алексе́й Андре́евич Аракче́ев; 1769–1834), Russian general and statesman under Alexander I.

(derogatory, historical, politics) A policy of zealous militaristic repression.


truth squad

(politics) A group of people who attend political meetings etc. in the guise of ordinary citizens in order to promote a particular viewpoint.


kill team

If we had contact with the enemy, I would direct the action from the center of the kill team, which was set up closest to the trail, with two teams on the flank fifteen feet away—one on the left flank, one on the right flank, and the last team behind us to cover our rear.

2001, Don C. Hall, Annette R. Hall, chapter 24, in I Served, Victoria, Canada: Trafford Publishing, →ISBN, page 239:

One method of bringing the fight to the enemy is to employ small-unit kill teams along main supply routes (MSR) and alternate supply routes (ASR) where enemy activity is most prevalent.

2008 January 7 – February 7, First Lieutenant Ken Segelhorst, “Small-Unit Kill Teams and IED Interdiction”, in Lieutenant Colonel Shane E. Lee, editor, ARMOR, volume CXVII, number 1, Fort Benning, Georgia, USA: U.S. Army Armor Center, →ISSN, page 26:

She felt the astral concussion of the shooters' killing intention through the RV link as the kill team breached his office door and fired into their illusory targets.

2013, Soren Knox, chapter 3, in On Causal Shores: Palimpsest Veil and Ananke Protocol, AuthorHouse, →ISBN, page 88:

(military) A small group of combatants that work together to attack an enemy.


bunny buster

(Australia, informal, firearms) a firearm, or type of ammunition, intended for rabbit shooting.

(Australia, informal, archery) a blunt rubber arrowhead intended for rabbit shooting


COBR

Cabinet Office Briefing Rooms
w:Cabinet Office Briefing Rooms

(UK, politics) Initialism of Cabinet Office Briefing Rooms.


gravel cruncher

en-noun

gravel cruncher (plural gravel crunchers)

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

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

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

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


ground cruncher

ground cruncher (plural ground crunchers)

(US, military, slang) Synonym of gravel cruncher.


spasm war

(military) A nuclear war consisting of arbitrary uncoordinated strikes, without an overarching strategy.


spot report

(military) A report on enemy activity filed immediately after observation.


steel beach picnic

steel beach picnic (plural steel beach picnics)

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


steel beach party

steel beach party (plural steel beach parties)

steel beach picnic
steel beach picnic#English

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


stick on

en-verb

stick on (third-person singular simple present sticks someone on, present participle sticking someone on, simple past and past participle stuck someone on)

sticks someone on (present singular third-person)
sticking someone on (participle present)
stuck someone on (participle past)
stuck someone on (past)

[…] took him to the nick, stuck him on, and he spent the night in the flowery.

1931, The Police Journal, volume 4, page 501:

You can be stuck on for anything from serious misconduct to minor infringements of the police's absurdly draconian and catch-all disciplinary codes, which make it possible for a senior officer with a grudge against a junior to stick him on for almost anything. For example, the PC may have been caught slipping unobtrusively into a restaurant or pub on his ground to scrounge […] a drink or a meal.

1995, Verbatim, volume 22, number 3, page 13:

But because you're under pressure for numbers and it looks good on your report that you done x number of processes, you can't come in and say 'Well, I didn't stick him on because I felt that it was a better result just to tell him off.'

quoted in 2005, Mike McConville, Dan Shepherd, Watching Police, Watching Communities (page 200)

(transitive, UK, law enforcement, slang) To charge (someone) with an offence.


A ring

The letter A designates the first (measured from ground zero); successive outer rings were designated B, C, etc.

(military) The innermost circle of a nuclear explosion, within which all structures are destroyed.


Anzac wafer

(Australia, New Zealand, military, slang) Hardtack.


worm castle

So called because it could become infested with worms.


anarchy of production

(Marxism, politics) According to Marxist theory, the chaotic and volatile nature of all commodity production based on private property, as opposed to planned economies.


Johnsonite

(US politics) A Marxist supporting the ideas of the Johnson–Forest Tendency.

The diffuse nature of the uprising has had some advantages. Johnsonites haven’t been able to plausibly portray them as disgruntled remainers when the regicides include such staunch enthusiasts for Brexit as Steve Baker and David Davis.

2022 June 12, Andrew Rawnsley, “Boris Johnson’s spineless cabinet of mediocrities are too feeble to wield the dagger”, in The Guardian:

(UK politics) A political supporter of Boris Johnson (born 1964), British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister from 2019 to 2022.


GLCM

(military) Initialism of ground-launched cruise missile.


GLBM

ballistic missile
ballistic missile#English

(military) Initialism of ground-launched ballistic missile.


gizzit

Corruption of give us it. Compare gissa, gizza.

[…] spent the day chatting to people and selling Air Force 'gizzits' - pens, pencils, posters and other souvenirs - for the RAF Benevolent Fund.

1995, John Peters, John Nichol, Neil Hanson, Team Tornado: Life on a Front-Line Squadron, page 212:

The population of stuffed toys in the gulches on Ardent's Junior Messdeck exploded during the 48 hours the ship was in Narvik. But, even if they were bought, many were soon seen off, destined to become 'gizzits' borrowed from their original […]

2001, Mark Higgitt, Through Fire and Water:

A last visit to Gibraltar for those all-important last minute gizzits (gifts) had ended up being the usual last foreign run ashore before the constraints of home and family conspired to calm the men down a little.

(UK, military, slang) Any item that is stolen, appropriated, or acquired cheaply or for free; loot; swag.


rock happy

en-adj

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


Falklands factor

en-noun

Falklands factor (plural Falklands factors)

In reference to the success of the British Conservative Party after the winning of the Falklands War.

In the event, a Conservative victory in the 1987 election did not need a 'Falklands factor', but it might be asked here: What kind of citizenship is possible in a society where young, black British-born citizens are stigmatized as an enemy […]

1992, Eileen Baglin Jones, Neville Jones, Education for Citizenship, page 41:

With Arthur it was clearly the Falklands factor writ large. Actions such as organizing and building the Wansdyke or Cadbury 11 (the refortification) would have strengthened the authority and extended the power of whichever king was the organizer.

2003, Rodney Castleden, King Arthur: The Truth Behind the Legend:

(politics) A distinguishing trait that helps a party or faction win popular approval, other than their general policies.


Remington raider

Remington raider (plural Remington raiders)

From the name of a typewriter manufacturer.


repple depple

Cartoonist and commentator Bill Mauldin, who served in the war, explains: When a soldier gets out of an army hospital he will most likely be thrown into a “repple depple.”

2006, Peter Karsten, Encyclopedia of War and American Society, page 1115:


repo depot

repo depots (plural)
repo depo (alternative)


repo depo

(military, slang) Alternative form of repo depot.


replacement depot

replacement depot (plural replacement depots)

(all slang)

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


Euro-MP

(European Union, politics) member of the European Parliament


cemetery vote

(politics) A fraudulent vote cast in the guise of a deceased person.


cemetery voting

(politics) The casting of a cemetery vote.


RNZAF

Royal New Zealand Air Force
w:Royal New Zealand Air Force

(New Zealand, military, aviation) Initialism of Royal New Zealand Air Force.


Private

(military) Alternative letter-case form of private.


unrepresentative swill

Coined by then-Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating in a parliamentary address on 4 November 1992. Some sources state he used the phrase earlier, in 1989.

Then you want a Minister from the House of Representatives chamber to wander over to the unrepresentative chamber and account for himself. You have got to be joking. Whether the Treasurer wished to go there or not, I would forbid him going to the Senate to account to this unrepresentative swill over there… [interjections] where you are into a political stunt.

1992 November 4, Paul Keating, “QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE: Loan Council Arrangements”, in parliamentary debates (House of Representatives), page 2,547:

Actually, the best part of the unrepresentative swill being reduced to a rubber stamp is all of those wonderful lefty whinges will be shown to be lies.

2004 November 10, L'acrobat, “Australian Design Standards ( Helmets )”, in aus.bicycle (Usenet), message-ID <vAhkd.30973$K7.11382@news-server.bigpond.net.au>:

It's a shame this is the final season of the misadventures of embattled lawyer turned member of the unrepresentative swill Cleaver Greene (Richard Roxburgh).

2018 September 16, Bridget McManus, “TV picks: Sunday, September 16”, in The Sydney Morning Herald, archived from the original on 2020-02-04:

While the deterrent of by-elections has forced Morrison's lower house ministers to retire ahead of an all-but-certain return to opposition, those in the Senate can take a wait-and-see approach. While Steve Ciobo, Michael Keenan and Christopher Pyne have already bowed out (along with former ministers Julie Bishop – who didn't even bother with her usual cocktail party – and Craig Laundy), the Nationals' Senate Leader Nigel Scullion is the sole declared Cabinet refugee of the unrepresentative swill.

2019 April 2, Joe Aston, Myriam Robin, “Federal budget 2019: A tale of two treasurers”, in The Australian Financial Review, archived from the original on 2020-02-04:

(Australian politics, humorous, sometimes derogatory) The Australian Senate or its members.


Big Blue 82

(military, slang) The BLU-82 bomb, known for its ability to flatten a forest into a helicopter landing zone.


dawn raid

(law enforcement) An early-morning visit by police or law enforcement with the intention of taking the suspects by surprise.


bean rag

(naval slang) A pennant displayed on a ship at mealtimes.


TACAMO

Shortened from take charge and move out.

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


binnacle list

Traditionally posted on or near the binnacle.

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


penetration aid

penetration aid (plural penetration aids)

(military) Any device or tactic used to increase an ICBM warhead's chances of penetrating a target's defenses.


pensioneering

(politics, colloquial) Campaigning on the basis of the pension benefits that one will introduce.


people's democracy

people's democracy (countable and uncountable, plural people's democracies)

(politics) A theoretical concept within Marxism-Leninism and a form of government in communist states which developed after World War II and in theory allowed for a multi-class, multi-party democracy on the pathway to socialism, rather than a pure proletarian dictatorship.


people sniffer

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


in chief

Erm. a fesse betw. two demi lions in chief and three mascles in base gu.

1844, John Burke, Bernard Burke, Encyclopædia of Heraldry, Or General Armory of England, Scotland and Ireland, page 375:

Arg. a saltire betw. a cross-gate in chief and in base and a crescent in each flank gu. / HEGENS, Scotland. Arg. a saltire engr. betw. a mullet in chief two crescents in flanks and a cross crosslet fitchy in base gu.

1874, John Woody Papworth, An Alphabetical Dictionary of Coats of Arms Belonging to Families in Great Britain and Ireland: Forming an Extensive Ordinary of British Armorials : Upon an Entirely New Plan ..., page 1070:

(heraldry) Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see in, chief. In the chief of the escutcheon.


dhobi dust

(UK, naval slang) Laundry detergent in powder form.


antisplinter

(military) Resistant to fragments of exploding shells.


in rag order

He looks to be in rag order, one hand on the wall to hold himself up, the other one on his trousers, to hold them up by the looks of it. It's fairly cold out and he's making slow progress to wherever he's headed.

2003, Donal Ruane, Tales in a Rearview Mirror, page 80:

We took over the plant in rag order but had to hand it over as per BAOR standards. So light bulbs that weren't working on the dashboard had to be replaced, an A type job, or Operator job.

2009, Julian Beirne, Diary of a Sapper, page 289:

Our parents left the world in reasonably good shape but I've a horrible feeling we'll be leaving it in rag order. And I'm in rag order, myself. I'm halfway down the stairs in the morning before I'm convinced that I'm awake, that I'm actually alive.

(UK, Ireland, military, slang) In a state of mess or chaos.


go code

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


goon suit

After lunch we were all togged up in the most incredible gear, known as goon suits. Orange rubber with welded seams, no shape except for two arms and two legs with feet rather like a rubber baby-grow and just about as difficult to put on […]

1983, Maria Buxton, Antarctic Diary: A Letter to Her Family, page 16:

(UK, military, slang) A waterproof rubber coverall worn by pilots.


giggle suit

In this instance, Marty's giggle suit was many sizes too large for him so complete with slouch hat and great red-brown, steel-tipped Army boots, off he went […]

1976, Ken Clift, The Soldier who Never Grew Up, page 37:

(Australia, military, slang) Army fatigues.


transclassify

en-verb

transclassify (third-person singular simple present transclassifies, present participle transclassifying, simple past and past participle transclassified)

transclassifies (present singular third-person)
transclassifying (participle present)
transclassified (participle past)
transclassified (past)

(military, transitive) To change the status of (information) from one classification level (e.g. RD or FRD) to another.


transclassification

(military) The process of transclassifying information.


Lamartinian

en-adj

Lamartinian (comparative more Lamartinian, superlative most Lamartinian)

more Lamartinian (comparative)
most Lamartinian (superlative)

Calqued from French lamartinien or from Lamartine + -ian; after Alphonse de Lamartine.

(literature, politics) Of or pertaining to Alphonse de Lamartine.

lamartinien

of or pertaining to Alphonse de Lamartine


scorp

(military, slang, dated) A resident of Gibraltar.


Martling Man

(US politics, historical) A member of the Tammany Hall society.


sand and spinach

He left to supervise the repainting of the Flying Fortress. It was already beginning to sport the British "sand and spinach" color scheme […]

2012, Stuart Slade, A Mighty Endeavor, page 81:

(military, colloquial) A form of camouflage in dull green and olive colors.


junk gun

Saturday-night special
Saturday-night special#English

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


Trumpster fire

Blend of Trump + dumpster fire, an analogy to the way a dumpster fire causes everybody to focus on the flames and to the destructive qualities of a fire.

How you feel about Donald Trump and this “news”letter is how I feel about the raging Trumpster fire raging through my party and my country: Would that we could spare time to talk about something else.

2016 March 12, Jonah Goldberg, “In a Slow-Motion Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Media Figures Embrace Trump One by One”, in National Review:

And considering how thoroughly the Trumpster fire has humiliated political soothsayers this cycle, it seems unwise to offer a single, definitive answer.

2016 May 25, Eric Levitz, “Why Is Hillary Clinton Suddenly Tied in the Polls With a Widely Reviled Demagogue?”, in New York Magazine:

The book store's co-owner, Dakota Bracciale, who identifies as a witch, told Metro that the ritual is a gathering for people who want to challenge the “Trumpster fire” and Kavanaugh's SCOTUS confirmation.

2018 October 15, Anna Harstedt, “Witches will gather in Brooklyn to hex Brett Kavanaugh”, in Metro US:

Part of the problem with the constant flow of news out of the White House — from offensive tweets to potentially disastrous policies — is that acts that would have seemed outrageous in previous administrations slip past, hidden by the smoke of the Trumpster fire.

2019 August 19, “Editorial: Trump’s plan to move BLM jobs west is a shallow pretext to gut the agency’s mission”, in Los Angeles Times:

(see title)

2019, Clay Jones, Tales from the Trumpster Fire: A Cartoon Anthology:

With regard to the Trumpster fire, voting him out of office would remove the fuel.

2020 January 24, Hardy Haberman, “Putting out the Trumpster fire”, in Dallas Voice:

(US politics, informal, derogatory) Donald Trump's use of controversy to distract the public from the perceived disastrous state of the government.


dog and maggot

[…] a bit of fried bacon for his breakfast, some 'dog and maggot' (biscuit and cheese) for his dinner, and 'rooty' and 'pozzy' (bread and jam) for his tea.

2009, Alan Weeks, Tea, Rum & Fags: Sustaining Tommy, 1914-18, page 8:

(UK, military, slang, dated, derogatory) Cheese and crackers.


door opener

(sales): Compare get one's foot in the door.

The two most common types of door openers used are the "Hale" and the "Detroit".

1947, Connecticut. Bureau of Vocational Education., Regional Firemen Training Schools - Volume 2, page 8:

Within this one tool, you have the same basic feature of the door opener, crowbar, and hatchet.

1985, John A. Carley, Mavis V. Whigham, Fire protection specialist (AFSC 57150), page 24:

Although an old tool, the Detroit door opener still functions well when used correctly and will have devastating effects on today's standard locks and door closures.

1997, Richard A. Fritz, Tools of the Trade: Firefighting Hand Tools and Their Use, page 27:

Any of various devices designed to make opening a door easier.

(firefighting) A crowbar-like tool used by firefighters to quickly force locked doors to open.


social imperialism

(politics, derogatory) A political ideology that uses socialist rhetoric but engages in imperialist actions.

Moreover, industrial capitalism not only produced a new form of economic integration between metropolitan and colonial societies, it also stimulated the emergence of what is known as social imperialism—that is, the projection overseas of the social discontents and dislocations engendered by industrialization at home. In Japan’s case, social imperialism operated both to diffuse radical demands of factory workers and to deflect class tensions in a rural economy battered by the effects of industrialization.

1998, Louise Young, chapter 1, in Japan’s Total Empire: Manchuria and the Culture of Wartime Imperialism, Berkeley: University of California Press, published 1999, →ISBN, →OCLC, pages 12–3:

(politics) The governmental use of imperialism to preserve the domestic social status quo.


firehouse primary

en-noun

firehouse primary (plural firehouse primaries)

In reference to firehouses as a common place where voting is conducted.

(US politics) A state primary election run by a political party rather than by the government.


Three-I League

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


brass up

en-verb

brass up (third-person singular simple present brasses up, present participle brassing up, simple past and past participle brassed up)

brasses up (present singular third-person)
brassing up (participle present)
brassed up (participle past)
brassed up (past)

The next time I met RSM Simpson was when we were together being 'brassed up' by enemy artillery and mortar […]

I went back in and threw a hand-grenade under the bed and then I brassed up the house. They were dead, of course.

1987, Stuart Rintoul, Ashes of Vietnam: Australian voices, page 126:


brig rat

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


battleground state

en-noun

battleground state (plural battleground states)

(US politics) A winner-take-all state which is roughly as likely to vote Republican as Democrat in a given election.


SARMO

artificial intelligence
artificial intelligence

(military, robotics, artificial intelligence) Abbreviation of sense and react to military objects; A technology methodology for automated weapons response.


STUFT

(UK, military) Acronym of ship taken up from trade, a civilian ship requisitioned for government use.


flaps and seals

(espionage) The covert interception and examination of postal mail.


invisible primary

invisible primary (plural invisible primaries)

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

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

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


liberal elite

(politics, derogatory) A stereotype of leftists who profess to support the rights of the working class while being members of the political establishment, thus being out of touch with the people they claim to support and protect.


flog the clock

en-verb

flog the clock (third-person singular simple present flogs the clock, present participle flogging the clock, simple past and past participle flogged the clock)

flogs the clock (present singular third-person)
flogging the clock (participle present)
flogged the clock (participle past)
flogged the clock (past)

I recall that I was in the second mate's watch when he accused me of flogging the clock. He did not see me put it forward but obviously he knew the ways of boys.

1956, New South Wales. Parliament, Parliamentary Debates, page 1449:

On one trip three lads on night watch all had the same idea, and when the skipper went up to the wheelhouse the following morning he was spitting mad, wanting to know who'd flogged the clock a half-hour forward.

2011, Jimmy Buchan, Trawlerman: Life at the Helm of the Toughest Job in Britain:

(naval slang) To set the clock forward in order to shorten one's time on watch.


deficit hawk

He is renowned for his ingenuity, enthusiasm and persistence ... and has established himself as one of the legislature's most ferocious deficit hawks.

1995 January 6, Clay Chandler, “Deficit hawk takes the catbird seat”, in The Washington Post:

Such a lethal crossfire is the lot of a dying political breed: the deficit hawk, who obsesses on an accounting number as the lodestar of economic well-being.

2003 April 14, Robert Novak, “The last deficit hawk”, in Townhall, archived from the original on 2021-05-09:

DC reporters and columnists are endlessly willing to pretend that someone whose only real-world devotion is to cutting social welfare spending is a “deficit hawk.”

2013 February 25, Kevin Drum, Mother Jones:

Some of them—like former deficit hawk Mick Mulvaney and former House Speaker Paul Ryan, who made his name in Congress as the GOP's budget-maker—deserve special ignominy for abandoning their fiscal conservatism when it was most needed.

(politics, slang, sometimes derogatory) A person, especially one in power, who emphasizes keeping government budgets under control, derogatory when such actions are seen as predatory or entail harsh fiscal discipline or austerity.


lunchbox Democrat

en-noun

lunchbox Democrat (plural lunchbox Democrats)

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


lunch pail Democrat

lunch pail Democrat (plural lunch pail Democrats)

lunchbox Democrat
lunchbox Democrat#English

(US, politics) Synonym of lunchbox Democrat.


lunchbucket Democrat

lunchbucket Democrat (plural lunchbucket Democrats)


paddlefoot

The day after Tommy quit, a paddlefoot soldier on the base made a disparaging remark about Tommy to Sorrow Sorrel, the tail gunner, and Sorrow beat the living hell out of the paddlefoot.

1944, Oram C. Hutton, Andrew A. Rooney, Air Gunner, page 116:

He was a paddlefoot undeniably, and it seemed that I might have spared myself any worry about a hero's death. Still, I could never quite get rid of the lurking notion that he was marked for sudden and outlandish extinction.

1968, MacKinlay Kantor, The Day I Met a Lion, page 34:

(military, aviation, slang) A member of the groundcrew.


partinost

(politics) Partyness, or political party spirit, in the context of the former USSR.


whole-time

Whole-time employees with more than two years of service will be entitled to compensation, [...].

1941 November, “Notes and News: Abandoning the Clogher Valley Railway”, in Railway Magazine, page 514:

(especially firefighting or business) full-time


PIT maneuver

(law enforcement, automotive) A technique in which a pursuing car bumps the rear fender of a pursued car, causing it to spin out, in order to terminate a car chase.


Global North

the Global North (canonical)
global north (alternative)

EU member states, the UK and other countries from the global north pushed for ambitious conservation targets in the final text, with co-hosts Canada saying that the success of the summit depended on the headline target to protect 30% of Earth by the end of the decade for nature, known as 30 by 30.

2022 December 19, Patrick Greenfield, Phoebe Weston, “Cop15: historic deal struck to halt biodiversity loss by 2030”, in The Guardian:

“In the global north, when you don’t factor in emissions inequality, you can end up with ‘yellow vests’ protest situations,” Chancel said, referring to tax rises on diesel in France in 2018 that prompted mass demonstrations of the “gilets jaunes”.

2023 November 20, Damian Carrington, “Revealed: the huge climate impact of the middle classes”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

United Nations Security Council
United Nations Security Council

(geopolitics) The regions of the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, the European Union member states, Israel, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand, and four of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, excluding China, regarded as half of a socioeconomic and political divide opposite to the Global South.

全球北方

(geopolitics) the regions of the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, the European Union member states, Israel, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, and four of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, excluding China


Wee Free

(UK politics, historical) A small group in the 1918 Liberal Party who on principle did not want to go into coalition with the Conservative Party.


Coalie

Subsequently, the 'Coalie Libs' have suffered a consistently dismal reputation.

1971, Alan John Percivale Taylor, Lloyd George: Twelve Essays, page 225:

The 'Coalie' Macnamara was opposed by a 'Wee Free' in a triangular contest.

(UK, politics, historical, slang) A supporter of the proposed coalition between the Liberal and Conservative Parties.


bought priesthood

bought priesthood (plural bought priesthoods)

(politics, derogatory) The constellation of technocrats, columnists, pundits, university professors, public intellectuals, business lobbyists and other powerful groups who benefit from the political status quo and use their position to defend and support it.


BOMFOG

And when reporters covering Mr. Rockefeller discovered that his stenographer was so used to hearing him speak of “the brotherhood of man and the fatherhood of God” that she coded the cliché into BOMFOG, Mr. Rockefeller dropped the phrase.

1970 November 4, Albin Krebs, “…and Still Governor”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

(US politics, dated, slang) Acronym of the brotherhood of man under the fatherhood of God, a political catchphrase of Nelson Rockefeller (1908–1979).


bomfoggery

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

1965, Charles McDowell, Campaign Fever, page 58:

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

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

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


prisoner's friend

Prior to trial a soldier would be offered the assistance of an officer to act as 'prisoner's friend'. In essence the officer acted as defending counsel, although little is heard of legally qualified officers appearing. Foolishly some men declined this assistance, although more often than not the officer was unskilled in advocacy.

1990, Julian Putkowski, Julian Sykes, Shot at Dawn:

I was 'counsel for the defence', or 'prisoner's friend'. My chap had deserted for nearly two years and spent six months in a civvy jug. With papers under my arm and serious countenance I visited him in his cell day after day, […]

1998, John Gunn, Dear Descendants: Recollections for a Gunn Family History 1945-1957, page 19:

(military, historical) An officer acting as counsel for the defendant in a court-martial.


cake and wine

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


Captain's Cloak

“Growl you may, but go you must,” Lewrie laughed, clapping him on the shoulder in parting. “Old Navy proverb. Might be the Thirty-Seventh Article of War, hey, right after 'The Captain's Cloak'?”

Pigot then opened a copy of the Articles of War, and started reading from number thirty-six (the so-called 'Captain's Cloak') which covered 'All other crimes not capital […]

(colloquial, UK, naval, historical) The 36th and last of the Articles of War, effectively giving the ship's captain free rein in disciplining the crew: "All other crimes not capital committed by any person or persons in the fleet, which are not mentioned in this act, or for which no punishment is hereby directed to be inflicted, shall be punished by the laws and customs in such cases used at sea."


captive candidate

captive candidate (plural captive candidates)

Fortunately — very fortunately — the American people have a happy alternative to this bankrupt Republican campaign and its captive candidate.

1952, Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States, page 807:

I want to start with an immediate and firm disclaimer. Walter Mondale is not a captive candidate of the “special-interest bosses of labor.”

1983, ILR Report, volumes 21-22, page 21:

(politics, derogatory) A political candidate who is under the control or influence of another person.


sharp power

(politics) The use of manipulative diplomatic policies by one country to influence and undermine the political system of a target country.


hard power

hard power (countable and uncountable, plural hard powers)

But even as America’s allies see our interests converging and the most successful military alliance in the history of the world restores its commitments to hard power, the previous Administration’s shameful hesitation and half-measures threaten to give way to something even more disgraceful: the obstinate denial of America’s security interest in Ukraine’s success.

2025 February 24, Mitch McConnell, “McConnell on Three-Year Anniversary of Russia’s Escalation in Ukraine”, in Mitch McConnell U.S. Senator for Kentucky, archived from the original on 2025-02-26, Press Releases:

(politics) The use of military and economic means to influence the behavior or interests of other political bodies.


smart power

Hillary Clinton today endorsed the use of "smart power" to reassert global US influence, telling the Senate foreign relations committee, which is considering her nomination as secretary of state, that the country cannot do everything in isolation.

2009 January 13, Paul Lewis, Peter Walker, “Hillary Clinton backs 'smart power' to assert US influence around world”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

A national-security budget where we spend 20 times as much money on the military and intelligence agencies as we do on diplomacy, democracy promotion, and smart power, is foreign-policy malpractice in the modern world.

2019 October 7, Chris Murphy, “How to Make a Progressive Foreign Policy Actually Work”, in The Atlantic:

(politics) The combination of hard power and soft power strategies.


bureaucratic inertia

bureaucratic inertia (countable and uncountable, plural bureaucratic inertias)

(government) The inevitable tendency of bureaucratic organizations to perpetuate their established procedures, even if they are counterproductive or diametrically opposed to their set goals.


Point

Study goes on until tattoo, which, when Pops was at the Point, was sounded at 9.30, followed by taps at 10.

(informal, military) USMA (United States Military Academy) in West Point, New York.


Ponsonby Rule

Named after British politician and legislator Arthur Ponsonby, 1st Baron Ponsonby of Shulbrede.

named-after

(UK politics) A constitutional convention (which acquired legal force in 2010) dictating that most international treaties had to be laid before Parliament 21 days before ratification.


Ustashe

Ustache (alternative)
Ustachi (alternative)
Ustase (alternative)
Ustaše (alternative)
Ustashi (alternative)
Ustasi (alternative)
Ustaši (alternative)

(fascism, history) Of or pertaining to Croatian ultranationalism.


Ustashe

en-noun

Ustashe (countable and uncountable, plural Ustashes)

Ustashes (plural)
Ustache (alternative)
Ustachi (alternative)
Ustase (alternative)
Ustaše (alternative)
Ustashi (alternative)
Ustasi (alternative)
Ustaši (alternative)

(fascism, history, uncountable) A Croatian ultranationalist force active from the 1920s to the mid-1940s.

(countable, fascism, history) A Croatian ultranationalist.


Charlie Noble

Uncertain; said to allude to an officer or captain of this name who insisted on having the funnel polished.

One of the last customs that passed from the decks of the modern navy was the “shooting of Charlie Noble.” The chimney or galley-stack of the ship's kitchen was dignified by the name of Charlie Noble, and when the galley-stack became clogged with soot the ship's cook fired a blank cartridge up it, loosening the soot.

1917, Orton Porter Jackson, Frank Edgar Evans, The Marvel Book of American Ships, page 357:

Charlie Nobles should be fitted with cowls which will automatically turn to leeward and thereby force the draught. A Charlie Noble should be demountable and the hole through the cabin roof should be covered by a strong, tight-fitting lid.

1945, Harold Augustin Calahan, Learning to Cruise, page 120:

(naval slang) A funnel for discharging smoke from the galley.


take the Chiltern Hundreds

en-verb

take<,,took,taken> the Chiltern Hundreds

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

takes the Chiltern Hundreds (present singular third-person)
taking the Chiltern Hundreds (participle present)
took the Chiltern Hundreds (past)
taken the Chiltern Hundreds (participle past)

(UK, politics) To vacate one's seat in the House of Commons (since resignation is not permitted), under the legal fiction of being appointed to an "office of profit under the Crown": the ancient office of Crown Steward for the Chiltern Hundreds, in modern times a mere sinecure.


Cinderella liberty

en-noun

Cinderella liberty (countable and uncountable, plural Cinderella liberties)

After the fairy-tale character Cinderella, who is instructed to leave the ball by midnight before the enchantments that allow her to be there come to an end.

(military, slang) A period of leave that ends at midnight.


countercity

A countercity strike would be a direct and intentional attack against noncombatants, representing a violation of noncombatant immunity on a mass scale—this besides the disproportionality of the destruction such a countercity strike would entail.

1982, Military Chaplains' Review, volumes 132-135:


black advance

(politics) An attempt to disrupt the advance operations of political opponents during an election campaign.


black mist

It does not mean the facts described in the book actually exist in Japan too. Yet there is no end to the black mists that becloud horse racing, fixers, illegal bookies, and public nuisances created by horse racing.

1976, Japan Quarterly, volume 23, page 225:

The “black mists” of Japan did not die with Yoshio Kodama. In the spirit of the late kuromaku, questionable payments and mob connections still stretch far and wide among Japan's elected officials […]

2012, David E. Kaplan, Alec Dubro, Yakuza: Japan's Criminal Underworld, page 97:


bleed the monkey

en-verb

bleed the monkey (third-person singular simple present bleeds the monkey, present participle bleeding the monkey, simple past and past participle bled the monkey)

bleeds the monkey (present singular third-person)
bleeding the monkey (participle present)
bled the monkey (participle past)
bled the monkey (past)

He invented the 'monkey fist' — a knot which gives weight to a heaving line; the union plate he called a 'monkey face' and, in times of merrymaking, he frequently 'bled the monkey' to get his grog.

1969, Lookout: Annual report issue, volumes 60-62:

(naval slang) Synonym of suck the monkey (“to surreptitiously drink alcohol from a cask through an inserted tube”).


liberal democracy

en-noun

liberal democracy (countable and uncountable, plural liberal democracies)

(politics, uncountable) A political ideology supporting competitive multiparty elections and majority rule constrained by minority rights.

(politics, countable) A society based on this ideology.


blue-water navy

blue-water navy (plural blue-water navies)

(military, nautical) A naval force capable of independent military operations on the open sea with a global reach.


BAMBI

(military) Initialism of ballistic missile boost intercept.


barrack stanchion

barrack stanchion (plural barrack stanchions)

(naval slang) A sailor who remains on land for a long time, not taking any sea voyage.


baton round

(firearms) Any of various generally non-lethal projectiles made of plastic, rubber, wood, etc.


NJP

NJP (countable and uncountable, plural NJPs)

(military) Initialism of nonjudicial punishment.


Trumpocrat

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2020, Paul Krugman, Arguing with Zombies:

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


commandism

As a result of Lin Piao and the "gang of four's" reckless, unbridled sabotage of the party's various policies for the rural areas, their trampling on the production team's right to stand on its own feet, and their arbitrary orders and unscrupulous commandism, agricultural production and commune members' livelihoods were greatly jeopardized.

1978 February 17 [1978 February 16], Commentator, “Respect the Production Team's Right To Stand on Its Own Feet”, in Daily Report: People's Republic of China, volume I, number 34, Foreign Broadcast Information Service, sourced from Peking NCNA Domestic Service and People's Daily, translation of original in Chinese, →ISSN, →OCLC, National Affairs, page E 14:

Two months later the Party Day editorial in Jen-min jih-pao also identified commandism as the principal problem to be overcome.

1981, Harry Harding, Organizing China: The Problem of Bureaucracy, 1949-1976, page 45:

Early in 1959 there was a rectification campaign to correct commandism as a left deviation.

2010, Everett Zhang, Arthur Kleinman, Weiming Tu, Governance of Life in Chinese Moral Experience:

(politics, derogatory) Dictatorial authoritarianism.


tailism

(politics, derogatory) The practice of blindly following popular opinion.


committee of the whole

committee of the whole (plural committees of the whole)

(politics) A meeting of a deliberative assembly according to modified procedural rules based on those of a committee.


M&V

(military, historical) Initialism of meat and vegetable (rations).


souverainism

(politics) A doctrine which supports acquiring or preserving the political independence of a nation or region and opposes federalism and supranational unions.


defence in depth

defence in depth (countable and uncountable, plural defences in depth)

defences in depth (plural)
defense in depth (alternative)

(military) A strategy that seeks to delay rather than prevent the advance of an attacker, potentially yielding a limited amount of territory in order to stress the attacker's logistics and reduce their momentum.


feel the Bern

en-verb

feel the Bern (third-person singular simple present feels the Bern, present participle feeling the Bern, simple past and past participle felt the Bern)

feels the Bern (present singular third-person)
feeling the Bern (participle present)
felt the Bern (participle past)
felt the Bern (past)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-feel the burn.wav

A pun on feel the burn. Coined by People for Bernie organizer Winnie Wong.

It also helped that Mr. Sanders[…]was both decidedly uncool and new to presidential politics, affording his campaign a paradoxical edge that inspired millions of young supporters to “feel the bern” and vote for him over Hillary Clinton.

2019 September 20, Sydney Ember, “Young Voters Still ‘Feel the Bern,’ but Not Just for Bernie Sanders Anymore”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

(US politics, slang, humorous) To support the American politician Bernie Sanders (born 1941), especially during his 2016 or 2020 campaigns for the Democratic presidential nomination.


civnat

(politics, informal) A civic nationalist.

(politics, informal) One who subscribes to the ideology of civic nationalism.


civic nationalism

(politics) A political ideology which adheres to an inclusive form of national identity forged not by race or culture but support for classically liberal institutions and principles.


civic nationalist

en-noun

civic nationalist (plural civic nationalists)

(politics) One who subscribes to or advocates civic nationalism.


in the field

An English medical officer has described an apparatus for the generation of chlorine gas which was used for sterilization of water in the field.

Even if the Soviets do not intend to use chemical weapons unless they are first attacked themselves by poisonous gas, it is inconceivable that such munitions would not be available in the field.

1987, Radio Free Europe Research - Volume 12, Issues 13-21, page 18:

Running short after a couple of chaotic days in the field, Hamer hoped to have the batteries by nightfall, when the company would need them the most.

2017, Warren K. Wilkins, Nine Days in May, page 261:

Set against the level of their activity in the field, the companies would argue that such losses were a small percentage of the people notionally at risk.

2009, Tony Geraghty, Soldiers of Fortune, page 188:

(military) Actively engaged in fighting or dealing with the enemy; in battle or on maneuvers.


Italexit

/ˌɪtəˈlɛɡ.zɪt/

Blend of Italy + exit, modelled on earlier Brexit.

(politics) The (possible) act of Italy's secession from the European Union.


dead cat

Boris Johnson
Lynton Crosby
The Daily Telegraph

Introduced by former UK prime minister Boris Johnson in 2013 (at which point he was mayor of London) in a column for The Daily Telegraph.

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-dead cat.wav

The problem is that once the idea of the dead cat had been discovered, suddenly there were deceased felines everywhere. Everything was a dead cat—every policy, every interview, every gaffe. Everything existed only to detract attention from something else.

2019 November 19, Charlotte Lydia Riley, “Dear journalists: please stop calling everything a “dead cat””, in Prospect Magazine, archived from the original on 2023-01-06:

Boris Johnson looked strained as he entered the House of Commons at midday on Wednesday, hoping that a "dead cat" and an apology over Downing Street parties would dig him out of his latest political hole.

2021 December 8, George Parker, Jasmine Cameron-Chileshe, Jim Pickard, Sebastian Payne, “Boris Johnson bets on a 'dead cat' strategy to get him out of trouble”, in Financial Times, archived from the original on 2021-12-08:

But by Wednesday night, a massive dead cat was required to distract from a day of denied parties and prioritised pets, so Johnson banged plan B on the kitchen table, alienating backbench Covid sceptics.

2021 December 12, Stewart Lee, “More sacrifices for Boris, the fool king of pantomime Britain”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 2022-12-03:

(politics, neologism) A shocking or sensational announcement made in order to distract one's political base from existing problems and previous failures.


international system

international system (plural international systems)

“We call on all states, including China, to uphold their international commitments and obligations and to act responsibly in the international system, including in cyberspace,” according to a statement from NATO.

2021 July 19, Zolan Kanno-Youngs, David E. Sanger, quoting NATO, “U.S. Formally Accuses China of Hacking Microsoft”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

In acting this way today, though, Putin is not only aiming to unilaterally rewrite the rules of the international system that have been in place since World War II — that no nation can just devour the nation next door — he is also out to alter that balance of power that he feels was imposed on Russia after the Cold War.

2022 February 25, Thomas L. Friedman, “We Have Never Been Here Before”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

(politics) The global constellation of states and their relations among each other.


canteen cowboy

On the basis that if you cannot beat them, join them, some, like Private 'Umbriago' Hillier, who was later to prove his guts and character, emulated all the traits of the seasoned veteran. He earned the reputation of being 'a canteen cowboy' and a 'tailboard Romeo', always chatting up the girls at the NAAFI canteen and ogling and whistling at girls from the back of the Company transport.

1979, Ron Kent, First In!: Parachute Pathfinder Company, page 79:

No stiff upper lips, no coal-scuttle jaws, in fact none of the cliches. What the Boultings earlier Desert Victory did for the front line here, this film does for the canteen cowboy and the Whitehall warrior.

1984, Geoff Hurd, National fictions: World War Two in British films and television, page 40:

For one thing, he wanted to see if anyone was following Ricketts. The Cockney had been thrown out of SAS because he was a loner and a canteen cowboy.

1985, J. C. Winters, Berlin Fugle, page 307:

To my shame, I've been as guilty of macho bollocks in this regard as the dustiest canteen cowboy.

(aviation, military, slang) An aviator who spends his time flirting with or picking up girls at the canteen.


early Showa

(fascism, history) Pertaining to the Empire of Japan’s history spanning from December 1926 to September 1945.


hard kill

(military) The neutralization of an incoming munition by destroying it rather than avoiding it.


soft kill

(military) The neutralization of an incoming munition by avoiding it rather than destroying it.


manhaul

manhaul (countable and uncountable, plural manhauls)

manhauls (plural)
man-haul (alternative)

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

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


G.P.

Given that Clostridium tetani can be transmitted by a simple splinter or insect bite, your best defense is to be up to date on your vaccination […] If you're due for a 10-year booster or don't know if you're due, see your G.P. ASAP.

2008 January–February, Denny Watkins, “4 infections you can outsmart”, in Men's Health, volume 23, number 1, →ISSN, page 140:

general practitioner
general practitioner#English

(healthcare) Initialism of general practitioner; also GP.


DCM

DCM (countable and uncountable, plural DCMs)

deputy chief of mission
w:deputy chief of mission

(diplomacy, countable) Initialism of deputy chief of mission.


HTMS

(military, nautical) Initialism of His Thai Majesty's Ship, a ship prefix for the Royal Thai Navy.

His/Her Majesty's Ship; His/Her Britannic Majesty's Ship; His/Her Danish Majesty's Ship; His/Her Dutch Majesty's Ship; His/Her; Majesty's Ship; Netherlands or Norway; His/Her Norwegian Majesty's Ship; His/Her Swedish Majesty's Ship; non-specific use; dated American English

HMSHBMS ()HDMS ()HNLMS ()HNMSHNoMS ()HSwMS ()

His/Her Majesty's Australian Ship; His/Her Majesty's Canadian Ship; His/Her Majesty's Indian Ship; His/Her Majesty's New Zealand Ship; His/Her Majesty's South African Ship

HMSHMAS ()HMCS ()HMIS ()HMNZS ()HMSAS ()


HMSAS

(military, nautical) Initialism of His or Her Majesty's South African Ship, a ship prefix for the South African Naval Forces or its predecessor South African Division of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, of the Dominion of South Africa, used from WWI through WWII.

His or Her Majesty's South African Ship

His/Her Majesty's Ship; His/Her Britannic Majesty's Ship; His/Her Danish Majesty's Ship; His/Her Dutch Majesty's Ship; His/Her; Majesty's Ship; Netherlands or Norway; His/Her Norwegian Majesty's Ship; His/Her Swedish Majesty's Ship; His/Her Thai Majesty's Ship; non-specific use; dated American English

HMSHBMS ()HDMS ()HNLMS ()HNMSHNoMS ()HSwMS ()HTMS ()

HMSHMAS ()HMCS ()HMIS ()HMNZS ()

His/Her Majesty's Australian Ship; His/Her Majesty's Canadian Ship; His/Her Majesty's Indian Ship; His/Her Majesty's New Zealand Ship


RCPO

Several of the recruits had special leadership responsibilities within the Company, the most significant being the Recruit Chief Petty Officer (RCPO) and the Recruit Master at Arms (RMA). The RCPO was the senior recruit and was responsible for just about everything; he reported directly to the CC.

2013, David Banagis, Twenty-Three Days at Sea: A Sailor's Story, Bloomington, IN: Abbott Press, →ISBN, page 12:

chief petty officer
chief petty officer#English

(military) Initialism of recruit chief petty officer.


LTJG

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

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

lieutenant junior grade
lieutenant junior grade#English

(US, military) Abbreviation of lieutenant junior grade.


CHINFO

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

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

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

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

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


landship

armored combat vehicle
armored combat vehicle#English

(archaic, military, 19th century to pre-WWI) An armored combat vehicle, a tank

(archaic, military) A superheavy tank, supertank


land battleship

land battleship (plural land battleships)

From being a vehicle akin to an battleship (“an armored warship”) on land.

armored combat vehicle
armoured combat vehicle#English

(archaic, military, 19th century to pre-WWI) An armored combat vehicle; a tank.

(archaic, military) A superheavy tank; a supertank.


America First

(US politics) A series of political movements in the United States that supported isolationism, often with connotations of xenophobia or anti-Semitism.


No 10

As it is, there was something almost surreal about a No 10 press conference that saw journalists asking when we might be allowed out again while the death toll was climbing towards 1,000 a day.

2020 April 9, Gaby Hinsliff, “We used to moan about normal life, now our fear is we'll never get it back”, in The Guardian:

Government sources, however, continued to brief that No 10 and No 11 were considering bringing the date forward.

2022 October 4, “Truss government in chaos amid budget confusion and coup accusations”, in The Guardian:

10 Downing Street
10 Downing Street#English

(UK politics) Synonym of 10 Downing Street.


Borisian

Driverless Tube trains may sound like a dystopian Borisian fantasy, but even if the London mayor may wish to reduce the workforce, much of the actual driving was eliminated from some Underground drivers' jobs as early as 1967 when the Victoria line opened.

2014 August 13, Gwyn Topham, “Open data and driverless buses: how London transport heads to the future”, in The Guardian:

(UK politics) Of or pertaining to Boris Johnson (born 1964), English politician and prime minister of the United Kingdom from 2019 to 2022.


sitout

sitouts (plural)
sit out (alternative)
sit-out (alternative)

. From this position, start a sitout by extending your left leg. Drop your opponent, but keep a firm hold on his arm.

I throw my best moves from here. I walk out on him — "crawl" out, actually, charging on my hands and knees, like a giant little kid escaping from his playpen; then I explode into a sitout and reverse for two points.

2015, Terry Davis, Vision Quest, page 9:

Her husband, Dick Jr., was a longtime assistant coach at Norwalk, and Janella proudly claimed that she knew a sitout when she saw one.

2003, Nolan Zavoral, A Season on the Mat:

(wrestling) A wrestling move that is often used to escape from a hold in which one straightens one's legs to get into a sitting position where one can use them for leverage.


personocentric

en-adj

personocentric (comparative more personocentric, superlative most personocentric)

more personocentric (comparative)
most personocentric (superlative)

(politics, usually leftism) Humane; Expressing care towards any individual and guaranteeing its rights.


PHEIC

In 2005, the WHO drew up a new version of the International Health Regulations (IHR), the central legal document that all member states are bound by. […] It also allows the WHO to declare a public health emergency of international concern (or PHEIC, pronounced, incredibly, “fake”), using its own information, over the objection of any single country.

2020 April 10, Stephen Buranyi, “The WHO v coronavirus: why it can't handle the pandemic”, in The Guardian:

w:public health emergency of international concern

(healthcare, medicine) Acronym of public health emergency of international concern.


IHR

In 2005, the WHO drew up a new version of the International Health Regulations (IHR), the central legal document that all member states are bound by. According to Fidler, the updated IHR, which is in force to this day, is a radical document.

International Health Regulations
w:International Health Regulations

(healthcare, medicine) Acronym of International Health Regulations.


zomdu

(politics) A democratic election in Bhutan to nominate one candidate for the National Council.


manhood suffrage

[T]he old demands of manhood suffrage and annual parliaments were made, but the principal cry was for ‘Bread! Bread!’

2016, Peter Ackroyd, Revolution, Pan Macmillan, published 2017, page 317:

(politics, now chiefly historical) The right of all male citizens of sufficient age to vote in popular elections.


weaponsman

For example, a fairly new rating in the Navy is that of nuclear weaponsman. Before this rating was established, a very thorough analysis of enlisted duties in nuclear weapons units was made.

1960, Tri-service Conference on Job Qualifications Analysis, page 5:

LT Coulombe was commissioned from the ranks in 1969, after 11 years enlisted as an underwater weaponsman.

1980 Winter, “New Canadfian Forces Exchange Officer Arrives at NEDU”, in Faceplate, volume 11, page 5:

The division also maintains a mockup ASROC (antisub rocket) mounting, to train weaponsmen from west coast ships fitted with ASROC.

1982, Sentinel - Volumes 18-19, page IVI:

We had three automatic-weaponsmen in a SEAL squad at that time. Two carried Stoners, and one had an M-60. 1 was a little too small for the M-60, but I could shoot the Stoner well.

1998, Dennis J. Cummings, The Men Behind the Trident: Seal Team One in Vietnam, page 226:

Laden with mortars, ammo, and a Browning .50-caliber heavy machine gun, the heavy weaponsmen lumbered after the two to the position Gunnar had chosen.

1990, John Lansing, Nguy-Hiem War Zone, page 57:

On the hill to the northeast of the crossroads and the N-32, the 3rd Battalion's provisional company of rifle and light weaponsmen do not know what is going on.

(military, usually qualified by a type of weapon) A soldier who is a specialist in a specific type of weapon.


PowerPoint ranger

en-noun

PowerPoint ranger (plural PowerPoint rangers)

(military, slang, derogatory) A person with a desk job who tends to produce computerized slide presentations rather than doing anything more useful.


COMSEC

(military) Abbreviation of communications security.


IMINT

imagery intelligence
w:imagery intelligence

(espionage) Abbreviation of imagery intelligence.


backbrief

(military) A summary of a received briefing, given by the briefed person to the commanding officer, to ensure that instructions have been properly understood.


OSINT

(espionage) Acronym of open-source intelligence.


Brunswick star

From the German Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg.

(heraldry) An emblem formed by an eight-pointed or sixteen-pointed star composed of many narrow rays.


Nihilism

Borrowed from Russian нигили́зм (nigilízm).

The Government took up the word, and used nihilism to stigmatize all revolutionary, and ultra democratic and socialistic tendencies; and we have seen it play its part in the recent investigations into the attempted assassination of the Emperor.

1867, Eugene Schuyler, “Preface”, in Ivan Sergheïevitch Turgenef [i.e., Ivan Turgenev], translated by Eugene Schuyler, Fathers and Sons […], New York, N.Y.: Leypoldt and Holt, →OCLC, page vii:

(Russia, politics, historical) A movement of the 1860s that rejected all authority and promoted the use of violence for political change.

Nihilisme

movement that rejected all authority and promoted the use of violence for political change


get out the vote

en-verb

get out the vote (third-person singular simple present gets out the vote, present participle getting out the vote, simple past got out the vote, past participle gotten out the vote)

gets out the vote (present singular third-person)
getting out the vote (participle present)
got out the vote (past)
gotten out the vote (participle past)
GOTV (alternative)

What happens when there's that knock at the door? Moscow's hastily-organised referendums in occupied parts of Ukraine coming complete with house-to-house searches of ballot recipients. It takes the concept of "get out the vote" to a whole new level. We'll ask about turnout numbers that already beggar belief and what happens after Vladimir Putin's Friday address scheduled before a joint session of the Russian parliament.

2022 September 23, 0:07 from the start, in As Putin goes for broke: What next after Ukraine annexation referendums? • FRANCE 24 English, spoken by François Picard, France 24, archived from the original on 2022-09-27:

(chiefly US politics, idiomatic) To increase voter turnout, typically in a highly partisan way.


low-information

en-adjective

low-information (comparative more low-information, superlative most low-information)

more low-information (comparative)
most low-information (superlative)

Among low information voters, attitudes are less ideologically consistent and hence do less to tie voters to parties.

2004, William E. Saris, Paul M. Sniderman, Studies in Public Opinion: Attitudes, Nonattitudes, Measurement Error, and Change., Princeton University Press:

The upshot is that low-information whites linked their racial attitudes to their partisan attachments at nearly the same high rates as their better-educated counterparts did in these two 2012 surveys.

2016, Michael Tesler, Post-Racial or Most-Racial?: Race and Politics in the Obama Era, University of Chicago Press:

Republicans' entire approach to distracting low-information working-class whites with "dog whistle, sound bites, and bumper sticker slogans" will have to change.

2018, Val Atkinson, Distractions, Distortions, Deceptions, and Outright Lies: Diversiont that Keep the SOuth Red, Poor People Poor, and Plutocrats and Oligarchs in Power, Trafford Publishing:

(politics, euphemistic) Ignorant, out of the loop, acting without an extensive or sophisticated understanding of a political situation.


ARDS

acute respiratory distress syndrome#English

(healthcare, medicine) Acronym of acute respiratory distress syndrome.

adult respiratory distress syndrome#English

(healthcare, medicine) Acronym of adult respiratory distress syndrome.


Toryshire

From Tory + -shire, as if the name of a county.

(UK politics, informal) Those parts of the United Kingdom whose residents overwhelmingly vote for the Conservative Party.


MAHA

Modeled after MAGA. Popularized by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in 2024 but earlier uses exist.

I’ve got the hashtag. #MAHA: Make America Healthy Again.

2020 April 7, “Make America Healthy Again: #MAHA”, in The Rush Limbaugh Show:

He shared the phrase "Make America Healthy Again" on social media, along with the abbreviation "MAHA," not unlike MAGA (Make America Great Again), which Trump still uses.

2024 August 26, Chrissy Bobic, “Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Has Coined a Term To Explain His Most Important Cause”, in Distractify:

MAHA went viral across social media and led to an explosion of questionable claims regarding health and wellness.

2024 August 26, Mikael Thalen, “MAGA turns to roadkill-eating anti-vaxer with a brain worm to ‘Make America Healthy Again’”, in The Daily Dot:

The MAHA commission calls for studies on the broad schedule of childhood vaccines, more research into potential adverse effects of vaccination, and “true” placebo studies of those childhood immunizations, echoing many of Kennedy’s longtime rallying points around vaccine safety.

2025 May 22, Sarah Owermohle, “First MAHA health report calls for reassessing medicines, processed foods, pesticides”, in CNN:

(US politics) Acronym of Make America Healthy Again


rear naked choke

en-noun

rear naked choke (plural rear naked chokes)

(martial arts) A chokehold applied from an opponent's back.


multialignment

(politics) alignment with multiple foreign powers


Merkelian

en-adj

Merkelian (comparative more Merkelian, superlative most Merkelian)

more Merkelian (comparative)
most Merkelian (superlative)

Tensions have built up over the long years of Merkelian Machtpolitik and are emerging into the open, particularly in light of a mediocre vote-share at the election, yet another workaday coalition deal, the concession of the powerful finance ministry to the SPD, the allocation of the CDU’s few big cabinet jobs to inoffensively loyal Merkelites and the lack of hints at a succession plan at the top.

2008 February 12, J.C., “German politics is in revolt against the “Merkel method””, in The Economist:

(politics) Of or pertaining to Angela Merkel (born 1954), German politician and chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021.


Brexocalypse

2016 July 4, Alex Proud, “10 reasons to be cheerful (during the Brexocalypse)”, in The Daily Telegraph:

In Britain, stockpiling for the Brexocalypse has taken over from Black Friday shopping as the consumer event of the year, with reports of everything from wine to tins of chilli con carne being hoarded in the name of #takingbackcontrol – but should we be doing the same?

2018 December 18, Jennifer O'Connell, ““Brexit stockpile: Favourite foods you might not know are British”, in The Irish Times:

How should we, on our small island in Spain be preparing for an inevitable and impending Brexocalypse?

2019 March, “Galley Goddess”, in The Islander Magazine, page 116:

(UK politics) The negative economic and political impact of Brexit.


Portus Julius

From Latin Portus Iulius (Port Julian).
From Iulius (“Gaius Julius Caesar (Gaius Iulius Caesar)”) + portus.
From the gens Iulia (Julii clan).

(historical, nautical, military) A port on the Gulf of Naples, Mediterranean in Baiae, Italia, Roman Empire, the primary naval base of the Western Empire.


Zornhau

(fencing) A powerful, diagonally descending blow.


Ostrich Alliance

In reference to the well-known myth of ostriches burying their heads in the sand to avoid danger. Compare ostrich policy, ostrich politics.

For quotations using this term, see Citations:Ostrich Alliance.

(politics) A group of countries run by governments or leaders that have taken the stance of denying the significance and downplaying the effects of the COVID-19 crisis.


stewardsman

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


ukemi

This will also tend to assist in the development of a good style, for it is noticeable that those men with the 'best' and 'freest' styles are also those with the most effective ukemi.

1966, Francis Walter Pearson, Judo Coaching Manual, page 28:

(judo, aikido, martial arts) The set of breakfall and roll techniques used by uke to safely fall and accept attacks from tori.


megaduke

From Byzantine Greek μέγας δούξ (mégas doúx, literally “great leader”). By surface analysis, mega- + duke.

bor

Roger de Flor was given the title of megaduke and the King of Bulgaria's daughter as his wife.

1968, Alan Lloyd, The Spanish Centuries, page 56:

In September 1169 the Byzantine admiral, the megaduke Andronicus Contostephanus, arrived in Tyre […]

1979, Jean Richard, translated by Janet Shirley, The Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, volume 1, page 50:

After Manuel's death, the actual number of ships and sailors under the megaduke had declined significantly, and the sailors tended to consist of unreliable foreigners.

1987, John V. A. Fine, Jr., The Late Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Late Twelfth Century to the Ottoman Conquest, page 35:

(historical, military) The commander in chief of the Byzantine navy.


GOA

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

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


spaceforce

spaceforces (plural)
space force (alternative)
space-force (alternative)

From space + force. Coined in analogy to airforce.

"Wouldn't fit through the window," Lex apologized. "Anyway, a starship's a big responsibility — you're planning to join the spaceforce, aren't you?"

1978, Jonathan Fast, Mortal Gods, →ISBN:

The MSP may eventually become part of a new spaceforce that coordinates the broad range of defensive and offensive space assets. In addition, a new emphasis is being placed upon NASA and the U.S. Air Force to coordinate activity on such a space plane/RLV development.

2003, A Charania, “Operational Capabilities and Legal Implications of a Military Space Plane”, in Proceedings of the Forty-Fifth Colloquium on the Law of Outer Space, volume 45, University of California, School of Law, Part 2002:

Now, the Federation needed some sort of body to enforce its regulations, but the alphas were unable to agree on how to organize this, so Earth, who had the largest and most advanced spaceforce, offered to establish the Federal Fleet

2015, Rachel Searles, The Stolen Moon, →ISBN:

(military, space flight) A military unit involved with outer space and spaceflight.


space force

(military) Alternative form of spaceforce.


Rose Cottage

From a stereotypical name for a person's home with roses growing around it, but here ironically referring to the red colour of sores or bleeding.

(naval slang) An isolation ward for treating venereal disease in sailors when ashore.


RINT

(military) Acronym of radiation intelligence.


group representation constituency

en-noun

group representation constituency (plural group representation constituencies)

group representation constituencies (plural)

(Singapore, politics) A type of parliamentary constituency with multiple representatives from the same political group, at least one of whom must be from an ethnic minority.

集選區 /集选区

Singaporean parliamentary constituency with multiple elected members


functional constituency

functional constituency (plural functional constituencies)

(Hong Kong, Macau, politics) A type of non-geographical electoral constituency in which the constituents are defined by their professional occupation.

功能界別 /功能界别

electoral constituency based on occupation


leopard crawl

(military) A military-specific crawl in which an arm is advanced with the diagonal knee; designed for the smallest silhouette possible with most limbs touching the ground.

Crawling (human)#Leopard crawl/high crawl


LAV

light armoured vehicle
w:light armoured vehicle

(military) Acronym of light armoured vehicle (a type of military armoured car).


cabinetable

en-adj

cabinetable (comparative more cabinetable, superlative most cabinetable)

more cabinetable (comparative)
most cabinetable (superlative)

But he will be as cabinetable after the catastrophe as he was before.

1898 July 30, Rene Doumic, “The Cabinetable Man”, in The Living Age, volume 218, number 2821, page 343:

The same persons in the Agrarian and Social-Democratic parties remained perpetually “cabinetable.”

1963, Joseph A. Mikuš, Slovakia: A Political History: 1918-1950, page 23:

But his position of cabinetable politician was protracted until after the war, for Brătianu himself was far from insensible to Saint Aulaire's arguments, and war on Germany was declared.

1977, Francisc Păcurariu, The Labyrinth, page 94:

(government, politics) Able to be appointed to a cabinet position of government without arousing controversy.


Space Force

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

(military) The military spaceforce of a particular armed forces.

United States Space Force
United States Space Force#English

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


United States Space Force

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

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


USSF

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

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


Gelasian dyarchy

Father Murray is concerned to restate the Gelasian dyarchy in democratic terms.

1953, Religion in Life, volume 23, page 178:

Between secularists and anticlericals who would subject the Church to the state or entirely separate the institutions, and fanatical medievalists and curialists who would, against all reasonable hope, cling to their own inaccurate versions of theocracy, the pope steered a middle course that recalled the Gelasian dyarchy.

1962, Newman C. Eberhardt, A Summary of Catholic History, volume 2, page 161:

Determining the popes’ view of the relationship between church and state was their interpretation of “the Gelasian dyarchy,” the ancient papal teaching that “this world is ruled by two powers.”

2004, Robert Krieg, Catholic Theologians in Nazi Germany, →ISBN, page 18:

(Roman Catholicism, politics) The doctrine, traced back to Pope Gelasius I, that there are two authorities governing human affairs, the spiritual authority of the church and the temporal authority of the empire or secular government.


patch box

patch boxes (plural)
patch-box (alternative)
patchbox (alternative)

(firearms) A lidded container fitted to a gun to hold the cloth patches used when shooting round shot.


WHA

World Health Assembly
w:World Health Assembly

(healthcare) Initialism of World Health Assembly, the forum through which the World Health Organization (WHO) is governed by its 194 member states, first held in 1948.


PT boat

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

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

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


budget hawk

Vought, a budget hawk and former conservative activist, still has to be confirmed by the Republican-controlled Senate.

2020 March 18, Bobby Allyn, “Trump Picks Budget Hawk Russ Vought As OMB Director As Coronavirus Crashes Economy”, in NPR:

(politics) An advocate of a smaller budget, a deficit hawk.


CPK

Communist Party of Kampuchea
w:Communist Party of Kampuchea

(politics) Initialism of Communist Party of Kampuchea.

Communist Party of Kenya
w:Communist Party of Kenya

(politics) Initialism of Communist Party of Kenya.


police scanner

(radio, law enforcement) A scanner that is tuned to receive the frequencies used by police for their communications.


screwjob

I will throw out Giant taking title from Flair on RAW. Desperately attempted screwjob did not come off, I can still her Woman's screams, or was that every match of those days:) And I loved it that the Giant didn't sell.

1997 March 26, John0714, “Most Significant Non-Screwjob Matches of All Time?”, in rec.sport.pro-wrestling (Usenet), message-ID <19970326010000.UAA22561@ladder01.news.aol.com>:

What is a screwjob finish and does the finish of last night's Shawn Michaels vs. Triple H match count as one?

2003 December 30, Dont Trust Anybody, “What Is A Screwjob Finish And Does Last Night's Count As One?”, in rec.sport.pro-wrestling (Usenet), message-ID <5dcc46b096e7859a0d6c2914242d6283@news.teranews.com>:

professional wrestling
professional wrestling

(professional wrestling) An incident where management disadvantages a wrestler without their prior knowledge.


FSR

First Strike Ration
w:First Strike Ration

(US, military) Initialism of First Strike Ration.


gyrating angel

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


anticipatory retaliation

(military, euphemistic) The carrying out of a preemptive strike.


red notice

Interpol issues red notice for 'fugitive' Anne Sacoolas

Under a red notice, local authorities make the arrests on behalf of the country that requested it. The notices cannot force countries to arrest or extradite suspects, but can put government leaders on the spot and limit suspects' travel.

June 29, 2020, “Iran issues arrest warrant for Trump, asks Interpol to help”, in Al Jazeera:

(law enforcement) A notice from Interpol that a person is an international fugitive and should be arrested.


propaganda of the deed

[ˌpɹɒ.pəˈɡæ̝ˑn.də əʋ ˌðə ˈdiːd]

Calque of French propagande par le fait rendered into idiomatic English, from propagande (“propaganda”) and fait (“deed, act, action”); a phrasal usage originating among 19th century insurrectionary anarchist communists.

A politically motivated act of violence, meant to broadcast an ideological message and serve as catalyst to ignite a spirit of socialist revolution among the proletariat against perceived oppressors.

propaganda pel fet

a provocative act of political violence intended to inspire imitators and foment an anarchist revolt

(loosely) The theoretical principle of using acts of violence in the struggle to achieve radical left-wing political goals.


Trumposphere

Because if anyone in the Trumposphere — including her brothers, who appeared to have beamed in from the '80s — can put together a compelling argument as to why the racist, bigoted, provocateur Donald deserves anything other than complete disdain, she can.

2016 July 21, Joe Dziemianowicz, “I like Ivanka Trump — so I hope she screws up her RNC speech”, in New York Daily News:

Meanwhile, far right websites everywhere doubled-down on Trump’s claim. Suddenly, Sweden – a country to which most conservatives had previously paid almost zero attention – was held up throughout the Trumposphere as a cautionary tale about immigration.

2017 March 6, Jeff Sparrow, “The stench of the Iraq war lingers behind today's preoccupation with fake news”, in The Guardian:

I recently attended a private-equity conference where a speaker, a TV pundit, abruptly shifted from offering tidbits from the Trumposphere to random life advice: “You have to ask yourself whether you want to be Uber or one of those dying yellow-taxi companies?”

2017 July 17, Gary Sernovitz, “Are New York Taxis Such a Bad Investment?”, in The New Yorker:

The Trumposphere often operates on an esoteric argument that if only all the facts were revealed, the totality of the evidence would clearly show that the president was innocent and that his detractors are the guilty ones.

2019 November 6, David A. Graham, “The More We Learn, the Worse Things Look for Trump”, in The Atlantic:

(US politics) The inner circle of associates, employees and appointees of Donald Trump (born 1946), the 45th president of the United States.


mag dump

mag dumps (plural)
magdump (alternative)

(firearms, slang) The act of firing at a target continuously or repeatedly until the magazine of ammunition is empty.

The act of firing an entire magazine-full of ammunition from a fully-automatic weapon in a single burst.


mag dump

en-verb

mag dump (third-person singular simple present mag dumps, present participle mag dumping, simple past and past participle mag dumped)

mag dumps (present singular third-person)
mag dumping (participle present)
mag dumped (participle past)
mag dumped (past)
magdump (alternative)

(firearms, slang, intransitive) To perform a mag dump.


FonMin

Foreign Minister
foreign minister#English

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


contract agent

(espionage) A secret agent recruited by another agent, and having no direct contact with the agency.


Joebama

Blend of Joe + Obama, from the given name of Joe Biden and the surname of Barack Obama.

JoeBama (alternative)
Jobama (alternative)

From your socialist perspective that's probably true.
Keep rampant socialism in CanaDuh and don't vote for Joebama!

2008 August 24, dxAce, “Re: (OT) : Are You One of . . . Smiley's People ?”, in rec.radio.shortwave (Usenet):

“This is a great way to support the hypothetical of Joe Biden for President in 2020 with his running mate — either Michelle Obama or Barack Obama. Joebama for President!” advises JuntoTees, an Indiana company which has offered this motto on assorted items since 2018.

2020 March 3, Jennifer Harper, “Among the Biden prospects: 'JOEBAMA 2020'”, in The Washington Times:

(US politics, informal, often derogatory) The political union of Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United States, and Joe Biden, the 47th vice president of the United States, having served between 2009 and 2017.


stay frosty

stay frosty (third-person singular simple present stays frosty, present participle staying frosty, simple past and past participle stayed frosty)

stays frosty (present singular third-person)
staying frosty (participle present)
stayed frosty (participle past)
stayed frosty (past)

Originally military slang, probably as a reference to keeping one's cool, but with extra emphasis because of the need to stay alert in dangerous situations.

1986, 'Corporal Hicks', Aliens (movie): We're all in strung out shape, but stay frosty, and alert

Nothing bad will happen to you so long as you stay frosty.

2003, Adam Peck, Manja Sachet, Turkey Guide, page 259:

He and a small group of other loyalists stayed frosty and refused to let the unit die.

2007, Sean Michael Flynn, The Fighting 69th: From Ground Zero to Baghdad:

In other words, be aware—stay frosty.

2009, Gregory H. Wahl, Charles A. Bobbitt, It Didn't Play in Peoria:

We may have to move at a moments notice so stay frosty.

2011, J. R. Brice, The Wrath of Mamba, page 267:

(military, slang) To be alert and ready for action, without letting one's fear or other emotions get in the way.


TDY

temporary duty
w:Temporary duty assignment

(military) Abbreviation of temporary duty.


CCT

en-noun

CCT (countable and uncountable, plural CCTs)

(military) Initialism of company combat team.

(military) Initialism of corps combat team.


Logan bar

Introduced by Army Quartermaster Colonel Paul Logan.

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


maiden speech

Her maiden speech in the House of Commons on June 3 2010 outlined that her immediate priorities would be to receive assurances from the newly installed coalition government on the future of several major capital investment programmes - [...].

2020 June 3, Lilian Greenwood talks to Paul Stephen, “Rail's 'underlying challenges' remain”, in Rail, page 31:

(politics) The first speech made by a new member in the chamber of an assembly, in Britain in the House of Commons and House of Lords.


shopette

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

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

convenience store
convenience store#English

(US, military) Synonym of convenience store.


collar tab

(military) insignia worn on the collar of a uniform signifying the wearer’s rank and/or branch


SCS

Specialist Cadet School
w:Specialist Cadet School

(Singapore, military) Initialism of Specialist Cadet School.


ten-hut

Abbreviated form of attention; compare hut § Etymology 2.

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

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


confessing Sam

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

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

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


antifaggot

antifaggots (plural)
anti-faggot (alternative)

(derogatory, neologism, offensive, politics, vulgar) An antifascist.


CPD

“Defendant Officers violated numerous laws and CPD policies during their encounter with Dexter. The initial stop was unlawful and pretextual. Defendant Officers had no reasonable suspicion that Dexter violated any law, and they falsely stated otherwise in official CPD reports,” the suit states.

2024 April 24, Family of Chicago man fatally shot by police files federal civil rights lawsuit against city and tactical officers, CNN:

Chicago Police Department
w:Chicago Police Department

(law enforcement) Initialism of Chicago Police Department.


JHP

jacketed hollow point
jacketed hollow point#English

(firearms) Abbreviation of jacketed hollow point.


DACA

ICE has begun asking immigration courts to reopen administratively closed deportation cases against DACA recipients who continue to have no criminal record, or only a minor record.

2019 December 21, Bob Ortega, “ICE reopening long-closed deportation cases against Dreamers”, in CNN:

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


FMJ

full metal jacket
full metal jacket#English

(firearms) Abbreviation of full metal jacket.


VLAT

(firefighting, aviation) Acronym of very large air tanker, a class of waterbomber.


NADEP

(military) Abbreviation of naval aviation depot.


crossover voting

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


CASREP

(military) Abbreviation of casualty report.


honor point

honor points (plural)
honour point (alternative)

(heraldry) The point just above the fess point.


point target

(military) A relatively small target requiring accurate placement of ordnance in order to neutralize or destroy it.


Poplarism

(UK, politics, historical) The situation where a local council contravenes national directives and offers more generous welfare payments to citizens, as in the Poplar Rates Rebellion in Poplar, London, England, in 1921.


commerce raiding

commerce raiding (countable and uncountable, plural commerce raidings)

Although the Admiralty have published no report on the subject of the last manœuvres, it is generally believed that, during the short period commerce raiding lasted, Sir W. May's fleet, limited as the area was, and stringent as the rules laid down as to exemptions, did far more damage to our trade than the authorities care to make known.

1907, Captain R. N., “Food for Thought”, in The United Service Magazine:

(military, historical) A form of naval warfare that primarily targets enemy merchant ships on the open sea.