Hummer

"The vehicle is called the 'Hummer,' a contrived abbreviation of its official designation, 'High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle.'"

1985, Andy Rooney, Pieces of my Mind, →ISBN, page 38:

"The Hummer, a clumsy, elongated vehicle the Army intended as a replacement for the hardy Jeep, developed so many problems it became known as the Bummer."

1985, James Coates, Michael Kilian, Heavy Losses: The Dangerous Decline of American Defense, →ISBN, page 25:

"He made a point of not taking federal money for the district -- though by 1986 he was bragging about landing an Army contract to build the Hummer vehicle for a South Bend company."

1987, Michael Barone, Grant Ujifusa, The Almanac of American Politics, 1988, →ISBN, page 403:

"A Hummer can carry four people."

1994, World Book Inc., “Jeep”, in World Book Encyclopedia, vol. J, →ISBN, page 25:

(military, slang) The HMMWV or Humvee, a US Army vehicle which replaced the Jeep.


Humvee

Derived from the attempt to pronounce the acronym HMMWV: The 'High Mobility Multi-purpose Wheeled Vehicle.'

We went out into the streets of Zafaraniya, travelling in the usual two-Humvee convoy, complete with gunners.

Stores, dealerships, galleries struggled to satisfy the skyrocketing demand for ever more recherché produce: limited-edition olive oils, three-hundred-dollar corkscrews, customized Humvees, the latest anti-virus software, escort services featuring contortionists and twins, video installations, outsider art, featherlight shawls made from the chin-fluff of extinct mountain goats.

2001, Salman Rushdie, Fury: A Novel, London: Jonathan Cape, →ISBN, page 3:

(US, military) A diesel-powered, four-wheel drive tactical military vehicle that can carry a wide variety of military hardware.


I

en-noun

I (countable and uncountable, plural Is)

(US politics) Abbreviation of independent.


Joh

How Joh inspired a generation.

Nationals shake off Joh era.

Abolishing compulsory voting would take Queensland back to Joh era, says Wayne Swan.

Diminutive of Johannes, notably used in reference to:

(Australian politics) Sir Johannes “Joh” Bjelke-Petersen (1911–2005), Premier of Queensland 1968–1987.


John

Johns (plural)
Jon (alternative)
Joh. (alternative abbreviation rare)

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

From Middle English John, Johan, Johannes, from Anglo-Norman Jehan, Johan, and also Old English Iohannes, both from Late Latin Iōhannēs, variant of Latin Iōannēs, from Koine Greek Ἰωάννης (Iōánnēs), from Biblical Hebrew יוֹחָנָן (Yôḥānān), perhaps contracted from a former יְהוֹחָנָן (Yəhōḥānān, “God is gracious”).
Doublet of Jack, Jon, Johan, Johann, Johannes, Jean, Sean, Shane, Shaun, Ian, Ivan, Evan, Juan, Giovanni, and Yahya.

doublet

I and the other "Johns," as I soon discovered all new-comers at Sandhurst were, and are still, styled, although at the time I was unconscious of it, managed to troop in after the A company, but although not two minutes after them, found all the different messes already seated and hard at work.

To avoid bullying, first-year “Johns” (from Johnny Raw) “fagged” for senior classmen known as “Regs.” Fagging included making beds, running messages, and smuggling contraband.

(UK, military, slang) A new recruit at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.


K

Abbreviations.
# (Stenoscript) Abbreviation of counter, prefix counter-, sequence contr.

ng

prefix <i class="Latn mention" lang="en">counter-</i>, sequence contr.

(UK, government) Abbreviation of Knighthood.


L

en-noun

L (countable and uncountable, plural Ls)

(US, politics) Abbreviation of Libertarian.


Labor

Nevertheless there is a distinct difference of emphasis, in the sense just indicated, between the two sides of Australian politics. There has always been some international isolationism, too, in Labor circles in Australia.

1970, Australian Institute of International Affairs, Institute of Pacific Relations, Australia and the Pacific, page 10:

Labor did not regain office until 1929, and then only for a three-year period.

1984, David Harris Solomon, Australia′s Government and Parliament, page 102:

Labor’s formal reconciliation with the federal Constitution during the postwar decades has been a significant development both for the ALP and for Australian politics generally.

1995, Brian Galligan, A Federal Republic: Australia′s Constitutional System of Government, page 109:

(Australian politics, informal) The Australian Labor Party.

(UK politics, American spelling, Australian spelling) Misspelling of Labour, a UK political party.


Legion

(US, military) Ellipsis of American Legion.


Liberal

(politics) A political party and philosophy

(politics) A member or supporter of a Liberal Party

(Canadian politics) A member or supporter of the Liberal Party of Canada, or its predecessors, or provincial equivalents, or their predecessors

(Australian politics) A member or supporter of the Liberal Party of Australia.


Libertarian

Libertarians (plural)
libertarian (alternative)

/ˌlɪb.əˈtɛə.ɹɪ.ən/

Rather than immediately enter the convention – held in the back room of the restaurant – McAfee posted up outside, having his photograph taken with Libertarians and passersby, smoking cigarettes and acting up for the four-person film crew he had arrived with.

2016 May 1, Adam Gabbatt, “Truth or fiction? John McAfee for the Libertarian party's presidential nominee”, in The Guardian:

To many, it seemed that the Libertarians were a genuinely relevant third party in US politics, which is overwhelmingly dominated by Republicans and Democrats.

2020 August 23, Adam Gabbatt, “The Libertarian party was up and coming in 2016. What happened?”, in The Guardian:

(politics) A member of a political party or movement that uses the term "Libertarian" in its name (e.g., the Libertarian Party of the United States); one who is likely to support policies that are libertarian.


Libertarian

/ˌlɪb.əˈtɛə.ɹɪ.ən/

The Libertarian vice-presidential candidate this November is an internet talkshow host who ran for office alongside a man wearing a boot on his head, and who has promised the electorate free ponies, “zombie power” and the killing of baby Hitler.

The results also revealed a striking data point: Libertarian candidate Jo Jorgensen’s share of the vote in some of these states was higher than margins between Joe Biden and Donald Trump.

2020 November 8, Victoria Bekiempis, “Was Libertarian candidate Jo Jorgensen a 'spoiler' for Trump?”, in The Guardian:

(politics) Of, or pertaining to, a Libertarian Party.


Lords

(British, UK politics, plural only) Ellipsis of House of Lords.


Luna

From Middle English lune, luna (“the moon”), from Latin lūna/Lūna, from Proto-Indo-European *lówksneh₂. Doublet of Roxane.

4. Luna, a Mantle of Estate, Mars doubled Ermine, ouched Sol, garnished with Strings fastned thereunto fretways dependent, and tasselled of the same. [...] These Arms do belong to the Town of Beckbock in Wales.

1693, Richard Blome, The Art of Heraldry, in two parts ... second edition ..., pages 76-77:

George [...] Ist. Mars, three Lions passant guardant in Pale Sol, for the Arms of England, Impal'd with Scotland, i.e. Sol, a Lion rampant within a double Tressure counterflory Mars. 2d. Jupiter, three Fleurs de Lis Sol, for the Arms of France. 3d. Jupiter, an Irish Harp Sol, stringed Luna, for Ireland. 4th. Seme party per Pale, and per Chevron enarche, in the Ist Mars, two Lions passant guardant Sol, for Brunswick. In the 2d Partition Sol, semy of Hearts Mars, and a Lion rampant Jupiter, armed and langued of the First, for Luneburg. The base is Mars, a Horse currant Luna, over these last on an Inescocheon, Constantine's Crown.

1718, Samuel Kent, The Grammar of Heraldry … Second Edition:

8. Tierce in Mantle, first Mars, two Lions passant-guardant in pale, Sol, for Brunswick; 2d Sol, Semi of Hearts proper, a Lion rampant Jupiter, for Lunenburgh; 3d, ente en Point, Mars, an Horse currant Luna, for Saxony.

1735, Francis Nichols, The Irish Compendium … vol. III of the British Compendium, second edition, page 80:

The third, the Ensign of Ireland, which is, Jupiter, an Harp Sol, stringed Luna.

1737, Benjamin Martin, Bibliotheca Technologica: Or, a Philological Library, page 631:

(heraldry, rare) Argent (silver), in the postmedieval practice of blazoning the tinctures of certain sovereigns' (especially British monarchs') coats as planets.


Mars

From Middle English Mars, from Latin Mārs (“god of war”), from older Latin (older than 75 BCE) Māvors.

4. Luna, a Mantle of Estate, Mars doubled Ermine, ouched Sol, garnished with Strings fastned thereunto fretways dependent, and tasselled of the same. [...] These Arms do belong to the Town of Beckbock in Wales. 5. Jupiter, a Mace of Majestry in Bend Sol. [...] 12. Venus, a Staff in Pale Sol, and thereupon a Cross Pattee, Luna surmounted off a Pall of the last, charged with 4. like Crosses fitched Saturn, edged and stringed as the second. This Coat belongs to the Archiepiscopal See of Canterbury, to whose place it appertains to Crown and Inaugurate the Kings of England.

George [...] Ist. Mars, three Lions passant guardant in Pale Sol, for the Arms of England, Impal'd with Scotland, i.e. Sol, a Lion rampant within a double Tressure counterflory Mars. 2d. Jupiter, three Fleurs de Lis Sol, for the Arms of France. 3d. Jupiter, an Irish Harp Sol, stringed Luna, for Ireland. 4th. Seme party per Pale, and per Chevron enarche, in the Ist Mars, two Lions passant guardant Sol, for Brunswick. In the 2d Partition Sol, semy of Hearts Mars, and a Lion rampant Jupiter, armed and langued of the First, for Luneburg. The base is Mars, a Horse currant Luna, over these last on an Inescocheon, Constantine's Crown. All within the Garter. Above the whole a Helmet suitable to his Majesty's Royal Jurisdiction, upon the same a rich Mantle of Cloth of Gold, doubled Ermine, a[…]

8. Tierce in Mantle, first Mars, two Lions passant-guardant in pale, Sol, for Brunswick; 2d Sol, Semi of Hearts proper, a Lion rampant Jupiter, for Lunenburgh; 3d, ente en Point, Mars, an Horse currant Luna, for Saxony. Note, these Ensigns (which are the paternal Coat of his Majesty King George) I have added as an Example, to shew the Form of what foreign Heralds term Tierce in Mantle, ente en Pointe, &c. […]

ARMS. QUARTERLY, in the first grand Quarter Mars, three Lions passant-guardant in Pale, Sol; the Imperial Ensigns of England, impaled with the Royal Arms of Scotland, which are Sol, a Lion rampant within a double Tressure flower'd and counterflower'd with Fleurs-de-lis, Mars. The second Quarter is the Royal Arms of France, viz. Jupiter, three Fleurs-de-lis, Sol. The third, the Ensign of Ireland, which is, Jupiter, an Harp Sol, stringed Luna.

(heraldry, rare) Gules (red), in the postmedieval practice of blazoning the tinctures of certain sovereigns' (especially British monarchs') coats as planets.

Mercury · Venus · Earth · Mars · Jupiter · Saturn · Uranus · Neptune [edit]


Maxim

Maxims (plural)
Maxim gun (alternative)
maxim gun (alternative)
maxim (alternative)

* (machine guns): After the inventor Sir Hiram Maxim (1840-1916).

Again we went on, and climbed the false immensity of another ridge, when several rifles and a maxim opened upon us, and very close they were.

1928, Edmund Blunden, Undertones of War, Penguin, published 2010, page 104:

(firearms) The Maxim gun, a British machine gun of various calibres used by the British army from 1889 until World War I.

(firearms) Any machine gun that derives from the design pattern of Maxim's patented design

(firearms, informal, obsolete) A machine gun


Met

The Metropolitan Police has referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) over its handling of the investigation. […] The Met said it had informed its own Directorate of Professional Standards and a "mandatory referral will be made to the IOPC in relation to the initial contact from the woman's friend".

2024 April 11, Victoria Cook, “Westminster murder inquiry: Woman, 27, named by police”, in bbc.com:

(London, law enforcement) The Metropolitan Police Service of London (MPS).


North

English surname, from the adjective north. This is also translated from other surnames of the same meaning, such as Irish Mac an Ultaigh (“son of the Ulsterman”), Ulster being the northern part of Ireland.

In economic terms, the North controls four-fifths of the income earned anywhere in the world.

The northern part of a region (alternative letter-case form of north), especially:

(politics, economics) A group of countries mainly lying north of the equator, including most of the West and the First World and much of the Second World.


Oval

We went to the Oval and Trump came in almost immediately […]

2020 June 23, John Bolton, The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir, New York, N.Y.: Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, page 28:

Musk, wearing a black “DOGE” cap and black “Dogefather” T-shirt, looked around the Oval, which Trump has tarted up to look like a Vegas gift shop, and gushed that it “finally has the majesty that it deserves, thanks to the president.”

2025 May 31, Maureen Dowd, “Tech Bro Had to Go”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:


P

P (countable and uncountable, plural Ps)

(US, military, aviation) Initialism of patrol (“a patrol aircraft, a patroller”).


Patriot

(US, military) A surface-to-air missile system.


Pip

An allusion to the newspaper cartoon strip Pip, Squeak and Wilfred.

(UK, military, World War I, slang) The 1914 Star or 1914–15 Star medal.


Q

In this fantasy world, all of the far right’s wildest dreams come true: Q promises that Clinton, Obama, Podesta, Abedin, and even McCain are all either arrested and wearing secret police-issued ankle monitors, or just about to be indicted; that the Steele dossier is a total fabrication personally paid for by Clinton and Obama; and that the Las Vegas massacre was most definitely an inside job connected to the Saudi-Clinton cabal.

2017 December 19, Paris Martineau, “The Storm Is the New Pizzagate — Only Worse”, in New York, archived from the original on 2018-12-26:

In a thread called “Calm Before the Storm”, and in subsequent posts, Q established his legend as a government insider with top security clearance who knew the truth about a secret struggle for power involving Donald Trump, the “deep state”, Robert Mueller, the Clintons, pedophile rings, and other stuff.

2018 July 31, Julia Carrie Wong, “What is QAnon? Explaining the bizarre rightwing conspiracy theory”, in The Guardian:

At the end of her report, Coaston concluded, “Most people have never heard of QAnon, or Q — and that includes most of Donald Trump’s supporters.” That’s still the case, but the fact that this book is at the top of some of Amazon’s most prominent recommendation lists means that a far larger share of the population will — at a minimum — stumble across these ideas.

2019 March 6, Kaitlyn Tiffany, “How a conspiracy theory about Democrats drinking children’s blood topped Amazon’s best-sellers list”, in Vox, archived from the original on 2019-03-07:

(US politics) Abbreviation of QAnon (“anonymous poster on anonymous online message boards who originated a pro-Trump conspiracy theory”).


R

R-Texas

(US politics) Abbreviation of Republican, especially preceding the constituent location.

Republican

(monarchy) rex (“king”) or regina (“queen”); the initial by which a British monarch signs documents after his or her name


Republican

en-adj

Republican (comparative more Republican, superlative most Republican)

more Republican (comparative)
most Republican (superlative)

There are Libertarian, Republican and Democratic nominees running for office right now.

Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Mitt Romney of Utah both confirmed that a bipartisan group of lawmakers will have a series of video meetings starting in the next several days to see if they could agree on a deal soon.

2022 January 20, Lauren Fox, Morgan Rimmer and Clare Foran, “Senate votes to confirm Pam Bondi as attorney general”, in CNN:

(US politics) Of or pertaining to the Republican Party of the United States.


Republican

Famine, pestilence, war… War! I like it!
When did you become a Republican.

1998 November 27, Danita Jones, “Sabrina and the Beast”, in Sabrina the Teenage Witch, season 3, episode 1, spoken by Sabrina Spellman (Beth Broderick as Zelda Spellman and Melissa Joan Hart), Paramount Domestic Television, via ABC:

At one point in the debate, the moderator asked a tough question that had the candidates stumped.
Moderator: "This question is for both of the candidates. Those ever-important independent voters who haven’t decided who to vote for would like to know what the real differences between you two are."
Gore: "I think the real difference between Governor Bush and I is that he is in fact a Republican, and I am currently a Democrat."
Moderator: "That doesn’t really answer the question, I am talking about issues."
Bush: "No, he is right. I am a Republican, and he is a Democrat."

2000 October 3, Tim Paluch, “Gore vs. Bush: That's Debatable”, in Iowa State Daily:

The vote was 54-46. The vote was mostly along party lines though Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania joined Republicans in supporting Bondi.

2025 February 4, Shania Shelton and Morgan Rimmer, “Senate votes to confirm Pam Bondi as attorney general”, in CNN:

(US politics) A member or supporter of the Republican Party, the more right-wing of the two main political parties in the United States.

جُمْهُورِيّ

supporter of the Republican Party of the U.S.

Republicunt

Member or supporter of the US Republican Party


Roe

From a Middle English nickname meaning a roe.

Ultimately, Ms. Bottone said she just wanted to know whether she could keep driving in the H.O.V. lane for the remainder of her pregnancy, as she said she had in her previous pregnancies, long before the overturning of Roe.

2022 July 12, Luke Vander Ploeg, “Can You Drive Alone in the H.O.V. Lane if You’re Pregnant? A Post-Roe Quandary.”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

(US, law, US politics, informal) Ellipsis of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 US Supreme Court case which legalized abortion and reaffirmed the existence of a right to privacy under due process following the 14th Amendment.


Sol

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

4. Luna, a Mantle of Estate, Mars doubled Ermine, ouched Sol, garnished with Strings fastned thereunto fretways dependent, and tasselled of the same. [...] These Arms do belong to the Town of Beckbock in Wales. 5. Jupiter, a Mace of Majestry in Bend Sol.

George [...] Ist. Mars, three Lions passant guardant in Pale Sol, for the Arms of England, Impal'd with Scotland, i.e. Sol, a Lion rampant within a double Tressure counterflory Mars. 2d. Jupiter, three Fleurs de Lis Sol, for the Arms of France. 3d. Jupiter, an Irish Harp Sol, stringed Luna, for Ireland. 4th. Seme party per Pale, and per Chevron enarche, in the Ist Mars, two Lions passant guardant Sol, for Brunswick. In the 2d Partition Sol, semy of Hearts Mars, and a Lion rampant Jupiter, armed and langued of the First, for Luneburg.

8. Tierce in Mantle, first Mars, two Lions passant-guardant in pale, Sol, for Brunswick; 2d Sol, Semi of Hearts proper, a Lion rampant Jupiter, for Lunenburgh;

ARMS. QUARTERLY, in the first grand Quarter Mars, three Lions passant-guardant in Pale, Sol; the Imperial Ensigns of England, impaled with the Royal Arms of Scotland, which are Sol, a Lion rampant within a double Tressure flower'd and counterflower'd with Fleurs-de-lis, Mars. The second Quarter is the Royal Arms of France, viz. Jupiter, three Fleurs-de-lis, Sol. The third, the Ensign of Ireland, which is, Jupiter, an Harp Sol, stringed Luna.

(heraldry, rare) Or (gold), in the postmedieval practice of blazoning the tinctures of certain sovereigns' (especially British monarchs') coats as planets.


South

en-proper noun

South (countable and uncountable, plural Souths)

English surname, from the adjective south. Compare Southern.

(geopolitics) The southern part of any region; alternative letter-case form of south.

(US) Ellipsis of Old South, the states which formed the Confederacy during the American Civil War.

Old South

Many sincere white people in the South privately oppose segregation and discrimination, but they are apprehensive lest they be publicly condemned.

1963, Martin Luther King, Jr., “Transformed Nonconformist”, in Strength to Love, New York: Pocket Books, published 1964, →OCLC, page 13:

Just when the blacks had had their hopes for equality and justice raised, after centuries of misery and despair, they awoke one morning to discover that their future was in the hands of a President born in the South.

1971, Lyndon B. Johnson, “"I feel like I have already been here a year"”, in The Vantage Point, Holt, Reinhart & Winston, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 18:

Of course, living in the South was never an option—the main problem being they have too much respect for authority; they're soldier-sniffers and cop lovers. I don't respect that, and I could never live with it. There's also way too much religion in the South to be consistent with good mental health.

1997, George Carlin, “WELL, YA GOTTA LIVE SOMEPLACE”, in Brain Droppings, New York: Hyperion Books, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 16:

In the discussions we had sitting around church basements, I learned that, despite the obvious differences in our environments, these kids were more like me than I ever could have imagined. They also knew more about what was happening in the civil rights movement in the South. I had only vaguely heard of Rosa Parks and Dr. Martin Luther King, but these discussions sparked my interest.

2003, Hillary Rodham Clinton, “University of Life”, in Living History, →ISBN, →OCLC, pages 22–23:

Tohti described a situation then current in Yeyiq Yezisi (Yeyike) township which is reminiscent of share-cropping in the post-bellum American south.

[2007, James A. Millward, Eurasian Crossroads: A History of Xinjiang, London: Hurst & Company, published 2021, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 365:

I should add a story, you know in the South at that time, Governor Barnett was sort of known as a bit of a dim bulb. And two years before, during the presidential campaign, one of the flashpoints in the debates that fall involved two Nationalist Chinese islands just off the coast of China: Quemoy and Matsu. And right after this argument erupted in the campaign, Ross Barnett was out politicking one day and the reporters asked him, "Governor, what about Quemoy and Matsu?" And he looked around sort of lost and said to one of his aides, "Them those two fellers I put on the Fishing and Game Commission last year?"

2012, 42:09 from the start, in Listening In: JFK's Secret Tapes, Thomas Oliphant (actor), John F. Kennedy Library Foundation:

(US) The south-eastern states of the United States, including many of the same states as formed the Confederacy.

Südstaaten

the southern states of the United States


Terror

Proper noun form of terror. Translation of French Terreur, as coined by the Thermidorian Reaction

(politics, history, usually with the) The Reign of Terror during the French Revolution.

(politics, history, usually with the) Any specific one of several historical reigns of terror.


Tomahawk

U.S. Navy surface ships launching Tomahawks against Chinese targets would thus have to approach within China's antiship-missile perimeter to bring their missiles in range (more on this in chapter 4).

2022, Robert J Haddick, Fire on the Water: China, America, and the Future of the Pacific, second edition, Naval Institute Press, →ISBN, page 69:

(military) The BGM-109 Tomahawk Land Attack Missile (TLAM), a long-range, all-weather, subsonic cruise missile with stubby wings, which can be launched from a ship or submarine.


U

en-adj

U (not generally comparable, comparative Uer, superlative Uest)

An abbreviation of a word or term beginning with the letter U. Adjective sense 1 (“characteristic of the upper classes”) was coined by British linguist Alan S. C. Ross (1907–1980) in a 1954 article, and popularized by the English journalist and writer Nancy Mitford (1904–1973).

(not comparable, education, espionage) Usually in parentheses: abbreviation of unclassified.


VAT

And neither party is up for imposing a VAT in place of the current income tax system.

2024 December 28, Jonathan Nicholson, “Yes, There Are Ways To Cut The Budget Deficit. 'DOGE' Hasn’t Found Them So Far.”, in HuffPost:

(taxation) Initialism of value added tax.

BTW

initialism for value-added tax — see also value added tax


W

Abbreviations of various words beginning with W.

(law enforcement) Abbreviation of warrant.


W

(US politics, informal) George W. Bush (born 1946), the 43rd president of the United States (2001–2009).


Whig

From Whiggamore, possibly from Scots whiggamore (“horse driver”), from whig (“to drive”) + mare.

whig

a member of an 18th- and 19th-century political party

One was a piece, Two Cheers for the Whig Interpretation of History, by William Cronon, president of the American Historical Association.

2012 October 3, Rebekah Higgitt, “Why whiggish won't do”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

(UK politics, historical) A member of an 18th- and 19th-century political party in Britain that was opposed to the Tories, and eventually became the Liberal Party.

(UK politics, rare) A member (especially a politician) of the former Liberal Party or its successor, the Liberal Democrats.

(US politics, historical) An advocate of war against, or independence from, Britain during the American Revolution.

(US politics, historical) A member of a 19th-century US political party opposed to the Democratic Party.


White

Capitalized due to this racial sense's connotation of (current or historical) European origin, so as to follow the capitalization rules for nationalities and ethne, known in former centuries as “races” (e.g., “the Chinese race”, “the English race”), and also, perhaps, as a way to explicitly distinguish it from the color sense, which is never capitalized outside proper nouns.

White (disambiguation)#Places in the United States

(historical, politics) An anticommunist who fought against the Reds during the Russian Civil War; the term is mostly associated with monarchist forces.


champagne

en-noun

champagne (countable and uncountable, plural champagnes)

champagnes (plural)
Champagne (alternative)

Borrowed from French champagne (“sparkling wine from the Champagne region”), from Champagne (“region and former province of France”), from Late Latin campānia (in full Campānia Rēmēnsis), from campāneus (“of or pertaining to the fields”), from Latin campus (“level ground; field, plain”), from Proto-Indo-European *kh₂emp- (“to bend, curve”). The English word is a doublet of campagna (“flat stretch of countryside”) (dated), campaign, and campania.

shampanjë

sparkling white wine produced in Champagne

cava

Spanish sparkling white wine made with the méthode champenoise

crémant

French sparkling wine that isn't from the Champagne region

prosecco

Italian sparkling white wine made by dual fermentation method in vats

spumante

Italian sparkling wine, sometimes made with the méthode champenoise

Alternative forms: champaine, champain

Two rows of Vair, on a champagne gules an open crown or (both 2 and 3 for CRONBERG).

1892, John Woodward, George Burnett, A Treatise on Heraldry, British and Foreign: With English and French Glossaries, page 489:

[…] on a champagne in base gules a wyvern, wings expanded or (for Vandalia); on the centre of the cross a quartered shield:[…]

1915, Guy Cadogan Rothery, A. B. C. of Heraldry, page 277:

(heraldry) (An ordinary occupying) the base of the shield, either flat-topped (like the chief at the top of the shield) or curved (as in a mount or trimount).


champagne

A Point Dexter parted, A Point Champagne, A Point plain, A Point in Point, […]

1726, John Guillim, The banner display'd: or, An abridgment of Guillim by S. Kent, page 31:

(heraldry) Alternative form of champaine.


RAAF

Royal Australian Air Force
w:Royal Australian Air Force

(Australia, military, aviation) Initialism of Royal Australian Air Force.


backfire

en-verb

backfire (third-person singular simple present backfires, present participle backfiring, simple past and past participle backfired)

backfires (present singular third-person)
backfiring (participle present)
backfired (participle past)
backfired (past)

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

(firefighting) To set a back fire (small, controlled fire to limit spread of a larger fire).


backfire

(firefighting) Alternative spelling of back fire.


MAC

Military Airlift Command
w:Military Airlift Command

(US military) Acronym of Military Airlift Command, formerly, one of three former divisions of the US airforce, the others being SAC and TAC.


MAC

en-noun

MAC (countable and uncountable, plural MACs)

merchant aircraft carrier
w:merchant aircraft carrier

(military, nautical, aviation, historical) Initialism of merchant aircraft carrier.


DB

(US, military) Initialism of depot brigade.


interdict

en-verb

interdict (third-person singular simple present interdicts, present participle interdicting, simple past and past participle interdicted)

interdicts (present singular third-person)
interdicting (participle present)
interdicted (participle past)
interdicted (past)

From Middle English entrediten, from Old French entredire (“forbid”), from Latin interdīcō (“prohibit, forbid”), from inter- (“between”) + dīcō (“say”), from Proto-Indo-European *deyḱ-.

Grant did not cease his efforts to interdict Lee's supply lines and break through the defenses.

1988, James McPherson, Battle Cry of Freedom, Oxford, published 2004, page 756:

(transitive, US, military) To impede (an enemy); to interrupt or destroy (enemy communications, supply lines etc).


buckle

The noun is derived from Middle English bokel (“spiked metal ring for fastening; ornamental clasp; boss of a shield; a shield, buckler; (figurative) means of defence”) [and other forms], from Old French boucle, bocle (“spiked metal ring for fastening; boss of a shield; a shield”) [and other forms], from Latin buccula (“cheek strap of a helmet; boss of a shield”) (from bucca (“soft part of the cheek”)).
Noun sense 2 (“great conflict or struggle”) is probably derived from verb sense 1.2.1 (“to apply (oneself) to, or prepare (oneself) for, a task or work”).
The verb is derived from Middle English bokelen, bukelen (“to fasten (something) with a buckle or clasp; to fasten, make fast; to wrap; to arch the body”) [and other forms], from bokel (noun) (see above) + -en (suffix forming the infinitive of verbs).
In verb sense 1.2.1, the sense “to apply (oneself) to, or prepare (oneself) for, a task or work” was derived from the now obsolete sense “to equip (oneself) for a battle, etc.”, and originally alluded to armour being buckled on to the body.

nb...

bocle, bocul, bocule, bocull, boculle, bogil, bogyll, bokell, bokle, bokull, bokyll, bokylle, boucle, bukel, bukkel, bukle, bukyll, bukylle

إِبْزِيم

A metal clasp with a hinged tongue or a spike through which a belt or strap is passed and penetrated by the tongue or spike, in order to fasten the ends of the belt together or to secure the strap to something else.

(Canada, heraldry) An image of a clasp (sense 1) used as the brisure of an eighth daughter.

solki

image of a clasp used as the brisure of an eighth daughter


brigade

(military) Military unit composed of several regiments (or battalions) and including soldiers from different arms of service.


cold case

‘I had my researchers check the files on all the mispers and cold cases five years either side of that date estimate, on females of that approximate age. This is what they found. Fill your boots.’ He took a large gulp of his drink. / ‘I’m impressed, you've been moving fast.’ / ‘On it like a car bonnet, mate.’

2015, Peter James, You Are Dead, New York, N.Y.: Minotaur Books, →ISBN:

(law enforcement, slang) A criminal investigation that has not been solved after a considerable time but remains on the books and may be reopened when new evidence appears.


fanny

The British naval slang sense derives from Fanny Adams. Tins of mutton introduced as rations were not liked by the sailors and were taken by them to contain the butchered remains of Fanny Adams who had been brutally murdered and dismembered. The tins were re-used for eating from and cooking with.

I put on a big fanny of Ky, that is a straight-sided pot of cocoa for them returning.

2005, Patrick Halliday, Survival, page 24:

(UK, naval slang) Mess kettle or cooking pot.


napoleon

en-noun

napoleon (countable and uncountable, plural napoleons)

napoleons (plural)
Napoleon (alternative)

/nəˈpəʊlɪən/

Borrowed from French Napoléon (“given name, usually in reference to Napoleon Bonaparte”). In reference to coins, via French napoléon (“(slang) a coin that originally had the appearance of Napoleon's face in the obverse”). In reference to guns and possibly cards, in reference to Napoleon III.

bor

(historical weaponry) Clipping of Napoleon gun, a 12-pounder cannon first used by the Second French Empire.

napoleon

12-pounder cannon of the Second French Empire


CB

en-noun

CB (countable and uncountable, plural CBs)

(military, historical) The United States Navy hull classification symbol for a large cruiser.

construction battalion
construction battalion#English

(military) Initialism of construction battalion.

confined to barracks
confined to barracks#English

(British military) Initialism of confined to barracks.


CB

‘Twenty days C.B.,’ said one. ‘Twenty years, more likely,’ said another.

1974, GB Edwards, The Book of Ebenezer Le Page, New York, published 2007, page 133:

(military, initialism) confined to barracks (a punishment in the army).


RIC

(politics, economics) Initialism of Russia, India and China (trilateral summit).


CG

guided missile cruiser
guided missile cruiser

(US, military, nautical) A guided missile cruiser.

(US, military, nautical) Initialism of coast guard.


DD

DD (countable and uncountable, plural DDs)

(US, military, nautical) Abbreviation of destroyer, a type of warship.

dishonorable discharge
dishonorable discharge#English

(military) Initialism of dishonorable discharge.


PSW

personal support worker
personal support worker#English

(healthcare) Initialism of personal support worker.


blivet

Unknown; seems to have been coined by American soldiers in World War Two.

(military) A portable, collapsible container for liquid fuel.


WWU

(healthcare) Initialism of weighted work unit.


hit home

en-verb

hit home (third-person singular simple present hits home, present participle hitting home, simple past and past participle hit home)

hits home (present singular third-person)
hitting home (participle present)
hit home (participle past)
hit home (past)

This revised situation doesn't go well for poor old Nagato. Whilst curls of smoke and scorch marks along the hulls and superstructures of Washington and Alabama do tell of some Japanese shells hitting home, neither of them seem particularly perturbed by this. Instead, their fire begins to overhaul the Japanese battleship, and, sooner or later, another salvo of 16-inch shells - no one's quite sure whether it comes from Alabama or Washington - smashes into the base of the superfiring aft turret.

2021 May 5, Drachinifel, 32:32 from the start, in Battle of Samar - What if TF34 was there?, archived from the original on 2022-08-08:

(of an attack, weapon, or projectile) To strike its target with damaging effect.

ū

To strike its target of a blow, or weapon, with damaging effect


UCO

en-noun

UCO (countable and uncountable, plural UCOs)

(UK, law enforcement) Initialism of undercover officer.


residency

residency (countable and uncountable, plural residencies)

(US, healthcare) The position or term of a medical resident.


take on

en-verb

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

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

(intransitive, UK, military) To enlist into military service.


standee

(military) A kind of stackable bunk for sleeping.


DAB

w:Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong

(Hong Kong politics) Initialism of Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong (a pro-Beijing political party in the HKSAR).


snafu

snafu (third-person singular simple present snafus, present participle snafuing, simple past and past participle snafued)

snafus (present singular third-person)
snafuing (participle present)
snafued (participle past)
snafued (past)

(military, slang) To screw up, fuck up, or foul up.


snapshot

How quick the eye and hand to catch him [the ruffed grouse] when he rises from the underbrush and is out of sight in the wood before the untrained sportsman stops him with what is little more than a snapshot, so instantaneously must all be done!

1892, Stanley Waterloo, A Man and a Woman:

(firearms) A quick offhand shot, made without deliberately taking aim over the sights.


breakaway

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

From break + away, a deverbal from break away.

2011, Colleen Aycock and Mark Scott (eds.), The First Black Boxing Champions: Essays on Fighters of the 1800s to the 1920s, Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co., Appendix: The Great Fights, George Dixon vs. Jack Skelly (September 6, 1892), p. 262,
The gong sounded almost immediately after the breakaway.

(boxing) The act of getting away from one's opponent; the separation of the boxers after a spell of infighting.


PO

(law enforcement) Initialism of police officer.

probation officer
probation officer#English

(law enforcement) Initialism of probation officer.


modus operandi

en-noun

modus operandi (plural modi operandi or modus operandis)

modi operandi (plural)
modus operandis (plural)

Borrowed from Latin modus operandī, from modus (“manner, method”) and operandī (“of working”).

(law enforcement) A known criminal's established habits and mode of work when committing specific offences, especially fraud, matched with characteristics of an unsolved crime to narrow down (limit to a specific list) or profile suspects.


GP

GP (countable and uncountable, plural GPs or GP)

general practitioner
general practitioner#English

(countable, healthcare) Initialism of general practitioner; also G.P.


primary care

In early 2002, Kaohsiung City Medical Association (the respondent), in an official letter drafted by Disciplinary Committee Director Chen Si-Chuan and sent to members in the name of association Chairman Hsiao Chi-wen, notified members that beginning in February 2002 on a trial basis, primary care clinics in the association's northern and southern jurisdiction would begin a rotating holiday system on Sundays, with those clinics in the southern jurisdiction (the city's Hsinhsing, Lingya, Hsiaokang, Chienchin and Chienchen districts) closing on those Sundays falling on even-numbered dates and those clinics in the northern jurisdiction (the city's Sanmin, Tsoying, Nantze, Chichin, Kushan and Yencheng districts) closing on those Sunday falling on odd-numbered dates.

2008 December 18, “Ex-officio investigation by the Fair Trade Commission into Kaohsiung City Medical Association's restriction that members of primary care clinic must not see patients every other Sunday, in violation of the Fair Trade Law”, in Fair Trade Commission, archived from the original on 2022-09-24:

general practitioner
general practitioner

(healthcare) The medical attention that a patient receives upon first contact with a healthcare system; either a general practitioner or the A&E or ER department of a hospital.


ER

(US politics) Initialism of Eleanor Roosevelt.


ER

ER (countable and uncountable, plural ERs)

(military) Initialism of enhanced radiation.


padding

padding (countable and uncountable, plural paddings)

(military, cryptography) Extraneous text added to a message for the purpose of concealing its beginning, ending, or length.


FLOTUS

First Lady of the United States
First Lady of the United States#English

(US politics) Acronym of First Lady of the United States.


tiller

From Middle English teler, from Anglo-Norman telier (“beam used in weaving”), from Medieval Latin telarium, from Latin tēla (“web”).

der

You can shoot in a tiller.

c. 1608–1610, Francis Beaumont, John Fletcher, “Philaster: Or, Love Lies a Bleeding”, in Comedies and Tragedies […], London: […] Humphrey Robinson, […], and for Humphrey Moseley […], published 1679, →OCLC, Act II, scene ii:

(archery) The stock; a beam on a crossbow carved to fit the arrow, or the point of balance in a longbow.


AE

• APO/FPO AE ZIPs 094-098 — Space Available Mail, Nov. 26; Parcel Airlift Mail, Dec. 3; Priority Mail, Dec. 10; First Class Mail Letters and Cards, Dec.10 and Express Mail Military Service, Dec. 18.
• APO/FPO AA ZIP 340 — Space Available Mail, Nov. 26; Parcel Airlift Mail, Dec. 3; Priority Mail, Dec. 10; First Class Mail Letters and Cards, Dec. 10 and Express Mail Military Service, Dec. 18.
• APO/FPO AP ZIPs 962-966 — Space Available Mail, Nov. 26; Parcel Airlift Mail, Dec. 3; Priority Mail, Dec. 10; First Class Mail Letters and Cards, Dec. 10 and Express Mail Military Service, Dec. 18.

2010 October 29, Bill Shrum, “Shipping to soldiers for the holidays”, in Stuttgart (Arkansas) Daily Leader:

(US, military) USPS military code of Armed Forces – Europe.


contra

(politics, derogatory) A conservative; originally tied to Nicaraguan counter-revolutionaries.


secco

(Australia, military) Section commander, an infantry soldier responsible for about 8 other soldiers.


detective

→ Catalan: detectiu

→ Dutch: detective

→ French: détective

→ German: Detektiv

desc

→ Greek: ντετέκτιβ (ntetéktiv), ντεντέκτιβ (ntentéktiv)

→ Norwegian Bokmål: detektiv

→ Norwegian Nynorsk: detektiv

→ Portuguese: detetive

→ Spanish: detective

→ Swedish: detektiv

The detective kept them in view. He made his way casually along the inside of the shelter until he reached an open scuttle close to where the two men were standing talking. Eavesdropping was not a thing Larard would have practised from choice, but there were times when, in the public interest, he had to do it, and this was one of them.

1928, Lawrence R. Bourne, chapter 7, in Well Tackled!:

(law enforcement) A police officer tasked with collecting evidence and information in order to solve a crime; an investigator.


ploy

en-verb

ploy (third-person singular simple present ploys, present participle ploying, simple past and past participle ployed)

ploys (present singular third-person)
ploying (participle present)
ployed (participle past)
ployed (past)

Troops drawn up so as to show an extended front, with slight depth, are said to be deployed; when the depth is considerable and the front comparatively small, they are said to be in ployed formation.

1881, Thomas Wilhelm, A Military Dictionary and Gazetteer:

(military) To form a column from a line of troops on some designated subdivision.


squib

Possibly imitative of a small explosion.

unk

Possibly

English Navy squibs set fire to two dozen enemy ships in a Dutch harbor during the 16th-century battle against the Spanish Armada.

The making and selling of fireworks and squibs, or throwing them about on any street, is […] punishable by fine.

1769, William Blackstone, “Of Offences Against the Public Health and the Public Police or Economy”, in Commentaries on the Laws of England, book IV (Of Public Wrongs), Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 531:

(military) A small firework that is intended to spew sparks rather than explode.

(firearms) A malfunction in which the fired projectile does not have enough force behind it to exit the barrel, and thus becomes stuck.


echelon

Borrowed from French échelon (“rung; echelon”), from échelle (“ladder”) + -on (diminutive suffix). Échelle is derived from Latin scāla (“ladder”), from scandō (“to ascend, climb”), from Proto-Indo-European *skend- (“to jump”).

The troops selected by his Royal Highness for this daring exploit, consisted of the war battalions of the 3d, 6th, and 7th regiments of the Royal Guard, forming the first echelon, […]

1833 October, “a royalist”, “Sketches of the War of the French in Spain in the Year 1823”, in The United Service Journal and Naval and Military Magazine, part III, number 59, London: Published for Henry Colburn, by Richard Bentley, New Burlington Street, →OCLC, page 183:

The order in echelons is favorable for attack, because it readily conforms to the nature of the ground, and does not necessitate engaging more than a part of the forces; it is adopted for the purpose of attacking a particular point of the enemy's line.

1863, Ed. [Édouard] De La Barre Duparcq, “Infantry Formation and Tactics”, in George W[ashington] Cullum, transl., Elements of Military Art and History: Comprising the History and Tactics of the Separate Arms; the Combination of the Arms; and the Minor Operations of War, New York, N.Y.: D[avid] Van Nostrand, 192 Broadway, page 84:

As soon as the infantry had replenished their ammunition, they wheeled to the left in échelon of brigades, and began to march towards Surgham ridge. The movements of a great force are slow. It was not desirable that the British division, which led the échelon, should remain in the low ground north of Surgham—where it was commanded, had no field of fire, and could see nothing—and accordingly both these brigades moved forward almost together to occupy the crest of the ridge.

1899, Winston Spencer Churchill, “The Battle of Omdurman: September 2, 1898”, in F[rancis] Rhodes, editor, The River War: An Historical Account of the Reconquest of the Soudan [...] In Two Volumes, volume II, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 89 Paternoster Row, →OCLC, pages 145–146:

“The first echelon of the Russian force was stuck without heat, without oil, without bombs and without gas. And it all happened because of the work of 30 people,” Honchar said.

2022 March 28, Julian Borger, quoting Yaroslav Honchar, “The drone operators who halted Russian convoy headed for Kyiv”, in The Guardian:

(military) A formation of troops, ships, etc., in diagonal parallel rows.


echelon

en-verb

echelon (third-person singular simple present echelons, present participle echeloning, simple past and past participle echeloned)

echelons (present singular third-person)
echeloning (participle present)
echeloned (participle past)
echeloned (past)

July 1, Montcalm made a movement in advance, echeloning his troops from Fort Carillon to the foot of Lake George, to curb the enemy, and obstruct their landing.

1860, François-Xavier Garneau, “Battle of Carillon (Ticonderoga). 1758.”, in Andrew Bell, transl., History of Canada, from the Time of Its Discovery till the Union Year (1840–1): Translated from “L’Histoire du Canada” of F. X. Garneau, Esq., and Accompanied with Illustrative Notes, etc., etc. … In Three Volumes, volume II, Montreal, Que.: Printed and published by John Lovell, St. Nicholas Street, →OCLC, page 205:

Behind the 17th Panzer Division the corps echeloned the main force of its other division, the 16th Panzer Division.

1968, Earl F[rederick] Ziemke, “Offensives on Both Flanks—the South Flank”, in Stalingrad to Berlin: The German Defeat in the East (Army Historical Series), Washington, D.C.: Office of the Chief of Military History, U.S. Army, →OCLC; republished Washington, D.C.: Center of Military History, United States Army, 2002, →OCLC, page 225:

(transitive, military) To form troops into an echelon.


kevlar

en-noun

kevlar (countable and uncountable, plural kevlars)

(countable, US, slang, military) A piece of personal protective equipment made from Kevlar, such as a helmet or a vest.


ICE

Mr. Schlossberg’s rant angered activists for immigrant rights, who said it reinforced stereotypes that Spanish speakers are not citizens. And they worried that it perpetuated fear within immigrant communities of ICE’s aggressive tactics to deport those who are undocumented.

2018 May 22, Liz Robbins, Maya Salam, “‘I Am Not Racist’: Lawyer Issues Apology One Week After Rant”, in The New York Times:

ICE agents were joined Sunday by officials from multiple Justice Department agencies as they targeted what they said are public safety and national security threats.

2025 January 26, Priscilla Alvarez and Rosa Flores, “Trump administration launches nationwide immigration enforcement blitz”, in CNN:

Immigration and Customs Enforcement
w:Immigration and Customs Enforcement

(government, US) Acronym of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“law-enforcement agency responsible for immigration and customs matters of the United States Federal government”).


PD

PD (countable and uncountable, plural PDs)

police department
police department#English

(law enforcement) Initialism of police department.

... WILFORD J. WILLY CMA SR GRADE LIEUTENANT AND JOSEPH P. KENNEDY SR GRADE LIEUTENANT CMA BOTH USNR CMA WERE KILLED PD COMMANDER SMITH ...

1944, telegram to Gen. Carl Andrew Spaatz from Gen. Jimmy Doolittle; Edward Renehan, The Kennedys at War, 1937-1945 (2002), Doubleday, page 304

(U.S. military) Abbreviation of period (full stop) punctuation mark, used in communication systems without punctuation (e.g., telegrams).

period

The Progressive Democrats (PDs) are the junior partner in the governing coalition led by Bertie Ahern and his Fianna Fail party. […] Mr McDowell, a formidable barrister with a reputation as a political hothead, was elected leader of the PDs unopposed […].

2006 September 11, Owen Bowcott, “Outspoken justice minister to be Ireland's deputy leader”, in The Guardian:

Progressive Democrat
Progressive Democrat#English

(Ireland, politics, historical) Initialism of Progressive Democrat.


DPS

New, previously registered vehicles purchased in Texas or another state would be required to pay an initial inspection program replacement fee of $16.75 to cover two years, according to [Texas] DPS.

2024 October 2, Julianna Russ, “Texas vehicle safety inspections going away, but you’ll still have to pay”, in KXAN, archived from the original on 2024-12-08:

Department of Public Safety
w:Department of Public Safety

(US, government) Initialism of Department of Public Safety.


RV

RVs (plural)
RV's (plural)
R.V. (alternative)
R.V. (alternative)
R. V. (alternative)
R/V (alternative)
r.v. (alternative)

RV point

Once all mounted up, the two multiples sped off to the emergency RV point.

2007 Pte John Catterson, Army The Soldiers Newspaper, The Australian Army (Retrieved 14 July 2009)

(military) Abbreviation of rendezvous, a position where units are to meet.

(politics) Initialism of registered voter.


RV

en-verb

RV (third-person singular simple present RVs or RV's, present participle RVing or RV'ing or RV-ing, simple past and past participle RVed or RV'd or RV'ed)

RVs (present singular third-person)
RV's (present singular third-person)
RVing (participle present)
RV'ing (participle present)
RV-ing (participle present)
RVed (participle past)
RVed (past)
RV'd (participle past)
RV'd (past)
RV'ed (participle past)
RV'ed (past)

We'll RV at the crossroads in Brandon at twenty hundred.


TOS

taken on strength
take on strength#English

(Commonwealth, military, historical) Initialism of taken on strength.


at large

From Middle English at large (“at liberty or freedom”) (compare Middle English ben at large (“to be at one's liberty, be free”)). Compare Old French au large (“at liberty” and other senses).

cog

The city has five city council districts; however, the mayor is elected at large.

Although the elections for Boston City Council seats are still seven months away, the race between at-large candidates is beginning to heat up.

1991 May 4, Elizabeth Yukins, “City Council Candidates Lobby For The Gay Vote”, in Gay Community News, page 3:

(US, politics, of an election or elected position) Having an electorate across multiple districts.

不分區 /不分区

having an electorate across multiple districts


conical

(firearms) A bullet with a conical shape.


fugazi

Origin unknown; a number of possibilities have been suggested:
* One theory is that it is a corruption of French fougasse (“type of land mine”); flame fougasses were used extensively in the Korean and Vietnam Wars.
* Less plausibly, it might be from English fugacious (“fleeting”) or cognates such as Italian fugace (“fleeting”).
* It has also been suggested that it could be an acronym of “fucked up, got ambushed, zipped in [a body bag]”, but this is more likely a backronym, not the origin (compare FUBAR).

The two of them were getting bombed on bami-bam, beer, and joints laced with opium. That made answers to questions a long time in coming. "Hey, man, what the fuck can I tell you," said Robbie finally. "All fugazi over here. All fucked up. Number ten. The worst. Don't matter what goes down in this asshole country, know what I mean? Hey, papa-san, don't believe everything you hear, okay?"

1982, Marc Olden, chapter 7, in Giri, New York, N.Y.: Arbor House, →ISBN; republished [New York, N.Y.]: MysteriousPress.com/Open Road Integrated Media, 2012, →ISBN:

We didn't know anything was fugazi* until we got to a certain place in the South China Sea. A loudspeaker came over the air, "This is your captain speaking. Be advised that your destination is Da Nang, Republic of Vietnam."

1986, Mark Baker, Nam: The Vietnam War in the Words of the Men and Women Who Fought, New York, N.Y.: Berkley Books, →ISBN, page 32:

First time I met her. we were stuck on recon. far from the AO. deep in Indian country. the ops completely fugazi. the horn dead. and my BTO sick as skunkrot. She comes creeping by our ditch.

2008, Audrey Shafer, The Mailbox, New York, N.Y.: Random House, →ISBN, page 67:

(US, chiefly military, especially during the Vietnam War era, slang) Fucked up; broken, damaged beyond repair.


kafir

en-noun

kafir (countable and uncountable, plural kuffar or kafirs)

kuffar (plural)
kafirs (plural)
kâfir (alternative)
kāfir (alternative)

Borrowed from Arabic كَافِر (kāfir, “denier, unbeliever”). Doublet of kaffir.

bor

In his sermon, Amir Hamza espoused extremist and segregationist views. He inferred that non-Muslims are “kafir” (infidels).

2024 August 21, “Investigation Into Bangladeshi Preacher Amir Hamza’s Sermon in Singapore on 9 August 2024”, in Ministry of Home Affairs (Singapore):

(Islam, countable, offensive, religious slur, politics) A disbeliever, a denier: someone who rejects or disbelieves in Allah or the tenets of Islam; or more broadly any non-Muslim.


OTC

Officers Training Corps
w:Officers Training Corps

(military) Initialism of Officers Training Corps (part of the British Army).


PT

en-noun

PT (countable and uncountable, plural PTs)

(US, military, nautical) Initialism of patrol torpedo.

(US, military, aviation) Initialism of patrol trainer (“a trainer that is also a patrol aircraft”)


COA

(Australian politics) Clipping of coalition (“Liberal–National coalition”).


ADL

She presented the second time unable to perform her ADLs with latent and perseverative speech, thought blocking, disorganized thought processes and behavior, delusions of being poisoned, and was preoccupied with bizarre physical symptoms.

2009, Marfan Syndrome and Schizophrenia: A Case Report and Literature Review, by Mary Lemberg, MD and Alexander W. Thompson, MD, MBA

activities of daily living
activities of daily living#English

(healthcare) Initialism of activities of daily living, a set of activities such as bathing, feeding, or relieving oneself.


KO

Initialism of knock out.
Initialism of kick-off.


KO

en-verb

KO (third-person singular simple present KOs or KO's, present participle KOing or KO'ing, simple past and past participle KOed or KO'd)

KOs (present singular third-person)
KO's (present singular third-person)
KOing (participle present)
KO'ing (participle present)
KOed (participle past)
KOed (past)
KO'd (participle past)
KO'd (past)

Joe KO'd the opposing boxer.

(transitive, boxing) To knock someone out, to render someone unconscious.


APA

American Psychiatric Association
w:American Psychiatric Association

(healthcare) Initialism of American Psychiatric Association.


CAA

Canadian Arctic Archipelago
Canadian Arctic Archipelago#English

(geography, politics, Canada) Abbreviation of Canadian Arctic Archipelago.

Civil Aviation Authority
Civil Aviation Authority#English

(aviation, government) any of several particular civil aviation authorities:

(of Norway, UK) Initialism of Civil Aviation Authority.

CAAP

Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines

Civil Aviation Agency
Civil Aviation Agency#English

(of Ethiopia, Latvia, Slovenia) Initialism of Civil Aviation Agency.

Civil Aviation Administration
Civil Aviation Administration#English

(of China, Norway, Sweden, Vietnam) Initialism of Civil Aviation Administration.


CAA

civil aviation authority
civil aviation authority#English

national aviation authority
national aviation authority

(government, aviation) Initialism of civil aviation authority, the national aviation authority (NAA) for civil aviation.


HR

en-noun

HR (countable and uncountable, plural HRs)

/eɪt͡ʃ ɑː(ɹ)/

(law, politics) Initialism of house resolution.


roundup

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

(law enforcement) The similar police activity of gathering together suspects.


bowman

From Middle English boweman, bouman, boughman, equivalent to bow + -man.

The whole londe ſhal fle, foꝛ the noyſe of the hoꝛſmen and bowmen: […]

1535 October 14 (Gregorian calendar), Myles Coverdale, transl., Biblia: The Byble, […] (Coverdale Bible), [Cologne or Marburg]: [Eucharius Cervicornus and Johannes Soter?], →OCLC, Jeremy [Jeremiah] iiij:[29], folio xxv, verso, column 2:

The walls are slitted with embrasures through which bowmen could fire, indicating that the belfry also served as a stronghold during border skirmishes.

1980, AA Book of British Villages, Drive Publications Ltd, page 311, about the church at Pembridge:

(archery) A man who uses a bow; an archer.


EC

European Commission
w:European Commission

(politics, economics) Initialism of European Commission.


WP

white phosphorus
white phosphorus#English

(military) Initialism of white phosphorus.

(military) Initialism of weapons procurement.


RFC

(aviation, military, historical) Initialism of Royal Flying Corps (previous title of the Royal Air Force)


COBRA

Cabinet Office Briefing Room A
w:Cabinet Office Briefing Rooms

(UK politics) Initialism of Cabinet Office Briefing Room A.

(UK politics, by extension) Acronym of Cabinet Office Briefing Rooms.


COBRA

(UK politics, by extension) A cabinet committee meeting that would use a COBR room

(UK politics, by extension) A cabinet committee that would meet using a COBR room


AAP

affirmative action
affirmative action#English

(US, sociology, politics) Initialism of affirmative action program.


AAP

(military, NATO) Initialism of Allied Administrative Publication.


RSC

RSC (countable and uncountable, plural RSCs)

(boxing) Initialism of referee stops the contest.


RCMP

R.C.M.P. (alternative)
R. C. M. P. (alternative)

Canada had an international reputation for politeness. The RCMP Special Branch did not.

2020, Patrick Ness, Burn, Walker Books Ltd (2021), page 50:

Royal Canadian Mounted Police
w:Royal Canadian Mounted Police

(Canada, law enforcement) Initialism of Royal Canadian Mounted Police.


AMC

Air Mobility Command
w:Air Mobility Command

(US military) Initialism of Air Mobility Command.


SIU

(law enforcement, Canada) Initialism of special investigation(s)/investigating unit.


CPS

Last year, for example, Raab wrote a paper for the Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) – since the birth of Thatcherism one of the radical right's fiercest thinktanks […]

2012 August 22, Andy Beckett, “Britannia Unchained: the rise of the new Tory right”, in The Guardian:

Centre for Policy Studies
w:Centre for Policy Studies

(UK politics) Initialism of Centre for Policy Studies.


FOIA

First use appears c. 1968, in the publication Administrative Law Review.

FOIA is what enables regular people to pester powerful federal agencies into handing over information about what they’ve been up to. FOIA’s website calls it “the law that keeps citizens in the know about their government.”

2017 July 23, Michelle Cottle, “The War on the Freedom of Information Act”, in The Atlantic:

The watchdog group behind the FOIA litigation has taken up Cooper’s invitation for discovery, seeking depositions of Gleason and of Steve Davis, a longtime Musk adviser now involved with DOGE, as well as other internal information about its work.

2025 March 30, Tierney Sneed, “Is DOGE actually an agency? The answer could have major ramifications”, in CNN:

w:Freedom of Information Act (United States)

(law, US politics) Acronym of Freedom of Information Act.


LFC

(healthcare) Initialism of Licensed Foster Care.


MRE

After first trying an M.R.E. at age 8 — his father bought him one from an Army supply store in Lakewood, Fla., where Mr. Thomas still lives — he became obsessed with tracking down rations from various countries and eras. […] Still, M.R.E.s are far from mainstream.

2021 June 8, Priya Krishna, “Unloved by Generations of Soldiers, the M.R.E. Finds a Fan Base”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 2021-06-08:

(US military) Initialism of Meal, Ready-to-Eat: an individual field ration used by the US military.


SSA

(government, US) Initialism of Social Security Administration.


OHA

Overseas Housing Allowance
w:Overseas Housing Allowance

(military, US) Initialism of Overseas Housing Allowance.


OT

OT (countable and uncountable, plural OTs)

Occupational therapists (OTs), with their skills in promoting greater mobility, are a key ingredient in this multidisciplinary, more proactive approach. […] In many areas, similar thinking is driving new work on integrating healthcare professionals, including OTs, to maximise resources and to improve patient care.

2016 June 30, Kate Murray, “How occupational therapists help keep older people out of hospital”, in The Guardian:

occupational therapist
occupational therapist#English

(healthcare) Initialism of occupational therapist.

occupational therapy
occupational therapy#English

(healthcare) Initialism of occupational therapy.


heavyweight

(uncountable, boxing) The professional boxing weight class for boxers weighing more than 190 pounds; a boxer in that division.


bailiff

From Middle English baillif, baylyf, from Anglo-Norman and Old French bailif (plural bailis), probably from Vulgar Latin *bāiulivus (“castellan”), from Latin bāiulus (“porter; steward”), whence also bail. As a translation of foreign titles, semantic loan from French bailli, Scots bailie, Dutch baljuw, etc. Mostly replaced the role of native reeve. Doublet of bailo.

Bailiffs of Jersey and Guernsey
High Bailiff of the Isle of Man
Landvogt
bailiff

مَأْمُور

equivalent officers of the court in foreign contexts

(law enforcement) An officer of the court, particularly:

(historical, Norman term) A reeve, (specifically) the chief officer executing the decisions of any English court in the period following the Norman Conquest or executing the decisions of lower courts in the late medieval and early modern period.

(UK) A high bailiff: an officer of the county courts responsible for executing warrants and court orders, appointed by the judge and removable by the Lord Chancellor.

(UK) A bound bailiff: a deputy bailiff charged with debt collection.

(US) Any law enforcement officer charged with courtroom security and order.

teremőr

a law enforcement officer charged with courtroom security and order

process server

in role of serving processes and summonses

A huissier de justice or other foreign officer of the court acting as either a process server or as courtroom security.


hace

Intentional mispronunciation of face, as per harch and ten-hut.

Right hace!

(military, marching band, when preceded by a direction) A command to turn to face in a particular direction.

marching band; when preceded by a direction; marching band; when preceded by a direction


ruffle

From Middle English ruffelen, perhaps from Old Norse hrufla (“to graze, scratch”) or Middle Low German ruffelen (“to wrinkle, curl”). Further origin unknown. Related to Middle Dutch ruyffelen, German Low German ruffeln. See English ruff.

unk

unknown

(military) A low, vibrating beat of a drum, quieter than a roll; a ruff.


ruffle

en-verb

ruffle (third-person singular simple present ruffles, present participle ruffling, simple past and past participle ruffled)

ruffles (present singular third-person)
ruffling (participle present)
ruffled (participle past)
ruffled (past)

unk

unknown

(military) To beat with the ruff or ruffle, as a drum.


TBS

(military, US) Initialism of The Basic School.


WW

WWs (plural)
W.W. (alternative)
w.w. (alternative)

(World War I military slang) Initialism of wild woman, i.e. prostitute.


ACC

en-noun

ACC (countable and uncountable, plural ACCs)

assistant chief constable
assistant chief constable#English

(law enforcement, Commonwealth) Initialism of assistant chief constable, a police rank used in Commonwealth countries.


NIH

“This action aims to ensure that WIV does not receive another dollar of federal funding,” an HHS spokesperson said in a statement. “The move was undertaken due to WIV’s failure to provide documentation on WIV’s research requested by NIH related to concerns that WIV violated NIH’s biosafety protocols.”

2023 July 19, Jeremy Diamond and Simone McCarthy, “Biden administration suspends funding for Wuhan lab”, in CNN:

National Institutes of Health
w:National Institutes of Health

(government, US) Initialism of National Institutes of Health.


GS

(politics) Initialism of global studies.


GMC

(politics, UK) Initialism of General Management Committee (“the general committee of a constituency party of the British Labour Party”).


GI

Soldiers counted cadence by chanting: “GI brush / And GI comb / Gee, I wish that I was home!”

(military) Initialism of general issue, given to a soldier by the army (as an item), rather than brought from home; or used by the army (as a procedure), and different from its civilian counterpart.


GI

GI (countable and uncountable, plural GIs)

(military) A member of the U.S. military.


GI

en-verb

GI (third-person singular simple present GIs, present participle GIing, simple past and past participle GIed)

GIs (present singular third-person)
GIing (participle present)
GIed (participle past)
GIed (past)
G.I. (alternative)

Top, get the unit to GI this AO before the old man arrives.

Afterwards, a lifer noncom would go ape shit over his low-speed high-drag peons and plan a GI party, sometimes giving his half-stepping shamurai warriors instructions about dust bunnies and getting everything dress right dress while adjusting their headspace and timing in the front leaning rest position.

2013, Scott Haraburda, Christian Controversies: Seeking the Truth, page 237:


rouse

rouses (plural)
rouze (alternative obsolete)

From Middle English rousen, from Anglo-Norman reuser, ruser, originally used in English of hawks shaking the feathers of the body, from Latin recūsō, by loss of the medial 'c.' Doublet of recuse.
Figurative meaning “to stir up, provoke to activity” is from 1580s; that of “awaken” is first recorded 1590s.

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

(military, British and Canada) The sounding of a bugle in the morning after reveille, to signal that soldiers are to rise from bed, often the rouse.


barry

(heraldry) A field divided transversely into several equal parts, and consisting of two different tinctures interchangeably disposed.


barry

en-adj

barry (comparative more barry, superlative most barry)

more barry (comparative)
most barry (superlative)

(heraldry, not comparable) Traversed (transversely) by bars.


guerrilla

guerrilla (comparative more guerrilla, superlative most guerrilla)

more guerrilla (comparative)
most guerrilla (superlative)
guerilla (alternative)

Borrowed from Spanish guerrilla, diminutive of guerra (“war”), coined during the Peninsular War.

Wherever Nicholson was most wanted, there he was sure to be found. What his life was at this time may be seen from a letter he wrote to his mother: 'I am leading a very guerrilla sort of life with seven hundred horse and foot raised among the people of the country. The chieftain who is in rebellion has eight regular regiments and sixteen guns, so that I am unable to meet them openly in the field.'

1908, George Devereux Oswell, chapter VII, in Sketches of Rulers of India, volume I, page 127:

On the other hand, after the fall of Feng Ling Tu, the operations of Central Shansi, and Suiyuan, troops were more guerrilla than orthodox in nature.

1963, Samuel B. Griffith (translator), Mao Zedong, The Red Book of Guerrilla Warfare, edited by Shawn Conners, published 2010, page 14, original 1937

The Slovak uprising in the latter days was not guerrilla in character, which, incidentally, may have been one of the reasons for its failure.

1976, Walter Laqueur, Guerrilla Warfare, page 205:

(military) Relating to, using, or typical of guerrilla warfare, or its principles of small independent or non-official perpetrators.


BCD

(military) Initialism of bad-conduct discharge.


KP

en-noun

KP (countable and uncountable, plural KPs)

(military) Initialism of kitchen police/patrol (enlisted person assigned to assist in the kitchen, or the role itself).


throughout

/t̪ɹʉuˈaʊt̞/

From Old English þurh ūt, equivalent to through + out. Compare German durchaus (“all the way, fully, absolutely”).

cog

Thus the VON VÖLCKER of Frankfurt bear : Argent, a rose gules, the field embrassé à senestre of the second. We should blazon this : Gules, a pile throughout issuing from the dexter flank, charged with a rose of the field.

1892, John Woodward, George Burnett, A Treatise on Heraldry, British and Foreign: With English and French Glossaries, page 90:

(heraldry) Of an ordinary such as a pile or chevron, or a partition per chevron, etc: extending to the edge of the field (or quarter, chief, etc).


LAT

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


NCAP

en-noun

NCAP (countable and uncountable, plural NCAPs)

(military) Initialism of night combat air patrol.


FAA

(military, nautical, aviation) Initialism of Fleet Air Arm (carrier-borne air force of the U.K.'s Royal Navy).


ATF

According to the ATF, gun makers began cranking out 2.4 million rifles annually in Obama’s first term – a 52 percent increase from the previous four years of the Bush administration.

2017 December 14, David Heath, Elise Hansen and AJ Willingham, CNN Design: Joyce Tseng, “How an ‘ugly,’ unwanted weapon became the most popular rifle in America”, in CNN:

During Tuesday’s ceremony at the ATF headquarters, Dettelbach said being sworn in as the agency’s director is the “single greatest honor of my professional life” but also that it is “most certainly the greatest professional challenge of my life.”

2022 July 19, Hannah Rabinowitz and Veronica Stracqualursi, “Steve Dettelbach sworn in to lead ATF after 7 years of acting directors”, in CNN:

(US, law enforcement) Initialism of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives)


ATF

ATF (countable and uncountable, plural ATFs)

(US, military, aviation) Initialism of advanced tactical fighter.

(US, military, nautical) Initialism of auxiliary tugboat fleet; a naval fleet tugboat, a fleet tug that can keep up with a fleet on operations


CR

CR (countable and uncountable, plural CRs)

Most continuing resolutions are temporary measures that expire on the date specified in the CR, or are superseded by enactment of the regular appropriations act.

2004, Allen Schick, The Federal Budget: Politics, Policy, Process, →ISBN, page 228:

A few days later in a meeting with the president, Clinton asked Gingrich for a continuing resolution (CR) to continue funding the government until they could work out a compromise. “If I go back and try to get a longterm CR without a budget from you, the next time you'll be dealing with Speaker Armey," he said.

2008, Steven M. Gillon, The Pact: Bill Clinton, Newt Gingrich, and the Rivalry that Defined a Generation, →ISBN:

CRs are a common occurrence because it is highly unusual for Congress and the president to pass all 13 appropriations bills by the start of the new fiscal year.

2014, Robert E. Dewhirst, John David Rausch, Encyclopedia of the United States Congress, →ISBN, page 149:

continuing resolution
continuing resolution#English

(US politics, law) Initialism of continuing resolution.


pragmatism

pragmatism (countable and uncountable, plural pragmatisms)

/ˈpɹæɡmətɪzəm/

From Ancient Greek stem of πρᾶγμα (prâgma, “act”) + -ism.

(politics) The theory that political problems should be met with practical solutions rather than ideological ones.

pragmatisme

political theory that problems should be met with/by practical solutions rather than ideological ones


ARV

armored recovery vehicle
w:armoured recovery vehicle

(military) Initialism of armored recovery vehicle.


HRT

HRT (countable and uncountable, plural HRTs)

(law enforcement) Initialism of hostage rescue team.


NIAID

The NIAID supports projects at universities and research organizations around the United States as well as a network of 21 NIAID labs across the country.

2023 August 2, Ben Tinker, Meg Tirrell and Brenda Goodman, “New director named at National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases after Fauci’s retirement”, in CNN:

w:National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

(government, US) Initialism of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.


ACE

ACE (countable and uncountable, plural ACEs)

human recombinant soluble angiotensin-converting enzyme 2

(military, NATO) Initialism of air combat element.

aviation combat element
w:aviation combat element

(military, USMC) Initialism of aviation combat element.


DDS

DDS (countable and uncountable, plural DDSs or DDSes)

DDSs (plural)
DDSes (plural)
D.D.S. (alternative)

(Philippine politics) Initialism of Davao Death Squad.

Diehard Duterte Supporters
w:Diehard Duterte Supporters

(Philippine politics, potentially, derogatory) Initialism of Diehard Duterte Supporters.


PL

The government's primary market promotion tool is Public Law 480, the Food for Peace program. Since its inception in 1954, PL 480 has provided an outlet in less-developed countries for American agricultural surpluses.

1982, Richard Gilmore, A Poor Harvest: The Clash of Policies and Interests in the Grain Trade, page 21:

(US, law, government) Initialism of public law.


CMT

CMT (countable and uncountable, plural CMTs)

(business, healthcare) Initialism of certified massage therapist.


PAC

A PAC may contribute no more than $5,000 to a federal candidate in a general or primary election. PACs have grown to become the second-largest source of campaign funds, trailing only individuals (Herrnson 2004).

2006, Peter L. Francia, The Future of Organized Labor in American Politics, Columbia University Press, →ISBN, page 81:

The new group, called Save America, is a federal fund-raising vehicle known as a leadership PAC that has donation limits of $5,000 per donor per year. […] In that sense, his PAC could become a fan-subsidized machine to perpetuate his agenda and plot his next moves.

2020 November 10, Shane Goldmacher, Maggie Haberman, Rachel Shorey, “Trump Starts PAC for Future Endeavors, Biden Will Speak on Obamacare Case”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

political action committee
w:political action committee

(US politics) Initialism of political action committee.


PAC

(military) Abbreviation of Pacific (“Pacific Ocean”).


LL

(US, military) Initialism of lesson learned.


flamer

A Navy fighter was on the tail of a Jap dive bomber that was headed for the ships in the bay, and he nailed him at about 5,000 feet and made a flamer of him.

1945, The International Blue Printer, volume 18, page 26:

Fellows who didn't enjoy their breakfast unless they'd crept up behind some foolish Hun, put twenty rounds in his petrol tank and made a flamer of him.


tactical

(firearms) Having a military appearance, typically with accessories such as a bipod, adjustable stock, detachable magazine or black coloration.


Tail End Charlie

Tail End Charlie (plural Tail End Charlies)

Tail End Charlies (plural)
Tail-End Charlie (alternative)

(military, slang) The man guarding the rear of a patrol.


FCO

The FCO also disputes Fernández's claim that Britain kicked out the island's original Argentinian inhabitants.

2013 January 3, Luke Harding, Uki Goni, The Guardian:

Foreign and Commonwealth Office
w:Foreign and Commonwealth Office

(British, UK politics) Initialism of Foreign and Commonwealth Office.


JAG

JAG (countable and uncountable, plural JAGs)

Of the three JAGs who were dismissed, I know Lt. Gen. Charles Plummer and worked with him for more than three years.

2025 February 24, Frank Kendall, “America Has a Rogue President”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

(US military, law) Acronym of judge advocate general.


ATO

ATO (countable and uncountable, plural ATOs)

ammunition technical officer
ammunition technical officer#English

(military) Acronym of ammunition technical officer.

(military, Ukraine) Acronym of anti-terrorist operation.


TTP

TTP (countable and uncountable, plural TTPs)

The cyber operation began and used the same malware and TTPs from the Crimea.

2018, Kha M. Nguyen, Learning to Mow Grass: IDF Adaptations to Hybrid Threats, page 33:

Al Qaeda used email as a TTP to communicate with what they called their ‘link man’ to bring the plot to fruition (Silber 2012, 163).

2022, John Michael Weaver, The U.S. Cybersecurity and Intelligence Analysis Challenges, Springer Nature, →ISBN, page 43:

(computer security, military, countable) Initialism of tactic(s), technique(s) and procedure(s).


TD

TD (countable and uncountable, plural TDs)

Fianna Fáil TD Jim O'Callaghan, whose Dublin constituency is home to one of Accenture's office here, said: […]

2023 August 1, “Accenture cuts 890 more job from Irish operation”, in The Irish Times, page 1:

(Irish politics) Initialism of Teachta Dála, a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower chamber of the Parliament of the Republic of Ireland.

Teachta Dála

Territorial Decoration
w:Territorial Decoration

(military) Initialism of Territorial Decoration (previously awarded to officers who had more than 12 years commissioned service in the Territorial Army (UK)).


DSS

Diplomatic Security Service
w:Diplomatic Security Service

(government, US) Initialism of Diplomatic Security Service.


PBT

PBT (countable and uncountable, plural PBTs)

(law enforcement, countable) Initialism of preliminary breath test.


RH

RH (countable and uncountable, plural RHs)

(US, army, aviation) Initialism of reconnaissance helicopter.


PSI

Policy Studies Institute
w:Policy Studies Institute

(UK politics) Initialism of Policy Studies Institute, a British think tank.


SS

en:NATO code for certain surface-to-surface missile systems

(military, astronautics) NATO prefix-code for surface-to-surface missiles developed by the Soviet Union


GF

(chemistry, military) Initialism of German agent F (US designation for the nerve gas cyclosarin).


talker

From Middle English talkere, equivalent to talk + -er.


gov

govs (plural)
gov. (alternative)
guv (alternative)
gove (alternative)

(politics, abbreviation, shortened form) Government.


DARPA

(US, military) Acronym of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.


DNC

The DNC organized the petition drive when it became clear this week that the network was prepared to ignore criticism of its decision to air a right-wing, factually inaccurate mocudrama that dishonors the memory of 9/11 victims in order to serve a cheap, callous political agenda two months before the election.

2006, Bruce R. Lindsey, Douglas J. Band, Comments About ABC Entertainment's 9/11 Film, ABC News, page 1:

Democratic National Committee
w:Democratic National Committee

(US politics) Initialism of Democratic National Committee.


DNC

Undoubtedly, there were some who thought that the party, once defined and consolidated, would appeal to “Reagan Democrats,” but there were also many who thought that the liberal groups dominating the party could easily splinter into diverse interest groups if not afforded the opportunity to come together as one. The 1984 DNC was going to be that opportunity.

2020, Theodore F. Sheckels, The Rhetoric of the American Political Party Conventions, 1948–2016, Lexington Books, →ISBN, page 103:

Democratic National Convention
w:Democratic National Convention

(US politics) Initialism of Democratic National Convention.


CAS

CAS (countable and uncountable, plural CASes)

(military) Initialism of combat armor suit, used for a powered, armed and armored exoskeleton, in fiction and military research.

(military, aviation) Acronym of close air support.


Nat

(slang, informal, Australian politics) A member or supporter of the Australian National Party.

(slang, informal, New Zealand politics) A member or supporter of the New Zealand National Party.

(slang, informal, UK politics) A member or supporter of the Scottish National Party.

(slang, informal, South African politics, dated) A member or supporter of the National Party of South Africa.


Majorism

(UK politics) The political and economic policies of the British Conservative prime minister Sir John Major.


DTRA

(US, military) Initialism of Defense Threat Reduction Agency.


domino

1801, borrowed from French domino (1771), originally the term for a hooded garment, itself from Medieval Latin domino, oblique case of dominus (“lord, master”); compare Medieval Latin dominicale (“a kind of veil”).

cog

(politics) A country that is expected to react to events in a neighboring country, according to the domino effect.


interoperability

en-noun

interoperability (countable and uncountable, plural interoperabilities)

interoperabilities (plural)
inter-operability (alternative)

/ˌɪntəɹɒpəɹəˈbɪləti/

From interoperable + -ity; alternatively analyzed as inter- + operability.

Dr Fox and Mr Morin have ruled out the notion of binational crews, but they are still exploring other ways to enhance the interoperability of France’s Charles de Gaulle and Britain’s planned two new carriers, which seem likely to be spared by the defence review.

2010 October 14, “Entente or bust”, in The Economist:

(military) The capacity for a service, piece of equipment etc., to be operated by different forces or groups.


semi-automatic

semi-automatics (plural)
semiautomatic (alternative)
semi-auto (alternative)
semiauto (alternative)

The Los Angeles ordinance covers semi-automatics with a detachable magazine of 20 rounds or more. As examples, it cited such weapons as the AR 15 assault rifles, Uzi assault rifles and carbines, Ingram Mac-10 and Mac-11 assault carbines, AK-47 assault rifles, Thompson carbines and all Avtomat Kalashnikov weapons.

1989 February 8, Robert Reinhold, “LOS ANGELES BANS RAPID-FIRING GUNS”, in The New York Times:

(weaponry) A semi-automatic firearm, especially such a pistol.


shadowbox

en-verb

shadowbox (third-person singular simple present shadowboxes, present participle shadowboxing, simple past and past participle shadowboxed)

shadowboxes (present singular third-person)
shadowboxing (participle present)
shadowboxed (participle past)
shadowboxed (past)
shadow-box (alternative)
shadow box (alternative)

From shadow + box (“to fight in a boxing match”).

com

He was shadowboxing to keep fit and practice before the big fight.

The fighter starts to shadowbox in front of them.

1975, Stephen Dunning, Literature for Adolescents, page 392:

McAfferty giggled, then stepped back and shadowboxed, jabbing the air with his little fists.

He shadowboxed harder than anyone I had seen before, and I soon developed that habit, too.

2018, Glen Sharp, Punching from the Shadows, page 117:

(boxing, martial arts) To practice moves without an actual opponent, often in front of a mirror.


domino effect

An allusion to a row of dominoes in which the fall of one leads to a cascade of falling pieces.

(politics, historical) The theory that, if South Vietnam became communist, it would be followed by Cambodia, Laos, additional Southeast Asian countries, other Asian countries, and likely even elsewhere.


Whitehall

en-proper noun

Whitehall (countable and uncountable, plural Whitehalls)

From Middle English whit (“white”) + halgh (“corner, nook; hall”).

Britain's securocracy - Whitehall spymasters, backed up by government lawyers, engaged in the increasingly thankless task of preserving state secrets - are faced with an intriguing conundrum. What do they do when the bulwark they have been relying on for so long to protect their secrets crumbles before their eyes?

2000 July 27, Richard Norton-Taylor, “Analysis: The secret's out”, in the Guardian:

It notes: "The Welsh Government's view is that genuine 'levelling up' cannot simply mean a sprinkling of new, ad hoc rail projects decided in Whitehall, it has to be part of a strategic approach to promoting growth in all parts of the UK."

2020 December 2, Philip Haigh, “When will Wales's wish for rail improvements come true?”, in Rail, page 32:

(UK politics, by extension, metonymic) The British government or civil service


RSS

R.S.S. (alternative)
R. S. S. (alternative)

Republic of Singapore
Republic of Singapore#English

(military, nautical, Singapore) Initialism of Republic of Singapore Ship (“prefix of Navy ships belonging to the Republic of Singapore Navy”).


BRACC

Base Realignment and Closure
w:Base Realignment and Closure

(US, military) Acronym of Base Realignment and Closure.


GD

(chemistry, military) Initialism of German agent D (US designation for the nerve gas soman).


OC

en-noun

OC (countable and uncountable, plural OCs)


exec

“'Okay. Report to the exec's office right after inspection tomorrow, Mister Keith. Best of luck.”

1951, Herman Wouk, The Caine Mutiny, page 17:

(military, informal) An executive officer, i.e. the chief assistant to the commanding officer.


SSM

SSM (countable and uncountable, plural SSMs)

surface-to-surface missile
surface-to-surface missile#English

(military) Initialism of surface-to-surface missile.


RSM

regimental sergeant major
regimental sergeant major#English

(military) Initialism of regimental sergeant major.


DMA

The other law announced by the European Commission on Tuesday, the Digital Markets Act (DMA), is closer to antitrust legislation.

2020 December 15, Billy Perrigo, “European Union Announces New Big Tech Regulations”, in Time:

Digital Markets Act
w:Digital Markets Act

(EU politics) Initialism of Digital Markets Act.


antiballistic

(military, of a missile, or system) designed to detect, intercept, and destroy a ballistic missile in flight

antibalístico

designed to intercept a ballistic missile in flight


harassment

harassment (countable and uncountable, plural harassments)

→ Russian: хара́ссмент (xarássment)

→ Japanese: ハラスメント

Borrowed from Middle French harassement. By surface analysis, harass + -ment.

Throughout this period, and beyond, into the rest of the battle, aircraft of various types and loadouts are crisscrossing the skies in desperate harassment attacks, with the pilots having to play constant games of "guess the carrier" to decide where to land as escort carriers are hit, sunk, disappear in columns of shell splashes, or are forced to evade at angles to the wind that make landing on them impossible.

2019 February 27, Drachinifel, 27:22 from the start, in The Battle of Samar - Odds? What are those?, archived from the original on 2022-11-03:

(military) The use of repeated small-scale attacks to wear down an enemy force.


tax evasion

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

(taxation, criminology) The illegal reduction of paying tax, especially by making a false declaration of income etc.


dink

Origin unknown. Attested since the 1960s. Compare Chink, a derogatory term for a Chinese person.

unknown

Origin unknown

Our job was to go out on night patrols and stay behind to zap any dinks we caught sneaking back to their holes at dawn.

1989, Craig Roberts, Charles W. Sasser, The Walking Dead: A Marine's Story of Vietnam, page 197:

(US, military slang, derogatory, dated) A North Vietnamese soldier.


dink

(US, military) Alternative spelling of dinq.


compartmentalization

en-noun

compartmentalization (countable and uncountable, plural compartmentalizations)

compartmentalizations (plural)
compartmentalisation (alternative)

(military) The dissemination of information and knowledge between different people or organisations on a need-to-know basis, so as to reduce the risk of espionage should one person or organisation be compromised externally.


antimonarchist

(politics) One who is opposed to monarchy.


antimonarchist

en-adj

antimonarchist (comparative more antimonarchist, superlative most antimonarchist)

more antimonarchist (comparative)
most antimonarchist (superlative)


APB

all-points bulletin
all-points bulletin#English

(law enforcement) Initialism of all-points bulletin.


tax haven

Such colonies claim to be "more British than the British", except that they pay no UK tax and act as tax havens for funds from Britain. Gibraltar has made a particular specialism of internet gambling.

2013 August 14, Simon Jenkins, “Gibraltar and the Falklands deny the logic of history”, in The Guardian:

(law, business, taxation) A jurisdiction that levies low tax rates on certain economic activities, especially to attract wealthy individuals and foreign businesses.

belastingparadys

country that levies low taxes on foreign businesses


lib

en-noun

lib (countable and uncountable, plural libs)

Abbreviation for various words beginning in lib-.

own the libs


landing craft

landing craft (plural landing crafts or landing craft)

landing crafts (plural)
landing craft (plural)

Turpentine timber was obtained from the forests outside Maryborough and Townsville, and shipped by rail and landing craft to Hayman Island.

1954 March, “The Hayman Island Railway”, in Railway Magazine, page 207:

(nautical, military) A type of flat-bottomed boat used to transport infantry and vehicles onto a shore during an assault from the sea.


ballistic missile

ballistic missile (plural ballistic missiles)

(military, astronautics) A missile that is initially guided, but then follows a ballistic (freely falling) trajectory.


go ballistic

en-verb

go ballistic (third-person singular simple present goes ballistic, present participle going ballistic, simple past went ballistic, past participle gone ballistic)

goes ballistic (present singular third-person)
going ballistic (participle present)
went ballistic (past)
gone ballistic (participle past)

The idiomatic usage derives from the second-generation of jet fighters, armed with guided missiles, in the late 1950s into the 1960s, with the informal military sense of fully-powered non-ballistic missiles going ballistic when losing control and assuming a free-fall trajectory, sense 3. But in subsequent usage the term has often become associated with the intentionally ballistic, suborbital trajectories of long-range, typically nuclear-armed missiles, sense 2.

I... fired two AIM-7s in a ripple. One AIM-7 went ballistic. The other guided but passed behind the MIG and did not detonate. Knowing that I was then too close for further AIM-7 firing...

1976, Robert Frank Futrell, The United States Air Force in Southeast Asia-- aces and aerial victories, 1965-1973

In the case of retarded bombs released at too high a speed, the retarding fins might tear away and allow the bomb to go ballistic.

1986, Alfred Price, Air Battle Central Europe

Putting something between you and the guidance radar will cause the missile to go ballistic.

1983, Michael Skinner, USAFE: A primer of modern air combat in Europe

(military, slang) for a powered, usually guided missile or other aerial vehicle to travel on an unguided or ballistic trajectory, having lost power, control or guidance


mobility

en-noun

mobility (countable and uncountable, plural mobilities)

From Middle French mobilité, and its source, Latin mōbilitās (“mobility”).

(military) The ability of a military unit to move or be transported to a new position.


OCS

(military) Initialism of Officer Candidate School.

Officer Cadet School
w:Officer Cadet School

(Singapore, military) Initialism of Officer Cadet School.


HMT

HMTs (plural)
H.M.T. (alternative)
H. M. T. (alternative)

(UK, military, nautical) Initialism of His/Her Majesty's Trawler.


HUD

Folks were divided on whether to blame him or his wife for selling it to a developer cashing in on HUD money.

2003, Toni Morrison, Love, Vintage (2016), page 45:

The request has added to worries among workers that HUD might be the next target for major downsizing by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a unit in the Trump administration led by Elon Musk.

2025 February 11, Jennifer Ludden, “HUD is bracing as DOGE seeks to cut waste, fraud. Union leaders have a suggestion”, in w: NPR:

(US, politics) Acronym of Department of Housing and Urban Development


CCC

Citizens Coalition for Change
w:Citizens Coalition for Change

(Zimbabwe, politics) Initialism of Citizens Coalition for Change.


grenade

Borrowed from French grenade, from Old French grenate in the phrase pomme grenate (“pomegranate”), ultimately from Medieval Latin pomum (“apple”) + granatum (“having grains”). The -d developed in French under influence of Spanish granada. Doublet of garnet.

(heraldry) A charge similar to a fireball, and made of a disc-shaped bomb shell, but with only one set of flames at the top.


parry

From earlier parree, from Middle English *parree, *paree, from Old French paree (“preparation, ceremony, parade”), from Medieval Latin parāta (“preparation, parade”), from parāre (“to ward off, guard, defend, prepare, get ready”). More at pare. The English verb is taken from the noun. Doublet of parade.
Alternative etymology derives the verb parry from French parez, the imperative form of parer (“to fend off”), ultimately from the Medieval Latin parāre. See above.

der

(fencing) A simple defensive action designed to deflect an attack, performed with the forte of the blade.

пари́рање

in fencing, simple defensive action designed to deflect


Blairite

The Blairites came up with young country and new this, new that, but it was cosmetic.

2001 August 27, Madeleine Bunting, “The end is nigh: pessimism rules”, in The Guardian:

(UK politics, informal) A supporter of Tony Blair, British prime minister from 1997 to 2007, or his policies.


Blairite

(UK politics) Relating to Blairites or to Tony Blair's government and policies.


w/h

(US, taxation) Abbreviation of withholding.


app

SCULLY: What are these chips used for?
PENDRELL: Video games, brake systems, they're finding new apps every day. I just read about one being designed to help the severely disabled operate computers using brainwaves.

1995, The X-Files (TV series), Nisei (episode)

(military) application (use, purpose; not a computer program)


tinker

(US)

From Middle English tynkere, perhaps from Old English *tincere, from tin (“tin”) + *cere, as in bēocere (“beekeeper”).

if ifs and ands were pots and pans, there'd be no work for tinkers' hands


SAM

surface-to-air missile
surface-to-air missile#English

(military) Initialism of surface-to-air missile.


misper

Portmanteau of missing + person
Shortening of missing person as in “missing persons report”.

‘I had my researchers check the files on all the mispers and cold cases five years either side of that date estimate, on females of that approximate age. This is what they found. Fill your boots.’ He took a large gulp of his drink. / ‘I’m impressed, you've been moving fast.’ / ‘On it like a car bonnet, mate.’

2015, Peter James, You Are Dead, New York, N.Y.: Minotaur Books, →ISBN:

(law enforcement, slang) A missing person.


ship of the line

en-noun

ship of the line (plural ships of the line)

ships of the line (plural)
ship-of-the-line (alternative)

Contraction of line of battle ship, a warship large enough to be in the line of battle. See also battleship, contracted from the same phrase.

(nautical, military) A large square-rigged warship large enough to have a place in the line of battle, with up to 140 guns on at least two decks. A capital ship from the age of sail, superior to a frigate; usually, a seventy-four, or three-decker.


AAS

(politics) Initialism of Ansar al-Sunna, or Jamaat Ansar al-Sunna, a militant group operating in Iraq.

(military) Initialism of Arnold Air Society, a professional honorary service organization for Air Force officer candidates.


TCA

Labour, which has said it will not take the UK back into the EU, the single market or customs union, has, however, already committed to using the 2025 review of the TCA to try to reduce barriers to trade.

2023 February 11, Toby Helm, “Revealed: secret cross-party summit held to confront failings of Brexit”, in The Observer, →ISSN:

Trade and Cooperation Agreement
w:EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement

(European politics, UK politics) Initialism of Trade and Cooperation Agreement.


SAP

SAP (countable and uncountable, plural SAPs)

special access program
w:special access program

(US, military) Initialism of special access program.


AV

alternative vote
alternative vote#English

(politics) Initialism of alternative vote.


AV

(US, military, nautical) Initialism of Auxiliary Voler, a naval aircraft transport.