DMDC

Defense Manpower Data Center
w:Defense Manpower Data Center

(military, US) Initialism of Defense Manpower Data Center.


DLA

Defense Logistics Agency
w:Defense Logistics Agency

(military, US) Initialism of Defense Logistics Agency.


OSD

Office of the Secretary of Defense
w:Office of the Secretary of Defense

(military, US) Initialism of Office of the Secretary of Defense.


WHS

Washington Headquarters Services
w:Washington Headquarters Services

(military, US) Initialism of Washington Headquarters Services.


NGIA

(military, US) Initialism of National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.


PFT

He could be the worst marine ever—he could be fat and nasty, and I could be running a perfect PFT.

2010, Laura Browder, Sascha Pflaeging, When Janey Comes Marching Home: Portraits of Women Combat Veterans, University of North Carolina Press, →ISBN, page 137:

physical fitness test
w:physical fitness test

(military, US) Initialism of physical fitness test.


SMEAC

(military) Acronym of situation, mission, execution admin (logistics) command (signal).


VBIED

improvised explosive device
improvised explosive device#English

(military, US) Initialism of vehicle-borne improvised explosive device.


UUV

Unmanned Underwater Vehicle
w:Unmanned Underwater Vehicle

(military, US) Initialism of Unmanned Underwater Vehicle.


LtCol

LtCols (plural)
LTCOL (alternative)
Lt.Col. (alternative)
Lt. Col. (alternative)

Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant Colonel#English

(military, US, abbreviation) Lieutenant Colonel.


CVN

Initialism for Cruiser Voler Nuclear. See French voler (“to fly”).

(military, US) nuclear-powered aircraft carrier


STOBAR

short take-off but arrested recovery
w:short take-off but arrested recovery

(military, aviation) Acronym of short take-off but arrested recovery.


ISTAR

target acquisition
target acquisition#English

(military, US) Acronym of intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance.


NAVMC

Marine Corps
w:United States Marine Corps

(military, US) Initialism of Navy and Marine Corps.


RCCPDS

(military, US) Initialism of Reserve Components Common Personnel Data System.


ACCPDS

(military, US) Initialism of Active Component Common Personnel Data System.


JPAS

(military, US) Initialism of Joint Personnel Adjudication System.


HMMWV

(military, US) Abbreviation of high mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicle.


PTS

en-noun

PTS (countable and uncountable, plural PTSs)

(military) Plavayushchij Transportyer - Sryednyj: a Soviet tracked amphibious transport vehicle


RFJ

Rewards for Justice
w:Rewards for Justice

(government, US) Initialism of Rewards for Justice.


USPIS

w:United States Postal Inspection Service

(government, US) Initialism of United States Postal Inspection Service.


DTIC

Defense Technical Information Center
w:Defense Technical Information Center

(military, US) Initialism of Defense Technical Information Center.


ASTIA

w:Armed Services Technical Information Agency

(military, US) Initialism of Armed Services Technical Information Agency.


NTIS

w:National Technical Information Service

(government, US) Initialism of National Technical Information Service.


QDR

(military, US) Initialism of Quadrennial Defense Review.


AAAV

Advanced Amphibious Assault Vehicle
w:Advanced Amphibious Assault Vehicle

(military) Initialism of Advanced Amphibious Assault Vehicle.


LMTV

Light Medium Tactical Vehicle
w:Light Medium Tactical Vehicle

(military, US) Initialism of Light Medium Tactical Vehicle.


FMTV

Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles
w:Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles

(military, US) Initialism of Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles.


CSIB

Combat Service Identification Badge
w:Combat Service Identification Badge

(military, US) Initialism of Combat Service Identification Badge.


ACU

Army Combat Uniform
w:Army Combat Uniform

(military, US) Initialism of Army Combat Uniform.

Assault Craft Unit
Assault Craft Unit#English

(military, nautical, US) Initialism of Assault Craft Unit.


ACU

President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and other administration officials attended the conference, though the ACU says the attendee did not come into contact with the president or vice president, nor did they attend events in the main hall.

2020 March 7, Greg Clary and Raymond Arke, “CPAC attendee tested positive for coronavirus”, in CNN:

American Conservative Union
w:American Conservative Union

(US politics) Initialism of American Conservative Union.


DCU

Desert Camouflage Uniform
w:Desert Camouflage Uniform

(military, US) Initialism of Desert Camouflage Uniform.


NECC

Navy Expeditionary Combat Command
w:Navy Expeditionary Combat Command

(military, US) Initialism of Navy Expeditionary Combat Command.


SCWS

w:Seabee combat warfare specialist insignia

(military, US) Initialism of Seabee combat warfare specialist.


EIB

EIB (countable and uncountable, plural EIBs)

Expert Infantryman Badge
w:Expert Infantryman Badge

(military, US, countable) Initialism of Expert Infantryman Badge.


SINCGARS

w:Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System

(military, US) Initialism of Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System.


CNR

(military, US) Initialism of Combat-net radio.


JTRS

Joint Tactical Radio System
w:Joint Tactical Radio System

(military, US) Initialism of Joint Tactical Radio System.


ACMC

w:Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps

(military, US) Initialism of Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps.


HSM

Humanitarian Service Medal
w:Humanitarian Service Medal

(military, US) Initialism of Humanitarian Service Medal.


GWOT

In the 2008 presidential election, although both candidates were caught within the GWOT discourse trap, there was an attempt by the Democrats to contest the content of the GWOT by arguing that Afghanistan was the central front in the war on terror, rather than Iraq.

2013, Jeffrey H. Michaels, The Discourse Trap and the US Military […] , Palgrave Macmillan, →ISBN:

(military, US) Initialism of Global War on Terrorism.


AFSM

Armed Forces Service Medal
w:Armed Forces Service Medal

(military, US) Initialism of Armed Forces Service Medal.


NMCC

National Military Command Center
w:National Military Command Center

(military, US) Initialism of National Military Command Center.


AFRM

(military, US) Initialism of Armed Forced Reserve Medal.


SMCR

Selected Marine Corps Reserve
w:Selected Marine Corps Reserve

(military, US) Initialism of Selected Marine Corps Reserve.


OIF

Operation Iraqi Freedom
w:Operation Iraqi Freedom

(military, US) Initialism of Operation Iraqi Freedom.


OEF

Operation Enduring Freedom
w:Operation Enduring Freedom

(military, US) Initialism of Operation Enduring Freedom.


MEU

marine expeditionary unit
w:marine expeditionary unit

(military, US) Acronym of marine expeditionary unit.


FMF

(US, military) Initialism of Fleet Marine Force.

w:United States Foreign Military Financing

(US, military) Initialism of Foreign Military Financing.


SIOP

(military, US) Acronym of Single Integrated Operational Plan.


MSC

Military Sealift Command
w:Military Sealift Command

(military, US) Initialism of Military Sealift Command, an organization that controls the replenishment and military transport ships of the United States Navy.


MOLLE

(military, US, initialism) Modular Lightweight Load-carrying Equipment.


PALS

Pouch Attachment Ladder System
w:Pouch Attachment Ladder System

(military, US) Initialism of Pouch Attachment Ladder System.


LCE

Load-Carrying Equipment
w:Load-Carrying Equipment

(military, US) Initialism of Load-Carrying Equipment.


IIFS

Individual Integrated Fighting System
w:Individual Integrated Fighting System

(military, US) Initialism of Individual Integrated Fighting System.


CANEX

Canadian Forces Exchange System
w:Canadian Forces Exchange System

(military, US) Abbreviation of Canadian Forces Exchange System.


MCCS

(military, US) Initialism of Marine Corps Community Services.

(military, US, humorous) Initialism of Marine Corps crime syndicate.


DoDEA

w:Department of Defense Education Activity

(military, US) Acronym of Department of Defense Education Activity.


MSIC

Missile and Space Intelligence Center
w:Missile and Space Intelligence Center

(military, US) Initialism of Missile and Space Intelligence Center.


(military, US, initialism) Command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance


PASGT

w:Personnel Armor System for Ground Troops

(military, US) Initialism of Personnel Armor System for Ground Troops.


MICH

(military, US, initialism) Modular Integrated Communications Helmet.


MARPAT

MARPAT (countable and uncountable, plural MARPATs)

(military, US, abbreviation) Marine pattern (a form of camouflage).


ACMH

Army Center of Military History
w:Army Center of Military History

(military, US) Initialism of Army Center of Military History.


UNIKOM

w:United Nations Iraq–Kuwait Observation Mission

(military) Initialism of United Nations Iraq–Kuwait Observation Mission.


UNFICYP

w:United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus

(military) Initialism of United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus.


NVG

(military) Initialism of night vision goggles.


NVD

Night Vision Device
w:Night Vision Device

(military, US) Initialism of Night Vision Device.


MSTAR

w:Man-portable Surveillance and Target Acquisition Radar

(military, US) Initialism of Man-portable Surveillance and Target Acquisition Radar.


ALICE

(military, US, initialism) All-purpose Lightweight Individual Carrying Equipment.


master gunnery sergeant

master gunnery sergeant (plural master gunnery sergeants)

non-commissioned officer
non-commissioned officer

(military, US) A non-commissioned officer of rank E-9 in the United States Marine Corps, ranking above a master sergeant/first sergeant and below a warrant officer. It is equal in grade to sergeant major


ANGLICO

Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company
w:Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company

(military, US) Acronym of Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company.


BAH

Basic Allowance for Housing
w:Basic Allowance for Housing

(military, US) Initialism of Basic Allowance for Housing.


BAS

B.A.S. (alternative)
B. A. S. (alternative)

(military, US) Initialism of basic allowance for subsistence.


DLPT

Defense Language Proficiency Tests
w:Defense Language Proficiency Tests

(military, US) Initialism of Defense Language Proficiency Tests.


DLAB

Defense Language Aptitude Battery
w:Defense Language Aptitude Battery

(military, US) Initialism of Defense Language Aptitude Battery.


DLI

Defense Language Institute
w:Defense Language Institute

(military, US) Initialism of Defense Language Institute.


MGIB

(military, US) Initialism of Montgomery GI Bill.


MPRC

Military Personnel Records Center
w:Military Personnel Records Center

(military, US) Initialism of Military Personnel Records Center.


NARA

w:National Archives and Records Administration

(government, US) Initialism of National Archives and Records Administration.


TSP

Thrift Savings Plan
w:Thrift Savings Plan

(US government) Initialism of Thrift Savings Plan.


FERS

(government, US, initialism) Federal Employees Retirement System.


CSRS

Civil Service Retirement System
w:Civil Service Retirement System

(government, US) Initialism of Civil Service Retirement System.


MIHA

(military, US) Acronym of move in housing allowance.


BESS

Basic Enlisted Submarine School
w:Basic Enlisted Submarine School

(military, US) Initialism of Basic Enlisted Submarine School.


BFTT

Battle Force Tactical Training
w:Battle Force Tactical Training

(military, US) Initialism of Battle Force Tactical Training.


CNATT

w:Center For Naval Aviation Technical Training

(military, US) Initialism of Center For Naval Aviation Technical Training.


buttstroke

In the video game Halo, buttstrokes do the same damage regardless of the weapon you use.

(military, slang) The act of striking a person with the butt of a rifle.


MANTA

(military, US) Acronym of multiaxis no-tail aircraft.


scrub out

en-verb

scrub out (third-person singular simple present scrubs out, present participle scrubbing out, simple past and past participle scrubbed out)

scrubs out (present singular third-person)
scrubbing out (participle present)
scrubbed out (participle past)
scrubbed out (past)

17 May 2012, New Scientist, New device lets surgeons check medical images during an operation without having to scrub out.

(healthcare) To leave a surgical operating theater where one has previously scrubbed in.


twifoil

(heraldry) A head of two leaves growing out of a stem.


dufoil

From duo (“two”) + foil (“leaf”). Compare twifoil.


smurf account

Coined by Geoff Fraizer and Greg Boyko, who played the online multiplayer game Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness under the names Shlonglor and Warp. The pair had become so proficient at the game that few people would play against them, so, in order to avoid scaring off potential competitors, they created alternate accounts named PapaSmurf and Smurfette (characters from the Smurfs comic franchise).
Smurf account as a banking term, however, predates Warcraft II by about a decade.

They were smurf accounts and other people and companies contracted by me. I never used my name.

1997, U.S. Government Printing Office, Law Enforcement Efforts to Combat International Money Laundering Through Black Market Peso Brokering, page 15:

(law enforcement, banking, slang) A bank account of many intended to handle illicit money in amounts too small to raise suspicion.


covering fire

(military) supporting fire; small-arms fire directed at an enemy to prevent them firing elsewhere.


Sister Souljah moment

en-noun

Sister Souljah moment (plural Sister Souljah moments)

Referring to presidential candidate Bill Clinton publicly criticizing activist Sister Souljah for her statements about the 1992 Los Angeles riots.

The embodiment of the no-compromise style the public disdains, Bachmann seems congenitally incapable of such a move unless it's a reverse Sister Souljah moment, where she castigates her party for being insufficiently beholden to its base.

2011 October 19, Robert Schlesinger, “The GOP Needs to Escape the GOP”, in U.S. News & World Report, volume 3, number 33, page 18:

Determined to get that office, to get that house, he's shown not a single "Sister Souljah" moment, not a moment of independence from the people to whom he's sworn his allegiance.

2012 September 17, Hardball with Chris Matthews, Chris Matthews (actor), via MSNBC:

But this wasn't some sort of Sister Souljah moment, where Romney called out his fellow conservatives in order to curry favor with the center.

2012 October 6, Ross Douthat, “It Could Be His Party”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

(US politics) A politician's public repudiation of extremism perceived to be allied or associated with them or their political party.

1992 Los Angeles riots
Bill Clinton
Sister Souljah


coupe-gorge

Borrowed from French coupe-gorge (literally “cut-throat”).

bor

(military) Any position giving the enemy such advantage that the troops occupying it must either surrender or be cut to pieces.


ancred

(heraldry) Alternative form of anchored.


doctrine of necessity

duress of circumstances

principle of preservation of greater utilitarian value

So Their Lordships, conceding that the Governor General′s actions were unconstitutional, reasoned that those actions might nonetheless be validated on the doctrine of necessity.

2008, Simeon C. R. McIntosh, Kelsen in the “Grenada Court”: Essays on Revolutionary Legality, page 27:

(politics, law) The principle that, in a situation of emergency or exigent circumstance, a state may legitimately act in ways that would normally be illegal.

According to the doctrine of necessity, civilization cannot exist without the rule of law. Therefore, the courts cannot tolerate a legal vacuum. The doctrine of necessity holds that the laws of an illegal government must be deemed to be effective to the extent that they do not violate the constitution.

1989, Ian Greene, The Charter of Rights, page 197:

(politics, law) The principle that the laws, of governance in action, should be deemed valid insofar as they do not contradict the constitution. Validated on the basis that maintenance of government is of greater utilitarian value than maintenance of the law.

1991, Eduardo Jiménez de Aréchaga, Attila Tanzi, Chapter 17: International State Responsibility, Mohammed Bedjaoui (editor), International Law: Achievements and Prospects, UNESCO, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, page 354,
The enumeration of situations where the doctrine of necessity has been invoked forms either a catalogue of serious breaches of international law or of cases susceptible of being explained without an appeal to the doctrine of necessity.

(politics, international law) The principle that a state in immediate peril to its existence, from a situation not of its own doing, may in extremis be justified in violating a right of another state.


one ball, one tracer
one ball, one tracer#English

(military) Abbreviation of one ball, one tracer, meaning that the normal rounds in the gun are alternated with tracer rounds.


buncher

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

Each airfield had its own buncher which emitted a particular radio signal. Each plane had a radio compass so that when we flew toward the buncher, the compass would go straight up. When we flew over the buncher, it would point straight down.

2008, W. C. Gibson, “54: Lieutenant W.C. Gibson”, in Alan L. Griggs, editor, Flying Flak Alley: Personal Accounts of World War II Bomber Crew Combat, page 247:

(military, RAF, World War II) A ground-based radio transmitter, configured within a system to guide aircraft to their allocated airfields.


Peabody action

Named after the inventor, Henry O. Peabody of Boston, Massachusetts.

(firearms, historical) An early form of breechloading firearm action, where the heavy breechblock tilted downwards across a bolt mounted in the rear of the breechblock, operated by a lever under the rifle.


antimeritocratic

en-adj

antimeritocratic (comparative more antimeritocratic, superlative most antimeritocratic)

more antimeritocratic (comparative)
most antimeritocratic (superlative)

Another priority, particularly for Italy, is to overhaul the regulatory framework to uproot a deeply antimeritocratic system that hinders competition by protecting insiders in industry, education, and the services sector.

2011, International Monetary Fund, Regional Economic Outlook, October 2011:


antiplutocratic

antiplutocratic (comparative more antiplutocratic, superlative most antiplutocratic)

more antiplutocratic (comparative)
most antiplutocratic (superlative)


antiplutocracy

antiplutocracy (comparative more antiplutocracy, superlative most antiplutocracy)

more antiplutocracy (comparative)
most antiplutocracy (superlative)


split-tail

I have encountered officers who believe a woman got a better assignment or somehow "got over" because of her sex. It's a shock to their egos that some "split-tail"—yes, I've had that original thrown my way—could possibly be more talented.

1992, United States Naval Institute Proceedings, volume 118, page 23:

(US, military, slang, possibly offensive) A woman.


RNR

Royal Naval Reserve
w:Royal Naval Reserve

(military) Initialism of Royal Naval Reserve.

Royal Newfoundland Regiment
w:Royal Newfoundland Regiment

(military) Initialism of Royal Newfoundland Regiment.


antiperestroika

antiperestroika (comparative more antiperestroika, superlative most antiperestroika)

more antiperestroika (comparative)
most antiperestroika (superlative)


Berner

From Bernie + -er. Named after American politician Bernie Sanders.

named-after

Leaving City Hall with a smile, he mirrored the Berner’s excitement, but for Hillary. “She has the strongest record,” he said.

2016 June 6, Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez, “As SF ‘feels the Bern’ and touts #ImWithHer, turnout numbers strong”, in SF Examiner:

Nick Merrill, Clinton’s press secretary, issued this response on Twitter, citing the words of Mike Casca, Sanders’ deputy communications director and a “die-hard” Berner.

2016 October 1, Reena Flores, “Hillary Clinton comments on Bernie Sanders supporters in leaked recording”, in CBS News:

Some, like the Indivisible network that has spawned more than 5,000 chapters nationwide, have tapped into the same organizational formula the Berners did.

2017 April 11, Joe Garofoli, “Fueled by Trump resistance, Sanders’ influence grows with Dems”, in San Francisco Chronicle:

"We have almost enough Berners to hold the majority. It's real close," he said.

2017 July 21, Eric Bradner, Gregory Krieg, “Sanders' Iowa roots continue to bloom -- whether or not he runs in 2020”, in CNN:

(US politics) A supporter of Bernie Sanders.


seven-level

seven-levels (plural)
seven level (alternative)

Shortened from a longer, bureaucratic US military designation (an Air Force Specialty Code), where '7' was code for "Craftsman".

I asked how they were doing and they said they couldn't figure out the T.O. and were waiting for a seven level to explain it to them. I went back to my truck and told maintenance control we'd need a seven level radio man.

1966, The MAC FLYER, volume 13, number 5, Directorate of Safety, Headquarters Military Airlift Command, page 29:

Follow-on training would take place after completion of the basic apprentice or craftsman courses. Three-level students would attend ATHRS training, and select 7-level students (approximately 49 per year) would attend AFBDS training.

2003, Air Force Logistics Management Agency, Year in Review, 2003, DIANE Publishing, page 169:

The Civil Engineer (CE) Readiness Flight Officer and seven-level Craftsman courses provide flight leaders and mid-level NCOs with the background and the technical information that is necessary for effective management of the CE Readiness Flight and contingency response operations.

2003, Department of Defense Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Defense Program Annual Report to Congress 2003, DIANE Publishing, page 107:

While I was assigned to the parachute shop, although I was in charge and was the senior NCO in charge of two other SSgt's and seven airmen, I was still only a five level and could not be promoted to TSgt without making a seven level.

2005, Richard R. Simmons, A Long Hard Ride, AuthorHouse, page 116:

(military, US) A person who has qualified for "Craftsman" level of skill in the United States Air Force, with more training than "Journeyman" (five-level), but less than a "Superintendent" (nine-level)


scope dope

(military, slang, US) An officer responsible for radar.


tank trap

Land mines make good tank traps.

1954, Weapons: a pictorial history, page 139:

(military) Anything placed to impede the movement of tanks, such as large caltrops, Czech hedgehogs, dragon's teeth, mines, or depressions in the ground.

tankcsapda

anything placed to impede the movement of tanks


scalado

Adrastus firſt aduanſt his creſt aloft, / And boldly gan a ſtrong ſcalado reare, / And through the falling ſtorme did vpward clime / Of ſtones, dartes, arrovves, fire, pitch and lime: […]

1600, [Torquato Tasso], “The Eleuenth Booke of Godfrey of Bulloigne”, in Edward Fairefax [i.e., Edward Fairfax], transl., Godfrey of Bulloigne, or The Recouerie of Ierusalem. […], London: […] Ar[nold] Hatfield, for I[saac] Iaggard and M[atthew] Lownes, →OCLC, stanza 34, page 202:


scalade

From Italian scalada, scalata. Doublet of escalade.


bevilled

(heraldry) Notched with an angle like that enclosed by a carpenter's bevel; said of a partition line of a shield.


poison gas

en-noun

poison gas (countable and uncountable, plural poison gases or poison gasses)

poison gases (plural)
poison gasses (plural)

[...] approximately 23,000 members of the L.M.S.R. staff were trained in methods approved by the Home Office for dealing with the consequences of an air raid, including the effects of poison gas and incendiary bombs.

1939 November, Charles E. Lee, “Railways and the War — I”, in Railway Magazine, page 315:

(military) Any poisonous gas used as a chemical weapon.


A1C Carole Goodman was bored.

airman 1st class
airman 1st class#English

(military) Abbreviation of airman 1st class.


Richard Schram, Air Force A1/C, Korea

2011, Bob Frankenstein, Counterfeit Peace: The Cold War The Wisconsin Connection Book Two:


(US, military, historical) Fokker A-2 air ambulance that did not see production.

...showing that Arnold did not trust his own A-2 to undertake the targeting assignment.

1996, John F. Kreiss, Piercing the Fog: Intelligence and Army Air Forces Operations in World War II:

(military) Intelligence section of an air force staff.

The Air Intelligence Officer (A-2) would then present new items...

1998, Ian Gooderson, Air Power at the Battlefront:

(military) Intelligence officer on an air force staff.


antinoble

en-adj

antinoble (comparative more antinoble, superlative most antinoble)

more antinoble (comparative)
most antinoble (superlative)


antinobility

antinobility (comparative more antinobility, superlative most antinobility)

more antinobility (comparative)
most antinobility (superlative)


I was still a two-striper (A2/c) I couldn't afford phone calls.

2010, Franklin D. Duke, 21 Years in Blue: Story of Frank's Air Force Career 1951-1972:


Authorized grade of A2C (E-3).

2012, The Code Of Federal Regulations Of The United States Of America:


Col. Cecil E. Combs (A-3) Combat Operations

1986, Haywood S. Hansell, The strategic air war against Germany and Japan:

(military) Air operations and training officer.

At the policy level, the functions of planning and establishing policies were lodged in A-1 (Personnel), (A-2) Intelligence, (A-3) Training...

1989, Robert Frank Futrell, Ideas, Concepts, Doctrine : Basic Thinking in the United States Air Force 1907-1960:

(military) Operations and training section of an Air Force staff.

(military) Sky warrior twin engine all weather attack aircraft.


and those of us who finished were promoted to the grade of airman third class - A3/C.

2006, Wolfgang W.E. Samuel, Coming to Colorado:


Another case involved an A3C "N."

1967, The United States Air Force JAG Law Review:


(military) Skyhawk single engine attack aircraft.

Deployed to a provisional air base squadron as the LG and serving as an A-4 officer...

(military) Air material and supply officer.

A-4 or S-4, performs all staff functions pertaining to supply and maintenance.

1944, AAF The Official Guide To The Army Air Forces:

(military) Material and supply section of an Air Force staff.


...plans and civil aviation divisions were established on the staff division level as A-5.

1948, Report of the Secretary of the Air Force to the Secretary of Defense for the fiscal year 1948:

(military) The planning section of an Air Force staff.

(military) Vigilante supersonic attack aircraft.


(military) Intruder twin engine low-altitude attack aircraft.

A-6 Communications.

(military) Communications section of an Air Force staff.


(military) Corsair single engine light attack bomber.


(military) Lansen single seat fighter craft, used from 1955-1997.


[…] and the Saab A-60, the strike version of the Saab 105.

(military) The strike version of the Saab 105 twin-engine training aircraft.


aa & a

(military) Initialism of armor, armament, and ammunition.


little people

(military slang, dated) The Vietnamese, particularly in the Vietnam War.


patté

French patté, from patte (“paw, foot”). Compare English patten.

pattée (alternative)
pattee (alternative)
patty (alternative)
paté (alternative)
patée (alternative)

(heraldry, of a cross) Narrow at the inner end, and very broad at the other end, or having its arms of that shape


Grantism

From Grant + -ism, after US President Ulysses S. Grant. First used by Senator Charles Sumner in a speech in 1872.

(US politics, derogatory) corruption and cronyism in government

Charles Sumner
Grantism
Ulysses S. Grant


AAB

army artillery board
army artillery board#English

(military) Initialism of army artillery board.

anti-aircraft battery
anti-aircraft battery#English

(military) Initialism of anti-aircraft battery.


AABFS

amphibious assault bulk fuel system#English

(military) Initialism of amphibious assault bulk fuel system.


AABNCP

advanced airborne command post
advanced airborne command post#English

(military) Abbreviation of advanced airborne command post.


AACFT

(military) Abbreviation of army aircraft.


AACM

anti-armor cluster munition
anti-armor cluster munition#English

(military) Initialism of anti-armor cluster munition.


AACOM

Army Area Command
Army Area Command#English

(military) Acronym of Army Area Command.


AACP

(military) Initialism of advanced airborne command post.


AACU

(military) Acronym of anti-aircraft cooperation unit.


AACV

assault air-cushion vehicle
assault air-cushion vehicle#English

(military) Initialism of assault air-cushion vehicle.


AADA

(military) Initialism of advanced air depot area.

(military) Initialism of army air defense area.

(military) Initialism of anti-aircraft defended area.


rallying point

At last, 'Ali, perceiving that her camel was the rallying-point of the enemy, sent one of his captains to hamstring, and thus disable it. With a loud cry the animal fell to the ground.

1924, William Muir, “chapter 35”, in The Caliphate: Its Rise, Decline and Fall:

(military) A designated area for troops to concentrate upon; a sign marking such area


human shield

(military) Civilians which a military group has deliberately placed combat targets near to deter an enemy from attacking those targets.


chargemaster

The patient faced bankruptcy because she couldn't pay off the hundreds of thousands of dollars accrued from her hospital bill, including a price from the chargemaster for a single acetaminophen pill at ten times the cost for the same pill over-the-counter at a pharmacy.

Much ink has been spilt bemoaning that incomprehensible foundation of hospital cost accounting and prices, the redoubtable chargemaster.

2007, James C. Robinson, “Price Transparency Begins at Home”, in Frontiers of Health Services Management, volume 23, number 3, American College of Healthcare Executives, archived from the original on 2013-05-21, pages 25–28:

The higher the chargemaster markup over cost, the greater the potential for profit.

2008, T. Neil Davis, Mired in the Health Care Morass, Ester Republic Press, →ISBN, page 66:

What a hospital is actually paid by an MCO, Medicare, or Medicaid is rarely even close to what is listed on the chargemaster. In fact, only the uninsured are subject to those charges.

2009, Peter Kongstvedt, Managed Care: What It Is and How It Works, Jones & Bartlett Publishers, →ISBN, page 212:

Of particular importance, other than in Maryland, hospitals are generally free to charge whatever they want in their chargemaster.

2012, Peter Reid Kongstvedt, Essentials of Managed Health Care, Jones & Bartlett Learning, →ISBN, pages 114–115:

California is a unique state in that all hospitals are required to submit a copy of their chargemasters, which the state then posts online for all consumers and patients to see.

2012 July 16, Bob Herman, “Report: Surgery Prices Vary Wildly at California Hospitals”, in Becker's Hospital Review, ASC Communications, retrieved 2013-03-04:

However, I quickly found that although every hospital has a chargemaster, officials treat it as if it were an eccentric uncle living in the attic. Whenever I asked, they deflected all conversation away from it. They even argued that it is irrelevant. I soon found that they have good reason to hope that outsiders pay no attention to the chargemaster or the process that produces it. For there seems to be no process, no rationale, behind the core document that is the basis for hundreds of billions of dollars in health care bills.

2013 February 20, Steven Brill, “Bitter Pill: Why Medical Bills Are Killing Us”, in Time, Time Warner, archived from the original on 2013-02-26:

(US, healthcare) A comprehensive list maintained by a hospital of prices of goods and services it will bill to its patients and their respective health insurers.


Prop H8

(derogatory, US politics) The Californian proposition which restricted marriage to one woman and one man.


antiunionization

antiunionization (comparative more antiunionization, superlative most antiunionization)

more antiunionization (comparative)
most antiunionization (superlative)


antifeudal

antifeudal (comparative more antifeudal, superlative most antifeudal)

more antifeudal (comparative)
most antifeudal (superlative)


antifeudalism

(politics) Opposition to a feudal system.


Bell shot

After Walter "Karamojo" Bell, a Scottish big game hunter.

(hunting, firearms) A shot at an animal's head taken diagonally from behind.


concussion fuse

en-noun

concussion fuse (plural concussion fuses)

(military) A fuse that is ignited by the concussion of the shell when it strikes.


paper hunting

(firearms, informal, sometimes derogatory) target shooting


stay-behind

stay-behinds (plural)
stay behind (alternative)

a. 2000, Sam Halpern, Quoted in 2000, James Srodes, Allen Dulles: Master of Spies, page 545,
Bobby Kennedy believed the Mafia had lots of interests in and people in Cuba; he was absolutely convinced that they had left stay-behinds in Cuba and all they had to do was tap into those stay-behinds.

Diem chose instead to use his military forces and police to capture and kill the Viet Minh “stay-behinds,” even though these actually posed little or no threat to the country, since a good share of them were simply not Communists and those that had been had either recanted in favor of the Diem government or returned to the north.

2003, Bradley O'Leary, L. E. Seymour, Triangle of Death, unnumbered page:

Ganser closely documents activities of “stay-behinds” in 14 western nations — spies and agents with Nazi and Fascist backgrounds, secretly installed by NATO following the Second World War to counter a supposed Soviet threat.

2011, David MacGregor, “Update: September 11 as “Macchiavellian State Terror””, in Paul Zarembka, editor, The Hidden History of 9/11, unnumbered page:

(military) An agent who lives in a foreign country, and can be activated in certain circumstances.


Ruthanasia

Blend of Ruth + euthanasia, in reference to the National Party's Minister of Finance, Ruth Richardson.

Rogernomics has been succeeded by Richardson's Ruthanasia.

(slang, derogatory, New Zealand politics) The period of free-market economic reform conducted during the first term of the fourth National government in New Zealand, from 1990 to 1993.


LEP

(government) Initialism of local enterprise partnership.

(US, government) Initialism of limited English proficient.


SALT

(politics) Acronym of Strategic Arms Limitation Talks.


SALT

Both the SALT limitations and the doubled standard deduction expire after 2025, putting SALT on the 2025 menu for lawmakers.

2024 August 9, Andrew Lautz, “How SALT May Shake Up the 2025 Tax Debate”, in Bipartisan Policy Center:

In general, income taxes paid or accrued in carrying on a trade or business or an income-producing activity are subject to the SALT cap. The SALT cap is set to expire for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2025.

2025 May 7, “The One, Big, Beautiful Bill”, in United States House Committee on Ways & Means, page 37:

(US, politics, usually attributive) Acronym of state and local tax(es) [deduction], a tax deduction whereby some portion of the money paid as taxes to state and local governments is not taxed at the federal level; the tax-deductible portion is nominally capped, but the cap is circumventable via special-interest loopholes.


parish assembly

parish assembly (plural parish assemblies)

(Jersey, government) the decision-making body of local government, comprising ratepayers and electors of the parish

kuntakokous

Jersey: the decision-making body of local government


kolovrat

Ultimately from Proto-Slavic *kolovortъ. In historical records, similar symbols were recorded as ладинец (ladinec) in Russian or słoneczko in Polish.
This spelling was influenced by Russian коловра́т (kolovrát), the more well-known form of the symbol invented by the neo-pagan leader Alexey Dobrovolsky in the 1990s.

In contrast, Krasnodar respondents were keen to differentiate between the kolovrat and the swastika, while recognizing the symbolic connections between them: […]

2009, George McKay, Michael Goddard, Christopher Williams, Neil Foxlee, editors, Subcultures and New Religious Movements in Russia and East-Central Europe, Peter Lang, →ISBN, page 284:

(paganism, politics, fascism, nationalism) An eight-spoked swastika used by Slavic neopagan, fascist, and nationalist groups.


antiparachute

(military) Opposing parachutes or parachutists.


primarying

(US, politics) Mounting a challenge to an incumbent office-holder in a party primary.


forced-birther

[…] that we are English, for there is something peculiarly English about modern abortion, and that is why we can bravely claim to be, as the forced-birthers snarl, the abortion capital of the world, no less.

1997, The American Spectator, volume 30, page 88:

(chiefly US, Canada, politics, informal, derogatory, dysphemistic) One who desires that abortion be illegal, and thus that pregnant women be required to carry to term and give birth in all or most cases; a pro-lifer.


Hustler

(military) The Convair B-58 Hustler airplane.


red ball

* ("high-profile high-priority" sense) From a routing system on the Santa Fe Railroad in the early 1900s. Fast freight trains which were to receive priority routing were marked with placards depicting a red disc, and were called "red ball" trains.

A police-involved shooting is by definition a red ball and, by definition, a red ball requires every warm body.

1991, David Simon, Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, →ISBN, →OL:

The only exception to that edict was the Eighth, the French Quarter district, since any homicide at the core of the tourist area was such a potential red ball.

2005, Eileen Dreyer, Sinners and Saints, St. Martin's Press, →ISBN, →OL:

(law enforcement, slang, US) A high-profile high-priority case which draws political or media attention.


Broomhandle Mauser

Broomhandle Mauser (plural Broomhandle Mausers)

(firearms, informal) The Mauser C96 pistol.


stuff the ballot box

en-verb

stuff the ballot box (third-person singular simple present stuffs the ballot box, present participle stuffing the ballot box, simple past and past participle stuffed the ballot box)

stuffs the ballot box (present singular third-person)
stuffing the ballot box (participle present)
stuffed the ballot box (participle past)
stuffed the ballot box (past)

Two fruitless ballots were taken, when the chairman of the board of tellers, stepping to the platform, said: "I find that attempts have been made to stuff the ballot-box."

1888 May 24, “Electing the Bishops”, in Baltimore American, retrieved 2013-04-05, page 4:

Their simplest and most effective scheme is to create a disturbance during which they can stuff the ballot box as they tried to last night.

1906 September 28, “Decent Democracy Downs Dorneyism”, in The News-Democrat, Rhode Island, USA, retrieved 2013-04-05, page 3:

Republicans were said to have stuffed the ballot box with illegal votes, and the Democrats were accused of a lot of things too.

1976 November 2, “Town Recalls ‘Decisive’ Vote”, in Daytona Beach Morning Journal, retrieved 2013-04-05, page 3B:

Several council officials were convicted of stuffing the ballot box in 1996 to guarantee approval of a widely disliked contract.

2002 February 27, Steven Greenhouse, “Trustee Ends His Oversight Of District 37”, in New York Times, retrieved 2013-04-05:

(idiomatic, politics) To commit fraud in an election by depositing extra or otherwise illegitimate ballots into the container holding the ballots of voters, in an attempt to secure victory for a particular candidate or outcome.


desant

From Russian десант (desant), from French descente (“descent”), in reference to parachuting. Doublet of descent.

(military) A member of the Russian Airborne Troops.


bicam

(Philippines, Philippine politics, colloquial) bicameral


unquartered

An heir may bear his father's arms unquartered, but he is not entitled by the common law of arms to bear his mother's so.

1914, John Horne Stevenson, Heraldry in Scotland, page 337:

John's father, also John, whose seal was seen somewhere by Streatfeild (in whose MSS. there is a drawing of the seal) used a plain unquartered shield of the Pashley crowned and double-queued lion[…]

(chiefly heraldry) Not divided into quarters.


saddle carbine

(firearms) a short carbine intended for use on horseback, typically with a very short barrel and a saddle ring.


gun sock

(firearms) A long tubular cloth covering, sealed at one end, used to provide basic protection for a firearm.


archy

If archy in all forms has brought mankind grief, it follows that the remedy is repudiation. The repudiation of archy is anarchy. Anarchy is therefore the goal of freedom-seeking mankind. Whoever seeks freedom, advances anarchy.

1980, Frederic Trautmann, The Voice of Terror: A Biography of Johann Most, Praeger Pub Text:

It is not our intention here to settle the archy-versus-anarchy debate.

2010, Douglas B. Rasmussen, Douglas J.Den Uyl, Norms of Liberty: A Perfectionist Basis for Non-Perfectionist Politics, Penn State Press, →ISBN, page 338:

There are only two alternatives, in reality: political rule, or archy, which means: the condition of social existence where in some men use aggression to dominate or rule another, and anarchy, which is the absence of the initiation of force, the absence of political rule, the absence of the state.

2017, Edward P. Stringham, Anarchy and the Law: The Political Economy of Choice, Routledge, →ISBN, page 257:

(anarchism, usually derogatory) A political theory or practice that supports hierarchy and authority; the opposite of anarchy.


bore sight

(firearms) An optical device, mounted on or near the end of a firearm's barrel, used to align the sights with the bore.

(firearms) A dummy cartridge containing a small battery-operated laser, used to align the sights.


bore sight

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

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

(firearms) To align the sights and aiming point of a firearm using a bore sight optical tool.


royal assent

The Transport Act, 1962, received Royal Assent on August 1.

1962 October, “Talking of Trains: The Transport Act, 1962”, in Modern Railways, page 219:

(government) The method by which a constitutional monarch (or a viceroy in a colony or dominion) formally approves and promulgates an act of his or her nation's parliament, thus making it a law.

御准

method by which a constitutional monarch approves a law


anocracy

As the number of autocracies in the world began to decline in the late 1980s, the number of anocracies began to increase.

2011, Steven Pinker, The Better Angels of Our Nature, Penguin, published 2012, page 374:

(politics) A political system which is neither fully democratic nor fully autocratic, often being vulnerable to political instability.


pork barrel

pork barrels (plural)
porkbarrel (alternative)
pork-barrel (alternative)

As the President said in his veto message, "It should also come as no surprise that over time the program has attained distinct flavor of pork barrel."

1973 April 10, James T. Lynn, “Pork-Barrel Waste”, in The New York Times:

President Reagan used part of his State of the Union address to berate Congress for sending him catchall spending bills laden with pork barrel benefits for "cranberry research, blueberry research, the study of crawfish, and the commercialization of wild flowers."

1988 February 24, Tom Kenworthy, “Reagan Drops Bid to Cut Pork-Barrel Spending”, in The Washington Post:

Peacekeeping initiatives […] can dangle pork-barrel funding as an incentive to leaders who abide by the peace, enhancing their power and electoral popularity.

2011, Steven Pinker, The Better Angels of Our Nature, Penguin, published 2012, page 380:

Similarly, earmarked, pork-barrel spending[…]is an invaluable tool for assembling bipartisan majorities for legislation because it helps members of Congress see the good a bill does for their constituents.

2019 August 25, Greg Weiner, “The Shallow Cynicism of ‘Everything Is Rigged’”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

With an election not much more than a year away, distributing HS2's money into roads is pork barrel politics. Or at least it would be if the money existed.

2023 November 29, Philip Haigh, “Comment: Can we save HS2 to Crewe?”, in RAIL, number 997, page 3:

(chiefly US politics, often attributively) State funds as assigned for local or regional expenditure; especially, central money used for regional projects which are eyecatching or designed to appeal to voters.


vest buster

Yet, according to data published by the company, the gun press, and the federal government, it appears that the .500 Smith & Wesson Magnum is plainly capable of defeating the highest level of police body armor worn in all but SWAT-type situations. It is a vest buster.

2004, Violence Policy Center, Vest Buster: The .500 Smith & Wesson Magnum—The Gun Industry’s Latest Challenge to Law Enforcement Body Armor:

Joby nodded, “I'll wait,” and offered his support—two live rounds of 9mm Black Talon ammunition. “Vest busters,” in case the cops harassed him.

2008, Kerrie Droban, Running with the Devil: The True Story of the ATF's Infiltration of the Hells Angels, page 121:

for, among other things, improving regulations to combat “straw purchases,” better regulating how weapons that are particularly attractive to criminal groups (such as “vest-buster” […]

2011, Clare Ribando Seelke, “Merida Initiative for Mexico and Central America: Funding and Policy Issues”, in Current Politics and Economics of the United States, Canada and Mexico, volume 13, number 4:

A related design and marketing innovation has been the sale to civilians of “vest busters,” handguns specifically designed to penetrate body armor.

2013, Tom Diaz, The Last Gun: How Changes in the Gun Industry are Killing Americans and what it Will Take to Stop it, page 166:

After the vest-buster big boomers came out and appeared on the scene in Seattle, Jax bought the forty-four.

2016, Melanie Thompson, The Virgin Shifter:

(firearms) A handgun or cartridge that can fully penetrate a contemporary bulletproof vest.


white heat

en-noun

white heat (countable and uncountable, plural white heats)

Wilson's white-heat strategy continued down the same path; its potency as a vote winner in its own right offset by the attention ministers themselves gave to modernising rhetoric.

1997 June 30, Kevin Jefferys, Retreat from New Jerusalem: British Politics, 1951-64, Bloomsbury Publishing, →ISBN, page 194:

The Internet revolution had been one of the trends which for all Blair's white-heat futurology he had underestimated in Opposition.

2013 June 20, John Rentoul, Tony Blair: Prime Minister, Faber & Faber, →ISBN:

We had moved from being the party of ‘white heat’ to the party of sepia-tinged nostalgia. We had become a party squabbling over its own past, rather than one focused on the future of the country.

2021 September 23, Peter Walker, quoting Keir Starmer, “Keir Starmer’s words – and what they mean for Labour”, in The Guardian:

(UK, politics) A strategy for economic growth through technological development, especially associated with the government of Harold Wilson.


taijiquan

From the Hanyu Pinyin romanization of Mandarin 太極拳／太极拳 (tàijíquán).

zh-l

太極拳／太极拳 (tàijíquán)

Chinese martial arts have existed for well over 3,000 years. Wrestling and swordsmanship both have a long history, as do Chinese Internal Alchemy and breathing methods. These disparate elements, married by Yin Yang theory, became what we now call Tai Chi Chuan.

[2009, Dan Docherty, Tai Chi Chuan: Decoding the Classics for the Modern Martial Artist, Crowood Press, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 11:


ARPA

Advanced Research Projects Agency
w:Advanced Research Projects Agency

(military, US, historical) Acronym of Advanced Research Projects Agency, renamed to DARPA in 1972.

This reverses the ARPA provision that lowered the reporting threshold to $600 with no minimum on the number of transactions.

2025 May 7, “The One, Big, Beautiful Bill”, in United States House Committee on Ways & Means, page 26:

American Rescue Plan Act
w:American Rescue Plan Act

(US politics) Acronym of American Rescue Plan Act.

(politics) Initialism of Association for Reformed Political Action.


ARPANET

ARPANET (canonical)
the ARPANET (canonical)
ARPAnet (alternative)

/ˈɑɹ.pəˌnɛt/

From earlier ARPA (“Advanced Research Projects Agency”) with net for network.

ARPANET went online in September, 1969, and connected four computers located in California and Utah.

2001, Bryan Pfaffenberger, Computers in Your Future, Pearson College Division, →ISBN, page 267:

The ARPANET was especially important to the Internet project, and was often called the backbone network because it was the central WAN that tied researchers together.

2007, Douglas Comer, The Internet Book […] , Prentice Hall, →ISBN:

It allowed the ARPANET, a single network, to develop into the Internet—an internetwork of hundreds of thousands of networks.

2009, John Cassidy, Dot.Con […] , Harper Collins, →ISBN, page 17:

w:Advanced Research Projects Agency Network

(military, networking) Initialism of Advanced Research Projects Agency Network, the world's first operational packet-switching network.


MoD

The MoD said the injured men received immediate medical attention and were evacuated by air to the military hospital at Camp Bastion, but three could not be saved. Next of kin have been informed. The other soldiers hurt are not thought to have life-threatening injures.

2013 May 1, Nicholas Watt, Nick Hopkins, “Afghanistan bomb: UK to 'look carefully' at use of vehicles”, in The Guardian:

Ministry of Defence
w:Ministry of Defence

(UK politics) Initialism of Ministry of Defence; also MOD.


MoD

(military, by extension) Abbreviation of ministry of defence (not restricted to the British Ministry of War).


DMR

designated marksman rifle
designated marksman rifle#English

(military, US) Abbreviation of designated marksman rifle.


Sinocentrism

From Sino- (prefix meaning ‘relating to China or the Chinese’) + -centrism (suffix indicating a focus on, or belief in the superiority of, one culture, people, place, or other thing).

confix

Intellectual activity during the Edo period can be broadly classified into three categories: [...] (2) Japanese learning (kokugaku), which arose in mid-Tokugawa times as a reaction to the sinocentrism that then prevailed in scholarly circles; [...]

1988, “Japan’s Turn to the West”, in Peter Duus, editor, The Cambridge History of Japan, volume 5 (The Nineteenth Century), Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 435:

Thus, he [Yokoi Shōnan] repudiated Sinocentrism, which viewed both China and Japan as Chinese in the broader sense of the word and the West as barbarian.

1989, Min Tu-ki, “Chinese “Principle” and Western “Utility,” a Reassessment”, in Philip A. Kuhn, Timothy Brook, editors, National Polity and Local Power: The Transformation of Late Imperial China (Harvard-Yenching Institute Monograph Series; 27), Cambridge, Mass.: Council on East Asian Studies, Harvard University; Harvard–Yenching Institute, →ISBN, page 63:

The process through which China was forcibly drawn into the worldwide European-dominated international system is that of the demise of Sinocentrism. [...] If we telescope the changes of the Chinese views of the world and of their dealings with the outside nations and states in the years from 1840 to 1900, it is clear that the physical demise of Sinocentrism can be found in China's recognition of equality of other states with China; [...]

1991, Zhang Yongjin, “An Empire Contracted in a World Expanded”, in China in the International System, 1918–20: The Middle Kingdom at the Periphery, New York, N.Y.: St. Martin’s Press, →DOI, →ISBN, page 16:

Finally, besides projecting a diminutive view of Taiwan as a regional entity, sinocentrism was overtly dismissive in its attitudes towards the native population. For instance, pejoratives like nuhua (becoming slaves), referring to Taiwanese people's colonial experience, appeared frequently in official documents.

2004, Sung-sheng Yvonne Chang, “Localist Position as a Product of Social Opposition”, in Literary Culture in Taiwan: Martial Law to Market Law, New York, N.Y., Chichester, West Sussex: Columbia University Press, →ISBN, page 126:

In the habitual obsession with Chineseness, what we often encounter is a kind of cultural essentialism—in this case, Sinocentrism—that draws an imaginary boundary between China and the rest of the world. Everything Chinese, it follows, is fantasized as somehow better—longer in existence, more intelligent, more scientific, more valuable, and ultimately beyond comparison.

2013, Rey Chow, “On Chineseness as a Theoretical Problem”, in Shu-mei Shih, Chien-hsin Tsai, Brian Bernards, editors, Sinophone Studies: A Critical Reader, New York, N.Y., Chichester, West Sussex: Columbia University Press, →ISBN, page 45:

(politics) The practice of viewing the world from a Chinese perspective, with an implied belief, either consciously or subconsciously, in the pre-eminence of Chinese culture.

sinocentrismo

[page 81] While Berry is certainly correct in identifying "sinocentrism," which he would rather term "race-centrism," in post-1949 Chinese film, what he sees as "raceization" (or "sinification" as used elsewhere by Paul Clark) is, I would contend, a politically motivated and manipulated process of cultural production. [...] [page 95] To return to Chris Berry's theory of "race," one realizes that he has made an overstatement in treating recent Chinese films as a radical challenge not only to "sinocentrism" but perhaps also "the very assumption of a fundamental duality separating the Han Chinese and the foreign."

1997, Yingjin Zhang, “From “Minority Film” to “Minority Discourse”: Questions of Nationhood and Ethnicity in Chinese Cinema”, in Sheldon Hsiao-peng Lu, editor, Transnational Chinese Cinemas: Identity, Nationhood, Gender, Honolulu, Hi.: University of Hawaiʻi Press, →ISBN, pages 81–82 and 95:

(politics) Ethnocentrism among the Han people of China; Han chauvinism.

大漢族主義 /大汉族主义

ethnocentrism among the Han people of China


order of battle

en-noun

order of battle (plural orders of battle)

orders of battle (plural)
battle order (alternative)

Working for the Resistance, Challe, a regular airman, had skilfully obtained the Luftwaffe order-of-battle on the eve of D-Day and transmitted it to London, for which he was awarded the British D.S.O.

1977, Alistair Horne, A Savage War of Peace, New York: Review Books, published 2006, page 311:

(military) The arrangement of units or other divisions of the armed forces in combat; specifically, the deployment plans of an enemy, or a written record of this.


Dt

(law enforcement) Alternative form of DT (“detective”).


shitbird

Marines work hard. Only shitbirds try to avoid work, only shitbirds try to skate. Marines are clean, not skuzzy. I teach Leonard to value his rifle as he values his life. I teach him that blood makes the grass grow.

1979, Gustav Hasford, “The Spirit of the Bayonet”, in The Short-Timers, archived from the original on 2011-01-31:

'Cause you do not get to win, shitbird. We do!

2004 September 19, David Simon, “Time After Time” (11:43 from the start), in The Wire, season 3, episode 1 (television production), spoken by Ellis Carver (Seth Gilliam), via HBO:

The blond prick and his two shitbirds were never far away, but they eventually gave up and walked back to the barracks.

2009, Jason Christopher Hartley, Just Another Soldier: A Year on the Ground in Iraq:

(slang, vulgar, derogatory, military) An objectionable, despicable person.


Det.

(law, law enforcement) Abbreviation of detective.


Inv.

(law enforcement, criminology) Investigator. (as a title)


Balkanism

Balkanism (countable and uncountable, plural Balkanisms)

Balkanisms (plural)
balkanism (alternative)

From Balkan + -ism. The political meaning was coined by Maria Todorova in 1997 in her work Imagining the Balkans.

Balkanism attributes an essential character to the Balkan Peninsula that is the logical correlate of Balkanisation.

2008, Martin Coward, Urbicide: The Politics of Urban Destruction, page 30:

(politics) Discourse promoting the pejorative political and cultural stereotype of the Balkans.

ბალკანიზმი

discourse promoting the pejorative political and cultural stereotype of the Balkans


antidynastic

en-adj

antidynastic (comparative more antidynastic, superlative most antidynastic)

more antidynastic (comparative)
most antidynastic (superlative)


iron triangle

Over the years the defense industry has become a de facto participant in the policy-making process. As in other areas dominated by powerful corporate interests, a policy sub-government or “iron triangle” has emerged. […] The creation of an “iron triangle” takes time and active efforts of its participants. All three sides work to maintain it as economic circumstances change.

1981, Gordon Adams, The Iron Triangle: The Politics of Defense Contracting, New York: The Council on Economic Priorities, →ISBN, pages 24–25:

They see the raids as evidence that the “iron triangle” of bureaucrats, politicians and businessmen that in 50 years has turned Japan into the world's second-largest economy has broken down when there is nothing to replace it.

1996 December 7, Velisarios Kattoulas, International Herald Tribune, “Corruption Scandals Rack Tokyo's ‘Iron Triangle’”, in International Herald Tribune, →ISSN:

(US politics, political science) The policy-making relationship among the congressional committees, the bureaucracy (executive, sometimes called “government agencies”), and interest groups or lobbyists.


all-points bulletin

en-noun

all-points bulletin (plural all-points bulletins)

(law enforcement) A broadcast issued from one law enforcement agency to another, typically containing information about a wanted suspect or a person of interest.


caretaker government

caretaker government (plural caretaker governments)

no-confidence motion
no-confidence motion

(politics) A government that rules temporarily, for example after a no-confidence motion in a parliamentary system.


EDL

The very Ballardian violence comes from rogue Salafist jihadists and their far-right counterparts, the Nativists (imagine the EDL with brains); […]

2015 September 8, Alex Preston, “Submission by Michel Houellebecq review – satire that’s more subtle than it seems”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

The EDL said Saturday’s rally was aimed at highlighting what it describes as a “continued increase in Islamic terrorism” linked to Birmingham.

2017 April 8, Nicola Slawson, “Birmingham mosque counters EDL rally with ‘best of British’ tea party”, in The Guardian:

English Defence League
w:English Defence League

(UK politics) Initialism of English Defence League.

European Defence League
w:European Defence League

(EU politics) Initialism of European Defence League.


antiagrarian

en-adj

antiagrarian (comparative more antiagrarian, superlative most antiagrarian)

more antiagrarian (comparative)
most antiagrarian (superlative)

(politics) Opposed to the political interests of working farmers.


antiunemployment

antiunemployment (comparative more antiunemployment, superlative most antiunemployment)

more antiunemployment (comparative)
most antiunemployment (superlative)

(politics) Opposing or countering unemployment.


antimining

antimining (comparative more antimining, superlative most antimining)

more antimining (comparative)
most antimining (superlative)

(politics) Opposing mining (commercial excavation).


SWAPO

w:South West Africa People's Organization

(Namibia, politics) Acronym of South West Africa People's Organization (a Namibian political party).


FIPS

w:Federal Information Processing Standards

(government, US): Acronym of Federal Information Processing Standards, a government standard of the United States of America.


men in blue ties

From the association of the colour blue with the Liberal party.

2013, Gillard's warning on 'men in blue ties', Skynews.com.au
Prime Minister Julia Gillard has played the gender card as she fights for electoral survival, warning the coalition's 'men in blue ties' would marginalise female politicians and treat abortion as a political plaything.

(Australian politics, derogatory) The men of the Liberal party and their background lobbyists, particularly with regard to women's issues.


OFC

(military, law enforcement) Abbreviation of officer.


RPF

The moral stature of the RPF has recently been called into question by a French judicial report accusing Kagame, now president of Rwanda, and other RPF soldiers of having shot down Habyarimana's plane.

2004 April 3, Alison Des Forges, The Guardian:

Bugera had his first contact with the RPF through an affluent friend, whose family had helped fund the rebels since their creation.

2011, Jason K Stearns, Dancing in the Glory of Monsters, Public Affairs, published 2012, page 73:

Rwandan Patriotic Front
w:Rwandan Patriotic Front

(Rwanda, politics) Initialism of Rwandan Patriotic Front.


erminois

(heraldry) In blazon, ermine with a field or instead of argent (gold with black spots).

guldhermelin

of gold colour with black spots on a coat of arms


military government

en-noun

military government (plural military governments)

(politics) A government that is led by the military.


artillerywoman

Her ordinary attire, she said, was in the way for an artillerywoman, and she asked permission to wear the male garb.

1871, Thomas Gibson Bowles, The Defence of Paris: Narrated as it was Seen, page 53:

(military) A female soldier who uses artillery.


gun line

The guidon-bearer was placed by the battery commander to mark the right of the gun line, with the gun platoon aligned to his left.

1998, Curt Johnson, Richard Claire Anderson, chapter 1, in Artillery Hell: The Employment of Artillery at Antietam, →ISBN, page 28:

As soon as Lee reaches the Command Post, Matthew directs him forward to the gun line where the crews are preparing the Light Guns.

2013 March, “The Firepower Behind the Army”, in Army Life: Your guide to the Royal Artillery, UK MoD, page 9:

The executive at the gun line is responsible for the drill and fire discipline of the battery.

1917 July 1, Army War College, “Third British Army, Artillery Instructions, No. 3 Notes on the Organization of a Battery for Active Operations”, in Field Artillery Notes, number 4, page 53:

A mountain battery is divided into a "Gun Line" and an "Ammunition Line." Six guns and twelve ammunition-mules form the "Gun Line."

1916 June 10, “The Mountain Gun and Mule Team”, in Scientific American: Supplement, volume 81, number 2110, page 372:

(military) the tactical firing position of artillery or naval guns


Yellow Dog Democrat

Yellow Dog Democrat (plural Yellow Dog Democrats)

Yellow Dog Democrats (plural)
yellow dog Democrat (alternative)

From the claim that such Democrats would sooner vote for a yellow dog, if it ran on the Democratic ticket, than a Republican.

(US politics, dated) A Democrat, especially a Southern one, who votes a straight party ticket; one who invariably votes for Democratic candidates.


Broken Glass Republican

Broken Glass Republican (plural Broken Glass Republicans)

From the claim that such Republicans would crawl through broken glass in order to vote Republican.

(US politics, uncommon) A Republican who invariably votes for Republican candidates.


dead ground

(military) an area of ground hidden from an observer due to undulations in the land


Red Army

Calque of Russian Красная Армия (Krasnaja Armija). The red was the traditional color of the communist movement which was the official ideology of the Soviets at the period.

calque

Красная Армия

(historical, military) Name of the Soviet army in the period 1918–1946.

(historical, informal, military) The Soviet Armed Forces.

If Russia’s President Vladimir Putin could order his troops into his neighbor with impunity, surely China’s President Xi Jinping might finally decide to recover Taiwan, the island province that has remained staunchly independent ever since Mao Zedong’s Red Army finished his conquest of the mainland in 1949.

2022 August 30, Donald Kirk, “Could China invade South Korea after Taiwan?”, in The Hill, archived from the original on 2022-08-30:

(historical, military) The Chinese Red Army.

(informal, military) The Russian Armed Forces, especially the Ground Forces component.


Castrism

(politics) Castrist beliefs and policies generally.


Insp

(law enforcement) Abbreviation of inspector.


liquidationism

From liquidation + -ism, calque of Russian Ликвидаторство (Likvidatorstvo), possibly via German. First attested in 1919.

Ликвидаторство

1919, Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, The Spirit of Russia: Studies in History, Literature and Philosophy, Volume 2, translated from German by Eden and Cedar Paul, page 298.
In their endeavour to be a purely proletarian party they penalised the intelligentsia, and the more extreme and radical section among them even demanded that the party should become wholly a mass movement, for leadership, they said, was improper and must be abolished (must be "liquidated," whence this trend was called "liquidationism").

(politics, Marxism) In Marxist theory, the ideological liquidation (negation) of the revolutionary party program or the hierarchical leadership by party members.


BLUF

(chiefly US military) Acronym of bottom line up front, used to indicate a set of conclusions and recommendations at the beginning of some text, in order to facilitate rapid decision-making.


stop-and-search

stop-and-frisk (alternative)
stop and search (alternative)

Adding to the department's problems is a long-running controversy over a stop-and-search policy that includes random searches of young black men.

1990 January 18, Constance L. Hays, “3 Cases Raise Questions on Boston Police Methods”, in New York Times, retrieved 2013-08-20:

The high court renewed its decision to throw out evidence in a 1992 Montgomery County traffic stop-and-search case that uncovered a small amount of marijuana and a methamphetamine pill.

1997 November 13, Rob Modic, “Motorist Must Know "Free to Go"”, in Dayton Daily News, USA, retrieved 2013-08-20:

Both parties support ‘stop and search’ – also known as ‘sus’ laws. Under these laws, the police can stop anyone under ‘reasonable’ suspicion that they could commit a crime.

2008, Simon Assaf, “London mayor elections: Ken and Boris launch a war on young people”, in Socialist Worker, UK, retrieved 2013-08-20:

A U.S. judge has ruled the New York Police Department has violated the rights of tens of thousands of people by intentionally discriminating against racial minorities with its controversial "stop-and-search" policy.

2013 August 12, “US Court says NYPD ‘Stop-and-Search’ Violates Rights”, in Voice of America, retrieved 2013-08-20:

(law, law enforcement) Of or pertaining to laws or policing practices, found in some jurisdictions, which permit a law enforcement officer to temporarily detain and search a member of the public based on the officer's suspicions.


halfcock

half cock (alternative)
half-cock (alternative)

This was bad both for the alibi reshoots it caused and subsequent delays in a match, but if the hammer fell to halfcock enough times, the half-cock notch would mar the sear tip, adversely affecting trigger pull.

2010, Patrick Sweeney, 1911 The First 100 Years: The First 100 Years:

(firearms) The position when the cock of a gun is at the first notch.


halfcock

en-verb

halfcock (third-person singular simple present halfcocks, present participle halfcocking, simple past and past participle halfcocked)

halfcocks (present singular third-person)
halfcocking (participle present)
halfcocked (participle past)
halfcocked (past)
half cock (alternative)
half-cock (alternative)

(firearms) To set the cock of a firearm at the first notch.


antiempire

en-adj

antiempire (comparative more antiempire, superlative most antiempire)

more antiempire (comparative)
most antiempire (superlative)

Black Beauty is a new gendered text of empire, embedding an innovative discourse that is anticapture, anticruelty, antiwar, and antiempire yet shies from any critique of antediluvian feudal relations. Consequently, Sewell could not easily bring ...

1998, Moira Ferguson, Animal Advocacy and Englishwomen, 1780-1900, page 102:

In light of these changes, it is tempting to label the period from 1783 to 1880 as “antiempire” because of the dampened enthusiasm for large-scale imperialist activities.

2010, Karen Racine, Beatriz G. Mamigonian, The Human Tradition in the Atlantic World, 1500–1850, page 210:


forward line

(military) The soldiers in the furthest forward position in an army.


sweepable

(military) Of a mine: capable of being located by minesweeping


racial profiling

en-noun

racial profiling (usually uncountable, plural racial profilings)

This legislation represents a substantial step toward ending an insidious form of discrimination that is plaguing African-American and Hispanic drivers on our roadways — racial profiling.

1999, Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of the 106th Congress, First Session, vol. 145, part 5, p. 6720 (Google preview)

A recent report on the Ontario government's safe schools policy in the Toronto district school board addressed the issue of racial profilings in the educational system, especially with regard to the disproportionate impact of suspensions and expulsions on racialized students.

2006, Grace-Edward Galabuzi, Canada's Economic Apartheid, →ISBN, page 192:

A special unit of the TSA at Newark Liberty International Airport, trained to detect suspicious behavior, reportedly earned the nickname "Mexican hunters" for racial profiling.

2011 June 15, “Quotes of the Day”, in Time, retrieved 2013-09-10:

A recent campaign by Stockholm police to crack down on illegal immigrants by racial profiling at the city's subway turnstiles has formed the backdrop to a reignited debate about racism.

2013 April 2, Sven Hultberg Carlsson, “Does Sweden have a racial profiling problem?”, in Christian Science Monitor, retrieved 2013-09-10:

Racial profiling is emerging as a flashpoint in Japan as increasing numbers of migrant workers, foreign residents and mixed-race Japanese change the country’s traditionally homogenous society and test deep-seated suspicion toward outsiders.

2024 March 4, Victoria Kim, Hisako Ueno, “Racial Profiling in Japan Is Prevalent but Unseen, Some Residents Say”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

(public policy, law enforcement) The practice (usually considered discreditable), by some police and other officials, of treating members of certain racial groups as more likely to be involved in criminal or other antisocial behavior than members of other racial groups.


identity politics

idpol (alternative abbreviation)
IdPol (alternative abbreviation)
IDPOL (alternative abbreviation)

Both of you spoke from a perspective that some have called identity politics. This approach began as a way for black women to create space for themselves in feminist and black movements by asserting their identity. It has evolved into a framework that recognizes difference but builds barriers rather than bridges among us by not also discussing ways we learn from each other or ways we are connected.

1985 August 24, Paulla Ebron, Myrna James, Helen Moores, Rachel Tallen, Frances White, Elise Young, “Confronting Racism and Anti-Semitism”, in Gay Community News, volume 13, number 7, page 4:

The history of identity politics has however been marked by the increasingly strong and heard voices of, for instance, non-white and working-class women, lesbians and gay men, who do not entirely recognise themselves in these ‘As a…’ claims.

1997, Richard Dyer, White, →ISBN, page 8:

There are those who contest the very idea of identity politics or try to reduce it to a minimum. They would prefer that rights be derived wholly from function and reason. Then, there are those who like some identities but not others. Ranged against them, as it were, are the identity politicians, who insist that all problems are derived from identity and should be solved by the criteria of identity.

2000, George Schöpflin, Nations, Identity, Power: The New Politics of Europe, page 9:

Muzzling Kelly also elevates a semi-professional obscurantist to the status of free speech martyr, and that invites a cacophonous pile-on from the rightwing bobble heads who screech about the left’s obsession with identity politics while shovelling identity politics at their audiences.

2021 February 2, Katharine Murphy, “Scott Morrison must heed the lesson of Donald Trump and slap down Craig Kelly”, in The Guardian:

The pursuit of individual autonomy or “self-actualisation”, for example, has become mired in an identity politics that subsumes the individual into rigidly defined groupings based on ethnicity, gender or sexuality.

2022 March 8, Andrew Anthony, “Liberalism and Its Discontents by Francis Fukuyama review – a defence of liberalism… from a former neocon”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

(politics) Politics focusing on the self-interest and perspectives of people in various groupings, such as ethnicity, race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, and gender identity.

身份政治

politics focusing on the self-interest and perspectives of people in various groupings


debus

en-verb

debus (third-person singular simple present debusses, present participle debussing, simple past and past participle debussed)

debusses (present singular third-person)
debussing (participle present)
debussed (participle past)
debussed (past)

1990, K C Paval, "Indian Army After Independence", New Delhi: Lancer.
The leading battalion […] arrived in the vicinity of Kushtia around 1400 hours and debussed.


FAETUPAC

The US Navy loves acronyms, and sometimes creates lip-curlers like FAETUPAC – Fleet Airborne Electronics Training Unit Pacific, our host for the day.

1962, unknown author, Flight International, volume 82, IPC Transport Press Limited, page 523:

As the testing continued throughout 1947 and 1948, the operational use of TBM-3Ws was accomplished through the Fleet Aviation Electronic Training Units (Atlantic-FAETULANT and Pacific-FAETUPAC).

2002, Edwin Leigh Armistead, AWACS and Hawkeyes: The Complete History of Airborne Early Warning Aircraft, MBI Publishing Company, chapter 1 “The Development of Airborne Early Warning (AEW) Aircraft”, page 13

(US, military) Acronym of Fleet Airborne Electronics Training Unit (Pacific) Squadron.


slop shoot

slop shoots (plural)
slop chute (alternative)
slop-shoot (alternative)
slopshoot (alternative)

Meet me at the slopshoot
On the old Wangpoo
Bring along your dipnet
There's enough for two.
We'll have mashed potatoes
And some Navy stew
Meet me at the slopshoot

1955, FAETUPAC Songbook, song 37 “Meet Me at the Slopshoot” (scan)

The combined club system. I know years ago when I first came in the Marine Corps, I could go down to the slop shoot—that is what we referred to them as in those days; buy a drink for 10 cents; staff sergeants, 15 cents; officers, 20 cents.

1981, testimony of Sergeant Major Crawford, Military Construction Appropriations for 1982: Hearings Before a Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations, House of Representatives, Ninety-seventh Congress, First Session, page 443

Ernie Yost: We were in a forty knot gale. The ship was like a roller coaster, up one wave, down the next, and me and Wade were leaning over the railing puking, like we had spent the weekend liberty at the slop shoot.

2004, November 23, Roger Director, NCIS, season 2, episode 7 “Call of Silence”

“I have an announcement to make. After tonight’s dance, there will be free beer for all Marines in the slop-shoot.” The slop-shoot is a Marine nickname for the enlisted men’s club. … Some of the Marines had convinced a few of the gals to head to the slop-shoot with them. I hung around for a half hour until the tug of the 3.2 beer dragged me in the direction of the slop-shoot. Off I went.

2011, John Hornung, Private 1543868, chapter “November 10. We are Going to Celebrate!”

We would get a one-page typed reply, and we would go to the slop-shoot and editorialize over several cans of beer.

2012, Thomas L. Little, A Lonesome Warrior, chapter 7 “Liberty Call”

(US, military) A drinking establishment for US Marines.


antiopposition

en-adj

antiopposition (comparative more antiopposition, superlative most antiopposition)

more antiopposition (comparative)
most antiopposition (superlative)

(politics) Opposing a political opposition.


antitourism

antitourism (comparative more antitourism, superlative most antitourism)

more antitourism (comparative)
most antitourism (superlative)


anticolonization

anticolonization (comparative more anticolonization, superlative most anticolonization)

more anticolonization (comparative)
most anticolonization (superlative)


bograt

(Australia, New Zealand, military, humorous, derogatory) A junior fighter pilot.


GOAT

GOATs (plural)
G.O.A.T. (alternative)
G. O. A. T. (alternative)
GoAT (alternative)
GoaT (alternative)
Goat (alternative)
goat (alternative)

The best talents; of course he was a GOAT.

2009, Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Public Administration Select Committee, Good government: eighth report of session 2008-09, volume 2

Lord Jones of Birmingham, aka Digby Jones, the former director general of the CBI, said that in his year in the government as a so-called GOAT (a member of the Government Of All The Talents) he found the civil service to be 'honest, stuffed full of decent people who work hard'.

2011, Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Public Administration Select Committee, Bernard Jenkin, Smaller Government: Report, Together with Formal Minutes
One of the problems with the GOATs was that the parliamentary and political role was undersold to them.

(UK, politics, informal) A member of the "government of all the talents" proposed by British prime minister Gordon Brown.


counter-ermine

(heraldry) A tincture consisting of a black background with ermine shapes in white.


cordeliere

cordelieres (plural)
cordelière (alternative)

(heraldry) A decorative cord, especially that surrounding a blazon used to display a widow's coat of arms.


cramponned

(heraldry) Bent over at the ends like a crampon.


antisocialistic

antisocialistic (comparative more antisocialistic, superlative most antisocialistic)

more antisocialistic (comparative)
most antisocialistic (superlative)


ITO

(law enforcement) Initialism of information to obtain order, a search warrant.


infantrywoman

From infantry + woman. Modeled after infantryman.

(military) A female member of an infantry


RFS

Russian Federation Ship
Russian Federation Ship#English

(nautical, military, US, unofficial, exonym) Initialism of Russian Federation Ship (a commissioned warship of the Russian navy.)


saffronization

From saffron + -ization, after the saffron robes worn by Hindu priests and monks.

Given the 'saffronization' of Congress, the 'ethnoreligious purification' of the BJP, and the parturition of the avowedly secular parties (CPI, SJP and BSP) […]

1993, Harold Alton Gould, India votes: alliance politics and minority governments in the ninth and tenth general elections, page 308:

The saffronization of the Shiv Sena, and the fusion of its Maratha-kunbi chauvinism and communalism were natrual outcomes.

1999, Rajeev Bhargava, Multiculturalism, Liberalism, and Democracy, page 241:

The “value education” directives issued in the 81st Report encouraged, in the first instance, the “saffronization” agenda of the BJPled NDA government from 1999.

2015, S. Gupta, Consumable Texts in Contemporary India: Uncultured Books and Bibliographical Sociology:

(India, politics, derogatory) The politics of right-wing Hindu nationalism (Hindutva) that seek to make the Indian state adopt policies that recall and glorify Hindu cultural history and heritage of India at the expense of other religious traditions.

Dravidization

alteration in favour of Dravidian nationalism or separatism


saffronize

en-verb

saffronize (third-person singular simple present saffronizes, present participle saffronizing, simple past and past participle saffronized)

saffronizes (present singular third-person)
saffronizing (participle present)
saffronized (participle past)
saffronized (past)

(India, politics, derogatory) To subject to saffronization.


Berlusconism

(politics) Silvio Berlusconi's policies and attitudes generally.


grumbletonian

He was often dis-guſted, and thought a Grumble-tonian; but there was no getting an inſight into his Proceedings. He’d be counted ſometimes (behind the Curtain) a High-Flyer, and Tory-rory-Ranter; yet, by his natural In-ſtinks, he inclined to be of the Low-Party: Some ſay he was of no Side, but between both.

1722, The Rump Examin’d; with It’s Secrets Discover’d, and laid open, A. Moore, page 18:

(obsolete, UK politics, derogatory, slang) Originally a member of the 17th-century Country Party; later a member of the opposition.


lambel

(heraldry) A label (charge from which pendants are hung).


Abenomics

If Japan’s government can overcome a demand setback after the tax increase takes effect – leaving the economy functioning smoothly and initiating a recovery in government revenue – Abe will be able to declare Abenomics an unequivocal success.

2013, Koichi Hamada, Japan’s Tax-Hike Test:

(politics) The economic policies advocated by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe.

Abenomics

economic policies advocated by Shinzō Abe


DR

[…] His podcast is probably the best show in the entire DR.

2022 October 28, The Original Roland Rat (@OGRolandRat), Twitter:

(politics) Initialism of dissident right.


chemical engine

en-noun

chemical engine (plural chemical engines)

(historical, 19th century, firefighting) A large cart-mounted fire extinguisher using caustic chemical-extinguishing chemicals.


fire bucket

fire buckets (plural)
fire-bucket (alternative)
firebucket (alternative)

Now he rushed to the platform edge carrying a full fire bucket, in a forlorn attempt to douse the flames as the now brightly burning wagon rolled past.

2022 January 12, Benedict le Vay, “The heroes of Soham...”, in RAIL, number 948, page 42:

(firefighting) A bucket holding water or sand, etc., used to extinguish fires.


fire grenade

(obsolete, 19th century, firefighting) A glass bulb filled with caustic and often carcinogenic liquid chemicals that, when thrown and broken in a fire, smother the fire by removing oxygen.

消火弾

glass bulb filled with fire-extinguishing liquid


fire cabinet

(firefighting) a cabinet filled with firefighting equipment

(firefighting) a wall installation where a firehose and tap is located


better dead than red

better dead than Red (alternative)
better Dead than Red (alternative)

Canon Collins urged the electors to reject the candidate nominated by the Crown, Dr. R. W. Stopford, Bishop of Peterborough, who, he claimed, had said "it would be better to have nuclear war than to permit Communist domination over Britain." Canon Collins said: "I cannot believe it is proper for a bishop of the church to encourage the idea which is popularly expressed In the formula ‘better dead than red.’"

1961 August 14, “Canon Causes Stir At Church Election”, in The Age, Australia, retrieved 2013-10-30, page 11:

The recertification of El Salvador's progress on human rights is nothing but a basic restatement of the Reagan foreign policy, which is "better dead than Red."

1982 July 30, Mary McGrory, “Reagan View: El Salvador's slaughter better than communism”, in Spokane Chronicle, retrieved 2013-10-30, page 6:

In a country whose motto not long ago was “Better dead than Red”, it is ironic that today Time Magazine awarded Vladimir Putin the “Man of the Year Award”.

2007 December 20, Karen Fish, “Watch Hillary Clinton Vehemently Vow to Raise Taxes and Vote for War”, in San Francisco Bay Area Independent Media Center, retrieved 2013-10-30:

(politics) It is preferable to be deceased than to be a Communist or ruled by Communists.


partitionist

(Canada, politics) A political partisan who favours the partition of the province of Quebec with the western, southern portions and Montreal forming a separate province or country from the rest of Quebec.


GND

(politics) Initialism of Green New Deal.


Liberals

(Australian politics) The Liberal Party of Australia.


antinativist

en-adj

antinativist (comparative more antinativist, superlative most antinativist)

more antinativist (comparative)
most antinativist (superlative)


Maj.

(military, chiefly as a prenominal title) Abbreviation of major.


Universal Credit

So now Mahmood was in debt and his existing benefits were stopped because the DWP computer thought he was receiving universal credit.

2019 October 14, Robert Booth, “Computer says no: the people trapped in universal credit's 'black hole'”, in The Guardian:

(taxation) A welfare benefit in the United Kingdom, replacing previous benefits and tax credits, gradually rolled out from 2013 and expected to cover the whole country by the end of 2024.


Bushbama

Blend of Bush + Obama, from surnames of George W. Bush and Barack Obama.

(US politics, derogatory) George W. Bush and Barack Obama, seen as a continuation of the same political agenda.


shambrough

(heraldry) A depiction of a boat or ship.


raguly

(heraldry) Having short alternating projections and depressions; notched in regular diagonal breaks; said of a line, or a bearing having such an edge.


managed care

Much of the projected savings would come from enlisting Medicaid recipients in "managed care" programs instead of the current open-ended system.

1984 February 5, Richard A. Knox, “Full-scale Medicaid Overhaul Proposed”, in Boston Globe, retrieved 2013-11-28:

State lawmakers today are expected to approve landmark legislation designed to protect the 5 million Pennsylvanians enrolled in managed care health plans.

1998 June 9, Frank Reeves, “Managed care users could get new protection”, in Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, retrieved 2013-11-28:

A managed care system makes it possible to enroll more people and improve care, yet also keep costs under control.

2011 January 9, Courtney Burke, “Room for Debate: Getting Rates Under Control”, in New York Times, retrieved 2013-11-28:

(US, medicine, healthcare) Medical services which are planned, directed, and controlled—especially by a health insurance company—in a manner designed to maximize the efficiency of the delivery and financing of health care.

管理式醫療護理 /管理式医疗护理

medical services which are designed to maximise the efficiency of health care

optimaalinen hoito (descriptive translation)


Fascist

In May 1929 Hitler successfully prosecuted a libel action against right-wing and left-wing opponents who had accused him of ‘betraying’ the South Tyrol in return for Fascist gold.

1978, Meir Michaelis, Mussolini and the Jews: German-Italian relations and the Jewish question in Italy, 1922–1945, Clarendon Press, page 46:

By the late 1930s Rome had new Fascist bridges, a new university, four new post offices and a number of new ministry buildings, which included, on Via Veneto, the Ministry of Corporations, that were to be Fascism’s answer to capitalist exploitation and Marxist class hatred.

2019, Matthew Kneale, “seven”, in Rome: A History in Seven Sackings, New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, published 2017, →ISBN, →LCCN, page 305:

(fascism, history) Of or pertaining to the Kingdom of Italy from 1922–1943.


Fascist

(fascism, historical, sometimes attributive) A member of the National Fascist Party in Italy from 1922 to 1943.

The Fascists invaded the USSR, they occupied many cities, they killed millions of people, they destroyed half the country.

2010, German Sadulaev, I Am a Chechen!, Random House, →ISBN, section 10, page 199:

(fascism, historical, sometimes attributive) Synonym of Nazi.


PCO

Parliamentary Counsel Office
Parliamentary Counsel Office#English

(government, UK) Initialism of Parliamentary Counsel Office.

Privy Council Office
w:Privy Council Office

(government, Westministerian Parliament) Initialism of Privy Council Office.


zule

Those of Zulestein, are Gules, three Zules, Or.

1724, John Guillim, A Display of Heraldry, page 117:

ZULE : a chess rook : so called in the coat of ZULEISTEIN (gules, three zules argent, a label of three points of the last,) borne on an escutcheon surtout by the earls of Rochford.

1847, Henry Gough, A Glossary of Terms Used in British Heraldry: With a Chronological Table, Illustrative of Its Rise and Progress, page 330:

FREDERICK NASSAU DE ZUYLESTEIN, EARL OF ROCHFORD Quarterly, [...] over all, in an escutcheon Gules three zules Argent, two and one, for Zuylestein.

1914, Joint Publishing Committee Representing the London County Council and the London Survey Committee, Survey of London:

(heraldry) One of the three stylized pillars (often considered chess rooks) in the canting arms of Frederick Nassau de Zuylestein.


zoomie

Most of the zoomies in the audience are clean-shaven office poges who never go into the field.

1979, Gustav Hasford, The Short-Timers, New York: Bantam Books, published 1980, →ISBN, page 39:

Then it's purely a coincidence that the last two zoomies to arrive here got assigned to Vung Tau, while every ROTC grad in the last month has been sent to god-awful Army camps, right?

2006, Rocky Raab, Baggy Zero Four, page 9:

The BX was huge, and the quality of the stuff was better than that of the Fort McClellan PX even though zoomies made the same amount of money that we did.

2007, John Sheppard, Tales of the Peacetime Army:

A zipper head (an air force zoomie with his hair parted in the middle) walked up to me.

2008, Rob Krott, Save the Last Bullet for Yourself, page 89:

(military slang) A graduate of, or student at, the United States Air Force Academy, USAFA.


armorially

(heraldry) In terms of or by means of armorial bearings.


rifle pit

(military) A trench dug to shelter riflemen.


point d'appui

From French point d'appui (“point of support”).

bor

1795, Rules and Regulations for the Cavalry, Adjutant General's Office, page 364,
Marched from the left, and to deployer to the left.—In which caſe the right squadron moves ſtreight forward to the point d'appui marked by the Quarter Maſter, &c. &c.

The attacking artillery, firing at a point d'appui at long range, cannot be said to be immobilized, because it has the power of diverting its fire to neighbouring points d'appui;[…].

1911, The Royal Engineers Journal, page 122:

(military) A given point or body upon which troops are formed, or by which they are marched in line or column.

1989, Daniel Berthold-Bond, Hegel's Grand Synthesis: A Study of Being, Thought, and History, State University of New York Press, page 40,
Its intention and its method is to "stand back from natural objects, leaving them as they are and adjusting ourselves to them," and its point d'appui and point de depart is sense experience (PhN §246 Zusatz).

If, on the other hand, the points d'appui are in regions of longitudinal muscle contraction so that the fixed body regions are at their shortest, the animal will move in the opposite direction to the wave, the wave is said to be retrograde.

2009, R. S. K. Barnes, Peter P. Calow, P. J. W. Olive, D. W. Golding, J. I. Spicer, The Invertebrates: A Synthesis, Wiley, page 252:

(military) An advantageous defensive support; a foothold.


drumhead court-martial

en-noun

drumhead court-martial (plural drumhead court-martials)

drumhead court-martials (plural)
drum-head court (alternative)

Perhaps because a drumhead had to be used as a meeting point or an improvised writing table.

So of course the citizen was only waiting for the wink of the word and he starts gassing out of him about the invincibles and the old guard and the men of sixtyseven and who fears to speak of ninetyeight and Joe with him about all the fellows that were hanged, drawn and transported for the cause by drumhead courtmartial and a new Ireland and new this, that and the other.

1922 February, James Joyce, Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, […], →OCLC:

Between the summer of 1906 and the beginning of 1907, Prime Minister Stolypin used the powers which the Emergency Laws gave him to have more than one thousand terrorists sentenced to death by drumhead courts martial (voennye polevye sudy).

2006, Jorg Baberowski, “Law, the judicial system and the legal profession”, in Dominic Lieven, editor, The Cambridge History of Russia, volume 2, Cambridge University Press, page 366:

See also citations under drum-head court.

(military) A court-martial held in the field to hear urgent charges of offences committed in action.


gunner's daughter

(archaic, idiomatic, naval) The gun to which sailors were tied to be flogged.


(military, US) Abbreviation of command, control, communications, intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance.


CEP

The Circular Error Probable (CEPs) of SLBMs and SLCMs ought thus to be deliberately kept above the 'Hard Target Kill' (HTK) level.

1989, Marlies ter Borg-Neervoort, Wim Smit, Non-provocative Defence as a Principle of Arms Reduction:

circular error probable
w:circular error probable

(ballistics) An initialism of three synonymous phrases, namely:

circular error probability
w:circular error probable

Initialism of circular error probability.

circle of equal probability
w:circular error probable

Initialism of circle of equal probability.


undress parade

(military, archaic) A substitute for dress parade in bad weather, the companies forming without arms, and the ceremony being shortened.


partitionism

(Ireland, politics) The treatment of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland as distinct.


minenwerfer

minenwerfer (plural minenwerfers or minenwerfer)

minenwerfers (plural)
minenwerfer (plural)
minnenwerfer (alternative)

From German Minenwerfer, from Mine + Werfer (“mortar”).

Something landed outside that shook the earth. ‘Four hundred twenty or minnenwerfer,’ Gavuzzi said.

1929, Ernest Hemingway, A Farewell to Arms, Folio Society, published 2008, page 59:

(military, now historical) A type of trench mortar used by German forces especially during the First World War, or the shells fired by such a mortar.


clearing station

clearing station (plural clearing stations)

‘The orders are that we stay here. You clear the wounded from here to the clearing station.’

1929, Ernest Hemingway, A Farewell to Arms, Folio Society, published 2008, page 181:

(military) A temporary field hospital to treat and classify the sick and wounded.


monkey meat

‘You'd better get some sleep,’ I said. ‘We can eat cheese and monkey-meat.’

1929, Ernest Hemingway, A Farewell to Arms, Folio Society, published 2008, page 184:


Murder, Inc.

(US, slang, derogatory, US politics) The Central Intelligence Agency.


War on Women

(US, politics, US politics, derogatory) Political efforts and initiatives to reduce women's rights, especially their reproductive rights.


present arms

(military) A position of salute in the manual of arms in which the gun is held in both hands vertically in front of the body, with the muzzle upward and the trigger side forward.


present arms

en-verb

present arms (third-person singular simple present presents arms, present participle presenting arms, simple past and past participle presented arms)

presents arms (present singular third-person)
presenting arms (participle present)
presented arms (participle past)
presented arms (past)


Bismarckism

(politics) The political ideology of Otto von Bismarck.


numbers station

en-noun

numbers station (plural numbers stations)

The most common numbers station features a young lady reading the numbers in Spanish. Other stations have both male and female voices reading numbers in Spanish, German, English and Chinese. So far, nobody has been able to decode any of the messages!

October 1986, William O'Connell, “Get On The Air”, in Boys' Life, volume 76, number 10, page 35:

Naturally enough, no government has actually admitted to operating a numbers station, but the suspicion is there.

2012, Ripley's Believe It Or Not! (compiler), Ripley's Unbelievable Stories For Guys:

(radio, espionage) A shortwave radio station characterized by unusual broadcasts, often of artificially generated voices reciting streams of numbers, words, etc., supposedly of coded messages.


save by the bell

en-verb

save by the bell (third-person singular simple present saves by the bell, present participle saving by the bell, simple past and past participle saved by the bell)

saves by the bell (present singular third-person)
saving by the bell (participle present)
saved by the bell (participle past)
saved by the bell (past)

With 35 seconds left in the fight, the Siberian Rocky landed a lethal right hook that staggered Bradley and forced him to take a knee following a few more hard blows, thus saving Bradley by the bell.

2013 December 30, “Behind The Gloves 2013 Picks!”, in behindthegloves.com, retrieved 2014-01-22:

(transitive, boxing, wrestling) In a boxing or wrestling match or similar competition, to ring the bell which concludes the round and thereby to prevent a competitor who has been knocked down from being counted out by the referee.


saved by the bell

Forrest floored Mosley again at the end of the round and almost finished him, but Mosley was saved by the bell.

2002 July 19, Damon Hack, “Boxing: Despite Not Having the Title, Mosley Garners Attention”, in New York Times, retrieved 2014-01-06:

(boxing, wrestling, of a competitor) In a boxing or wrestling match or similar competition, spared from being counted out by the referee by the ringing of the bell which concludes the round.


horse soldier

horse soldiers (plural)
horse-soldier (alternative)
horsesoldier (alternative)

(military) An army member who fights horseback; a cavalry or cavalier.


O'Neillism

(Ireland, politics) The policies of Terence O'Neill (1914–1990), fourth Prime Minister of Northern Ireland.


Paisleyism

(Ireland, politics) The policies of Ian Paisley (born 1926), Northern Irish politician.


Mobutism

(politics) The official party ideology of the Popular Movement of the Revolution, based on the thoughts, visions, and policies of Zairean president Mobutu Sese Seko.

mobutisme

the ideology of Zairean president Mobutu Sese Seko


Mobutist

en-adj

Mobutist (comparative more Mobutist, superlative most Mobutist)

more Mobutist (comparative)
most Mobutist (superlative)

(politics) Supporting or relating to Mobutism.


poacher's gun

(firearms) A small-bore shotgun hidden in a walking cane.