trundle

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

From Middle English trondlin, trondelen, a variation of Middle English trendlen, from Old English trendlian. More at trendle, trindle.

between as many Trundles, Or […]

1724, John Guillim, A Display of Heraldry, page 14:

Gules, two broaches in saltire argent, between as many trundles or, on a chief of the second a lion passant gules - EMBROIDERERS' COMPANY at Bristol and Chester.

1894, Henry Gough, James Parker, A Glossary of Terms Used in Heraldry, page 226:

Party of six argent and sable, on a fesse gules, between three lions of England, two broches (or embroidery needles) saltirewise between as many trundles or. Crest. - On a heart the Holy Dove displayed, argent, radiated or.

2023 May 1, W. Sedgwick Saunders, A Catalogue of Engraved Portraits, Topographical Drawings and Prints, Coins, Gems, Autographs, Antiquities, and Works of Art, BoD – Books on Demand, →ISBN:

(heraldry, rare) A spool or skein of golden thread (chiefly in the arms of the Embroiderers Company, now the Company of Broderers).


spill

en-verb

spill (third-person singular simple present spills, present participle spilling, simple past and past participle spilled or spilt)

spills (present singular third-person)
spilling (participle present)
spilled (participle past)
spilled (past)
spilt (participle past)
spilt (past)

l-vocalizing: UK, General Australian, New Zealand

From Middle English spillen, from Old English spillan, spildan (“to kill, destroy, waste”), from Proto-West Germanic *spilþijan, from Proto-Germanic *spilþijaną (“to spoil, kill, murder”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)pel- (“to sunder, split, rend, tear”).
Cognate with Dutch spillen (“to use needlessly, waste”), French gaspiller ("to waste, squander" < Germanic), Bavarian spillen (“to split, cleave, splinter”), Danish spilde (“to spill, waste”), Swedish spilla (“to spill, waste”), Icelandic spilla (“to contaminate, spoil”). See also spool.

cog

(transitive, Australian politics) To open the leadership of a parliamentary party for re-election.


spill

leadership spill
leadership spill#English

(Australian politics) A declaration that the leadership of a parliamentary party is vacant, and open for re-election. Short form of leadership spill.


motto

Borrowed from Italian motto (“a word, a saying”), from Latin muttum (“a mutter, a grunt”), late 16th c.. Doublet of mot.

‘Gentlemen, I can tell you what the new queen will take as her motto. It is Bound to Obey and Serve.’

2020, Hilary Mantel, The Mirror and the Light, Fourth Estate, page 10:

(heraldry) A sentence, phrase, or word, forming part of an heraldic achievement.

leuse

sentence, phrase or word forming part of a heraldic achievement


summit

PIE word
 *upó
The noun is derived from Late Middle English somet, somete (“head, top”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman sumet and Middle French sommet (masculine), somete, sommette (“top of a thing; highest point of a mountain”) (feminine) (modern French sommet), from Old French somet, sommette, from som, sum (“highest point, summit”) + -et (suffix forming diminutive masculine nouns), -ete, -ette (suffix forming diminutive feminine nouns). Som, sum are derived from Latin summum (“top, summit”), a noun use of the neuter of summus (“greatest, highest; top, uppermost”, adjective) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *upér (“over”) + *-m̥mos, *-tm̥mos (“suffix forming superlative adjectives”)). The modern English spelling was influenced by summity (“height or top of a thing; utmost degree, perfection”) (obsolete).
The verb is derived from the noun.

(archaic) The highest level of political leadership.

They met for an international summit on environmental issues.

(by extension) An assembly or gathering of the leaders of countries to discuss issues of international significance; also (loosely), an important or high-level gathering or meeting.

сустрэ́ча

на вышэ́йшым узро́ўні, ў вярха́х

сре́ща

на най-висо́ко равни́ще

встре́ча

на вы́сшем у́ровне, в верха́х

ministermöte

of ministers or departmental secretaries


summit

en-verb

summit (third-person singular simple present summits, present participle summiting or summitting, simple past and past participle summited or summitted)

summits (present singular third-person)
summiting (participle present)
summitting (participle present)
summited (participle past)
summited (past)
summitted (participle past)
summitted (past)

päästä huipulle

(transitive) to reach the summit of (a mountain)

If the Soviet leaders could go on summiting with the US while bombs poured on North Vietnam and yet claim that they had nothing but the best interests of the Vietnamese revolution in mind, there seems precious little reason to cry wolf at Peking-Bonn relations.

1969, Economic and Political Weekly, volume 4, numbers 14-26, page 645:

[…] what the North Vietnamese would do while Richard Nixon was summiting in Moscow. […]

The young President [JFK], who is on the eve of summiting with Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev, is ensconced at Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, preparing to fly to Vienna with his wife, Mrs. Jacqueline Kennedy, to meet with Khrushchev to discuss Cold War issues.

1998, David S. Nuttall, Mickey Mantle's Greatest Hits, page 152:

The President had been summiting with Soviet President Leonid Brezhnev in Vienna.

2001, Robert V. Heffernan, Cabinetmakers: Story of the Three-year Battle to Establish the U.S. Department of Education, page 439:

From May 29 to June 3, 1988[,] Reagan and Gorbachev summited in Moscow. Expectations of the meeting were low, because Reagan's position as a "lame duck" president guaranteed that nothing new of historic import would occur.

2021, Mark LaVoie, Reagan’s Soviet Rhetoric: Telling the Soviet Redemption Story, page 92:

(intransitive, politics) To attend a summit (noun sense 2.2.2).


expedition

en-noun

expedition (countable and uncountable, plural expeditions)

From Middle French expédition, and its source, Latin expeditio.

(military) An important or long journey, for example a march or a voyage

արշավ

An important enterprise, implying a change of place


bear hug

(wrestling) A hold with the arms around the opponent.


receiver

From Anglo-Norman receverre, receivour et al., later also reformed as receive + -er. Compare recevor, rescaivour.

curator

person appointed to settle financial affairs

прыёмнік

electronic device that receives and converts signal

(firearms) The part of a firearm containing the action.


cloture

cloture (countable and uncountable, plural clotures)

Borrowed from French clôture (“closure”). Doublet of closure and clausure.

Now, a filibuster typically begins when a Senator or group of Senators signals their intent to filibuster – which can be done by a private conversation with the majority leader or by quietly placing a bill or nomination on hold. Given the modern Senate's scarce floor time, this threat is usually enough to table the disputed issue until the dissenting Senators cave or until there are definitely enough votes to invoke cloture.

2010 April 22, Mimi Murray Digby Marziani, Diana Lee, “Statement for the Record, Brennan Center for Justice, New York, NY”, in Examining the Filibuster: Hearings before the Committee on Rules and Administration, United States Senate, One Hundred Eleventh Congress, Second Session, April 22, 2010, May 19, 2010, June 23, 2010, July 28, 2010, and September 22 and 29, 2010 (S. Hrg. 111-706), Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, →ISBN, page 112:

(law, politics, chiefly US) In legislative assemblies that permit unlimited debate (that is, a filibuster): a motion, procedure or rule by which debate is ended so that a vote may be taken on the matter. For example, in the United States Senate, a three-fifths majority vote of the body is required to invoke cloture and terminate debate.


sable

sable (countable and uncountable, plural sables)

sables (plural)
sa. (alternative)
s. (alternative)

Attested since 1275, from Middle English sable, from Old French sable and martre sable (“sable marten”), in reference to the animal or its fur; from Medieval Latin sabelum, from Middle Low German sabel (compare Middle Dutch sabel, Middle High German zobel); ultimately from a Slavic word (compare Russian со́боль (sóbolʹ), Polish soból, Czech sobol). Compare also Middle Persian smwl (*samōr).

sable (heraldry):

(heraldry) A black colour on a coat of arms.


sable

en-adj

sable (comparative sabler, superlative sablest)

sabler (comparative)
sablest (superlative)
sa. (alternative)
s. (alternative)

(heraldry) In blazon, of the colour black.


transformism

en-noun

transformism (countable and uncountable, plural transformisms)


annulet

From Latin ānnulus (“small ring”) + -et.

(heraldry) A small circle borne as a charge in coats of arms.


DA

DA (countable and uncountable, plural DAs or DA's)

(UK politics) Initialism of devolved administration.


DA

Once all the votes are counted, if the ANC remains below 50% it will be forced to enter a coalition with one or more parties. Depending on how low its support dips, it may need to form a deal with one of the larger opposition parties such as the DA or EFF to remain in power.

2024 May 30, Sarah Dean and David McKenzie, “First results in South Africa’s election suggest it is heading for biggest political shift since apartheid”, in CNN:

Democratic Alliance
w:Democratic Alliance (South Africa)

(South Africa, politics) Initialism of Democratic Alliance.


DA

(military, of a revolver) Initialism of double action.


Charlie Foxtrot

Charlie Foxtrot (plural Charlie Foxtrots)

That commission's project has become a huge Charlie Foxtrot; who's in charge over there?

Charlie Foxtrot! Tower One approach has active Triple-A!

2007 September 25, Bungie, Halo 3, spoken by Hocus (Debra Wilson Skelton), Microsoft Game Studios, Xbox 360, level/area: The Covenant:

(military) Clusterfuck, abbreviated to "CF" and expressed in the NATO phonetic alphabet.


returns

(military) The return of the soldiers fit for duty.


hassle

en-verb

hassle (third-person singular simple present hassles, present participle hassling, simple past and past participle hassled)

hassles (present singular third-person)
hassling (participle present)
hassled (participle past)
hassled (past)

Unknown. Probably from US Southern dialectal hassle (“to pant, breathe noisily”), possibly from haste + -le (frequentative suffix).

Likewise, “hassling”—mock dogfighting—was strictly forbidden, and so naturally young fighter jocks could hardly wait to go up in, say, a pair of F–100s and start the duel by making a pass at each other at 800 miles an hour, […]

If you were caught 'hassling,' as we called dogfighting, your career could end. The edict against dogfighting divided our squadron into three factions.

(military, aviation, slang) To engage in a mock dogfight.


budget

→ Cantonese: budget

desctree

→ French: budget
→ Armenian: բյուջե (byuǰe), պյուտճե (pyutče)
→ German: Budget
→ Ottoman Turkish: بودجه (büdce)
Turkish: bütçe
→ Azerbaijani: büdcə
→ Persian: بودجه (budje)
→ Russian: бюдже́т (bjudžét)

→ Italian: budget

→ Polish: budżet

→ Swahili: bajeti

Recorded since 1432 as Middle English bogett, bouget, bowgette (“leather pouch”), borrowed from Old French bougette, the diminutive of bouge (“leather bag, wallet”) (also the root of bulge), itself from Late Latin bulga (“leather bag, bellow”), which derives from Gaulish *bolgā (compare Old Irish bolg (“bag”), Breton bolc’h (“flax pod”)), a common root with the Germanic family (compare Dutch balg (“bellows”)), from the Proto-Indo-European *bʰelǵʰ-. More at belly.

baajeta

the amount of money or resources earmarked for a particular institution, activity or time-frame

(obsolete, military) A socket in which the end of a cavalry carbine rests.


CID

(British, law enforcement, initialism) Scotland Yard Criminal Investigation Department

(US, military, law enforcement, initialism) U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command

(US, military, law enforcement, initialism) Former name of NCIS (Naval Criminal Investigation Division).


DILLIGAFF

give a flying fuck
give a flying fuck#English

(US, military slang) Acronym of does it look like I give a flying fuck?.


Fanny Adams

sweet Fanny Adams (alternative)
sweet FA (alternative)
SFA (alternative)

From Fanny Adams (1859–1867), a young girl brutally murdered and dismembered. Tins of mutton introduced in the British navy after her death were not liked by the sailors and were humorously said to be her butchered remains. Fanny Adams then came to mean any worthless thing, and, eventually, nothing at all ("sweet F A").
Coincidentally, the initials "FA" also fit the vulgar term fuck all, also meaning "nothing at all", leading to later perception of "Fanny Adams", or "FA", being a euphemism for the latter.

The Engineer Lieutenant pushed his head inside his neighbour's cabin: “Come along—come along! You'll be late for dinner. Fresh grub to-night: no more ‘Russian Kromeskis’ and ‘Fanny Adams’!”

1916, Bartimeus [pseudonym; Sir Lewis Ritchie], Naval Occasions, and Some Traits of the Sailor-man, Edinburgh and London: William Blackwood and Sons:

(UK, naval slang, obsolete, derogatory) Tinned meat.


referendum

en-noun

referendum (plural referenda or referendums)

/ˌɹɛfəˈɹɛndəm/

From Latin referendum (“that which ought to be announced”), from refero (“I announce”).

der

In some cases, a referendum on the proposed bond issue must be held.

1975, Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau, Informational Bulletin:

Although the Cook Islands held a referendum in 1994, when voters rejected a name change, the yearning for a decolonised identity has not disappeared.

2019, Nalini Mohabir, “Renaming the Cook Islands would be a vital step towards true independence”, in Guardian.:

(politics) A direct popular vote on a proposed law or constitutional amendment. (The adposition on is usually used before the related subject of the vote.)

ប្រជាមតិ

prɑɑciə mĕəʼteʼ


plebiscite

Sense 1 (“referendum”) is borrowed from French plébiscite, from Latin plēbiscītum, plēbis scītum, plēbī scītum (“law of the common people or plebs”), from plēbis (the genitive singular of plēbs (“common people, plebeians”)) + scītum (“decree, ordinance, statute”).
Sense 3 (“law enacted by the common people”) is a learned borrowing from Latin plēbiscītum: see above. It is attested earlier than English plebiscitum.
Cognates
* Italian plebiscito
* Middle French plebiscite (modern French plébiscite)
* Middle Low German plebiscīt (“ordinance”)
* Spanish plebiscito, plebisçito (obsolete)

cog

A political result, we may also say aim, of the frumentarian plebiscite of Gaius was to disattach the city populace from its conservative moorings and to enlist it in the service of reform.

1909, George Willis Botsford, The Roman Assemblies from Their Origin to the End of the Republic:

Then something changed, and Mr. Mitterrand said he thought it would be a good idea if the Constitution allowed plebiscites, on the recommendation of the President, on issues involving personal freedoms.

1984 July 15, John Vinocur, “A SULLEN, DISILLUSIONED FRANCE MARKS BASTILLE DAY”, in The New York Times:

(law, politics) A direct popular vote on an issue of public importance, such as an amendment to the constitution, a change in the sovereignty of the nation, or some government policy.

plebiscitu

direct popular vote on an issue of public importance — see also referendum


fire company

(firefighting, US) An organization whose purpose is to extinguish fires.

brannvesen

an organization whose purpose is to extinguish fires

(firefighting, US) A single emergency response unit and its personnel within a fire department


NCO

There was for some reason a shortage not only of regular private soldiers but of officers and NCOs.

1989, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, translated by H. T. Willetts, August 1914, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, →ISBN, page 109:

For Sgt Kudrya, an NCO who has found himself commanding a company because of a lack of officers, this low-level war means a constant struggle with the elements, paper work (he is under constant pressure from above to account for each litre of petrol and round of ammunition), and the erosion of discipline born of boredom.

2017 January 14, Roland Oliphant, “Special report: Loose cannons at the frontline of Ukraine's forgotten war”, in The Telegraph:

non-commissioned officer
non-commissioned officer#English

(military) Initialism of non-commissioned officer.


set up

en-verb

set up (third-person singular simple present sets up, present participle setting up, simple past and past participle set up)

sets up (present singular third-person)
setting up (participle present)
set up (participle past)
set up (past)

When you make an opening you merely cause an opponent to uncover a target somewhere on his person. But when you set up an opponent, you knock him off balance with one punch so that he should be an open target for a following punch. Unless he's knocked off balance, he's not set up.

1950, Jack Dempsey, chapter 23, in Championship Fighting: Explosive Punching and Aggressive Defense:

Writer Danny Wamboldt of Ring magazine said, "Only Willie knew how to set up his opponents masterfully and then move in." Wamboldt, a former New England bantamweight champion and current national president of the Veteran Boxers Association, said that one of Pep's opponents said of his dazzling speed: "It was the first time he had been surrounded by one man."

1997 September 24, Joe Duffy, “TRIBUTES TO THE MAN AND THE BOXER”, in Hartford Courant:

(boxing) To deceive an opponent and capitalize on their reactions with a certain technique or maneuver.


setup

The jab is most commonly used as a setup for other strikes.

(boxing) A move or set of moves which are meant to draw out a reaction which leaves an exploitable opening in defense.


compartment

First attested 1564, from Middle French compartiment, from Italian compartimento, from Late Latin compartiri (“to divide with, to share with”), from com- + partiri (“to apportion, to divide, to share”).

der

(heraldry) A mound (often of grass), shelf (of e.g. wall) or other thing beneath the shield in a coat of arms on which the supporters stand.


polling

en-noun

polling (countable and uncountable, plural pollings)

(politics, uncountable) the process of voting in an election.


displacement

From French déplacement. Morphologically displace + -ment.

водоизместимост

the quantity of anything, as water, displaced by a floating body, as by a ship

there is no replacement for displacement

(fencing) Moving the target to avoid an attack; dodging.


flick

→ Afrikaans: fliek

From Middle English flykke (“light blow or stroke”). Later uses apparently interpreted as a back-formation from flicker.
The use of flick to mean a film or movie derives from the fact that early films had a low frame rate, thus causing the film to "flick" rapidly when projected onto a screen.

inh

(fencing) A cut that lands with the point, often involving a whip of the foible of the blade to strike at a concealed target.

flikki

a cut that lands with the point (fencing)


placeman

Plus, contrary to hysterical prediction and uninformed innuendo, Bryant Lemuel's influence did not fill this pilot project with compliant placemen, instead leaving all appointments to the university science faculty.

2007, Christopher Brookmyre, Attack of the Unsinkable Rubber Ducks, →ISBN, page 183:

Predictably, the brow-beaten Clement in the end submitted to Philip's demands that the papal commission, which was eventually convened in November 1309, should consist predominantly of clerics who were known to be royal placemen.

2007, Edwin Mullins, The Popes of Avignon, Blue Bridge, published 2008, page 32:

(UK politics, derogatory) One appointed to an office, especially in government, as a reward for political or other support; an appointee, a yes-man.


specialist

Borrowed from French spécialiste, equivalent to special + -ist.

(US, military) Any of several non-commissioned ranks corresponding to that of corporal.


lancer

(military) A cavalry soldier armed with a lance weapon.


UXB

(military) Initialism of unexploded bomb.


field day

Some postulate the idiomatic usage is derived from the "parade day" military use. A parade is much easier than the soldiers’ usual drilling and intense exercise.

This morning I got up, with great difficulty, at 6.30, and at 7.45 we started out for a Brigade Field Day. Did an attack from 10.30 to 2.30, but it wasn't a strenuous one for me as I was told to "become a casualty" soon after the 3000 yard assault began ….

1937, Siegfried Sassoon, Sherston's Progress, London: Faber, page 621 (in The Complete Memoirs of George Sherston ):

(military) A day for maneuvers and tactical exercises in the field (across the landscape).

(US military, specifically US Navy, US Coast Guard and US Marine Corps) A day on which there is top-to-bottom all-hands cleaning.


technical knockout

en-noun

technical knockout (plural technical knockouts)

technical knockouts (plural)
TKO (alternative)
R.K.O (alternative)

(martial arts) A knockout declared by a referee in cases where a participant is sufficiently injured, unbalanced, or confused and unable to continue the fight


BFE

They sent me way out in BFE looking for the parts.

(vulgar, military slang) Initialism of Bumfuck, Egypt.


heckler

[…] the usual gap between the time the last strike of the day departed and the first night hecklers arrived was closed with "zippers" — night fighters who, using day fighter tactics, proceeded to the target in daylight in time to relieve the last day blanket patrol.

(US, military, slang) An aircraft flying attack missions at night.


over the transom

A transom is a lintel or crosspiece over a door; likely an alteration of Latin trānstrum (“crossbeam”). Refers to the idea of a writer tossing a manuscript through the open window over the door of the publisher's office. Alternatively, a "transom" is the nautical term for the back of a small boat. Something which "came in over the transom" would have suddenly (and presumably, surprisingly) entered through the "back door" of the craft, metaphorically.

They worked into the night and sent an associate to make an over-the-transom filing.

(idiomatic, law, government) Meeting a deadline by delivery after the day of the deadline but before opening of business the following business day.


banquette

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

Borrowed from French banquette, the diminutive form of banc; by surface analysis, bank + -ette.

(military) A narrow area behind a defensive wall's parapet elevated above its terreplein and used by defenders to shoot at attackers.


intel

Intel is important in espionage.

We have reason to believe one of our people is giving intel to the enemy. Hit an enemy communication center and get us a name.

2017, BioWare, Mass Effect: Andromeda (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →OCLC, PC, scene: Identify the Spy:

“The Bynar ship went missing on stardate 58934.9.” “Okay, so your intel is legit, but this still feels like a trick.” “No. I'm a changed computer. Just look at me. Do you see the blue light?” “The light is reassuring.”

2023 October 12, Edgar Momplaisir, “A Few Badgeys More” (8:50 from the start), in Star Trek: Lower Decks, season 4, episode 7, spoken by Brad Boimler (Jack Quaid):

Aaaaaand that’s pretty much everything we know about Zazie and David’s ‘ship, but definitely check back here for any and all intel on the couple. ❤

2024 October 30, Gretty Garcia, “Zazie Beetz and David Rysdahl’s Relationship Timeline All in One Place”, in Cosmopolitan:

(especially espionage and military) Intelligence (secret information).


D-Day

A Ukrainian D-day is expected in weeks.

2023 April 2, Dan Sabbagh, Ed Ram, “Surrounded and outgunned, Ukraine’s tank crews prepare for battle of Bakhmut”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

(figuratively, chiefly military) The date of any major event planned for the future.


surge

From Middle English surgen, possibly from Middle French sourgir, from Old French surgir (“to rise, ride near the shore, arrive, land”), from Old Catalan surgir, from Latin surgō, contraction of surrigō, subrigō (“lift up, raise, erect; intransitive rise, arise, get up, spring up, grow, etc.”, transitive verb), from sub (“from below; up”) + regō (“to stretch”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃réǵeti (“to straighten; right”), from the root *h₃reǵ-; see regent. Doublet of source. Doublet of sourd.

der

surge capacity; surge fleet; surge deployment capabilities

(US, naval, often attributive) A deployment in large numbers at short notice.


back to basics

(politics, chiefly British) A conscious return to principles such as self-respect, decency and honesty; especially the discredited policy of the Conservative government in the 1990s.


ERA

en-noun

ERA (countable and uncountable, plural ERAs)

(military) Initialism of explosive reactive armor.

(UK, military) Initialism of engine room artificer, a Royal Navy position.


ERA

Equal Rights Amendment
w:Equal Rights Amendment

(US politics) Initialism of Equal Rights Amendment.


quoin

(firearms) A wedge of wood or iron put under the breech of heavy guns or the muzzle of siege-mortars to raise them to the proper level.


cross the floor

en-verb

cross the floor (third-person singular simple present crosses the floor, present participle crossing the floor, simple past and past participle crossed the floor)

crosses the floor (present singular third-person)
crossing the floor (participle present)
crossed the floor (participle past)
crossed the floor (past)

(UK politics, of a member of a parliament) To vote against one’s own political party in parliament.

Two weeks ago, Mr Davies intimated to Mr Brown that he was ready to cross the floor.

2007 June 27, Philip Webster, Francis Elliott, “How Brown led his latest recruit across the floor”, in Times of London, retrieved 2008-11-09:

(UK politics, informal, of a member of a parliament) To resign from one’s political party and join another party, resulting in moving from one’s currently assigned desk or seat in the legislative chamber to a new desk or seat physically located with the other members of one’s new party.


slick

From Middle English slicke, slike, slyke, from Old English slīc (“sleek, smooth; crafty, cunning, slick”), from Proto-Germanic *slīkaz (“sleek, smooth”), from Proto-Indo-European *sleyg-, *sleyǵ- (“to glide, smooth, spread”).
Akin to Dutch sluik, dialectal Dutch sleek (“even, smooth”), Old Norse slíkr (“sleek, smooth”), Old English slician (“to make sleek, smooth, or glossy”).


airship

airships (plural)
air-ship (alternative)
air ship (alternative)

From air + ship.
* (jocular British sense): is in imitation of worship "form of address for magistrates et al., possibly also an oblique reference to Colonel Blimp.

(US, law enforcement, aviation) A police air unit, a police helicopter.


CLP

Constituency Labour Party
Constituency Labour Party#English

(politics, countable) Initialism of Constituency Labour Party.


PSNI

Byrne was already facing pressure after a major data breach from the PSNI last month. Personal data of all serving members of the PSNI was mistakenly published in response to a freedom of information request.

2023 September 4, Matthew Weaver, Lisa O'Carroll, “Northern Ireland police chief quits after series of controversies”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

Police Service of Northern Ireland
w:Police Service of Northern Ireland

(law enforcement, Northern Ireland) Initialism of Police Service of Northern Ireland, created in 2001 as a successor to the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC).


pioneer

/ˌpaɪ.əˈnɪɹ/

From Middle French pionnier (“originally, a foot soldier”), Old French peonier, from peon (“a foot soldier”) (modern French: pion). See pawn (in chess).

uder

[King of] Fess. What thinks your greatnes beſt to be atchieu’d
In purſuit of the Cities ouerthrow?
Bai[azeth]. I wil the captiue Pioners of Argier,
Cut off the water, that by leaden pipes
Runs to the citie from the mountain Carnon, […]

c. 1587–1588, [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire, London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act III, scene i:

(military) A soldier detailed or employed to form roads, dig trenches, and make bridges, as an army advances; a sapper.

(communism) A member of a children’s organization operated by the Communist Party, typically in the second of three stages toward becoming a member of the Party itself.

pionier

member of a child organization in the Soviet bloc


ADT

en-noun

ADT (countable and uncountable, plural ADTs)

(healthcare) Initialism of admissions, discharge, transfer.

(military) Initialism of accumulated deployed time.

active duty for training
active duty for training#English

(military) Initialism of active duty for training.

(military) Initialism of ative duty tour.

Active Denial Technology
w:Active Denial Technology

(military, weaponry) Initialism of Active Denial Technology.


right-wing

en-adj

right-wing (comparative more right-wing, superlative most right-wing)

more right-wing (comparative)
most right-wing (superlative)
rightwing (alternative)
right wing (alternative)

From the seating arrangement in the French parliament after the French Revolution.

It should be noted that there is now no intelligentsia that is not in some sense "Left". Perhaps the last right-wing intellectual was T. E. Lawrence. Since about 1930 everyone describable as an “intellectual” has lived in a state of chronic discontent with the existing order.

1941, George Orwell, The Lion and the Unicorn:

From the start of its operations in Colombia, the company was on guard against the decadeslong civil strife in the country between left-wing guerrilla and right-wing paramilitary groups, witnesses have testified.

2007 July 13, Kyle Whitmire, “Suit in U.S. Over Murders in Colombia”, in The New York Times:

(politics) Of political ideologies: typically supporting tradition, social order and property rights, especially conservative, traditionalist, and/or reactionary politics.


left-wing

left-wing (comparative more left-wing, superlative most left-wing)

more left-wing (comparative)
most left-wing (superlative)
leftwing (alternative)
left wing (alternative)

(politics) Of political ideologies: favoring political, social, and economic equality.


ROE

ROEs (plural)
RoE (alternative)
R.O.E. (alternative)
R. O. E. (alternative)
R.o.E. (alternative)
R. o. E. (alternative)

(military) Initialism of rule(s) of engagement, a/the rule(s) governing when to fire or return fire.


topaz

en-noun

topaz (usually uncountable, plural topazes)

→ Irish: tópás

→ Welsh: topas

From Old French topace (compare French topaze), from Ancient Greek τόπαζος (tópazos).

Elgin. Topaz a Saltier and Chief Ruby, on a Canton Pearl a Lyon Rampant Saphyr, which last is their paternal Coat; and the Field Topaz, and Saltier, and Chief Ruby, was the Arms of King Robert the Bruce, they altering the Field from Pearl (as he bore it) to Topaz. / Eglington. Quarterly, 1st and 4th, Saphyr three Flower-de-Liss Topaz, for Montgomery; 2d and 3d, Ruby three Anulets Topaz', ston'd Saphyr, for the Title of Eglington; […]

1720, Francis Nichols, Rudiments of Honour, page 296:

The Field is Ruby, on a Bend Topaz, three Martlets Diamond. […] 4. Pearl, on a Bend Diamond, nine Annulets conjoined in three Links Topaz.

1726, John Guillim, The Banner Display'd; Or, an Abridgment of Guillim, page 504:

(1) Pearl, a Cross, Ruby, with the Effigies of our Saviour thereon, Topaz, born in Memory of one of the Family's fighting against the Turks. (2) Topaz, a Chief Indented, Saphire. (3) Ruby, three covered Cups, Topaz […]

1754, John Lodge, The Peerage of Ireland; Or, a Genealogical History of the ..., page 71:

(heraldry) Or (gold or yellow), in blazoning by precious stones.


sit out

en-verb

sit out (third-person singular simple present sits out, present participle sitting out, simple past and past participle sat out)

sits out (present singular third-person)
sitting out (participle present)
sat out (participle past)
sat out (past)

(wrestling) To escape a hold while face down by swinging one's legs around into the sitting position.


blotter

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

(law enforcement) A daily register of arrests and other events in a police station.

журна́л

регистра́ции приво́дов в полице́йском уча́стке


blue green

en-noun

blue green (countable and uncountable, plural blue greens)

* blue + green
* (politics): from blue representing conservatism and green representing environmentalism

(politics) An ecocapitalist; a person concerned with ecocapitalism.


blue green

(politics) Synonym of ecocapitalist; Pertaining to ecocapitalism


tincture

The noun is derived from Late Middle English tincture (“a dye, pigment; a colour, hue, tint; process of colouring or dyeing; medicinal ointment or salve (perhaps one discolouring the skin); use of a medicinal tincture; (alchemy) transmutation of base metals into gold; ability to cause such transmutation; substance supposed to cause such transmutation”) [and other forms], borrowed from Latin tīnctūra (“act of dyeing”) + Middle English -ure (suffix indicating an action or a process and the means or result of that action or process). Tīnctūra is derived from tīnctus (“coloured, tinged; dipped in; impregnated with; treated”) + -tūra (suffix forming action nouns expressing activities or results); while tīnctus is the perfect passive participle of tingō (“to colour, dye, tinge; to dip (in), immerse; to impregnate (with); to moisten, wet; to smear”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *teng- (“to dip; to soak”). Doublet of tainture, teinture, and tinctura.
The verb is derived from the noun.

doublet

Senses relating to colour, and to dipping something into a liquid.

(heraldry) A hue or pattern used in the depiction of a coat of arms.


bully pulpit

From bully (“(US, slang) very good”) + pulpit (“raised desk, lectern, or platform for an orator or public speaker”), said to have been coined by the United States President Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) who used the term to refer to his office, by which he meant a terrific platform from which one can advocate an agenda: see the 1909 quotation.

compound

He [Theodore Roosevelt] was sitting at his desk reading to us his forthcoming Message. He had just finished a paragraph of a distinctly ethical character, when he suddenly stopped, swung round in his swivel chair, and said: "I suppose my critics will call that preaching, but I have got such a bully pulpit!"

1909 February 27, Lyman Abbott, “A Review of President Roosevelt’s Administration: Its Influence on Patriotism and Public Service”, in Lyman Abbott, editor, The Outlook, volume XCI, New York, N.Y.: The Outlook Company, →OCLC, page 430, column 1:

“The only option is to continue raising the issue, making it a political fight and using the bully pulpit to get more attention,” the [White House] source said.

2024, unnamed source, quoted in: James Oliphant, Joseph Ax, and Bad Brooks, Republicans scramble to contain backlash from IVF court ruling, Reuters, published in: The Christian Science Monitor, February 26 2024

At a leadership level, Ms. Hurst wishes that lawmakers would use their bully pulpit to convene constituents for more of the sorts of conversations that took place in Portugal.

2024 July 10, Stephen Humphries, Alfredo Sosa, “Stick, meet Carrot. How Portland police and activists teamed up to fight addiction.”, in The Christian Science Monitor:

But the 2024 year-end report has a much sharper message—with the Chief Justice using his bully pulpit to rail, quite aggressively, against four types of attacks on judicial independence[.]

2025 January 2, Steve Vladeck, “Bonus 115: The Chief Justice's Tone-Deaf Year-End Report”, in One First:

In his final days in office, Mr. Biden has used both his presidential power and his bully pulpit.

2025 January 16, Linda Feldmann, “Joe Biden served just one term. What will his legacy be?”, in The Christian Science Monitor:

(US, chiefly politics) An advantageous position from which to express one's views, especially a political office.


scrape

en-noun

scrape (countable and uncountable, plural scrapes)

From Middle English scrapen, from Old Norse skrapa (“to scrape, scratch”) and Old English scrapian (“to scrape, scratch”), both from Proto-Germanic *skrapōną, *skrepaną (“to scrape, scratch”), from Proto-Indo-European *skrebʰ- (“to engrave”).
Cognate with Dutch schrapen (“to scrape”), schrappen (“to strike through; to cancel; to scrap”), schrabben (“to scratch”), German schrappen (“to scrape”), Danish skrabe (“to scrape”), Icelandic skrapa (“to scrape”), Walloon screper (“to scrape”), Latin scribō (“dig with a pen, draw, write”).

cog

In between rounds, he dug a scrape for himself with his entrenching tool.

(military) A shallow pit dug as a hideout.

Alternative form: scarpe

16. Azure, a Scrape Argent. 17. Gules, a Battune Argent.

1730, Richard Blome, The Art of Heraldry, page 67:

Azure, a Scrape Or.

1810, Encyclopædia Britannica: Or, A Dictionary of Arts and Science, Compiled Upon a New Plan, page 406:

Argent, a scrape purpure.

1894, Sir Francis James Grant, The Manual of Heraldry: Being a Concise Description of the Several Terms Used, and Containing a Dictionary of Every Designation in the Science, page 21:

(A variant blazon would be: Argent, three scrapes enhanced gules.)

1961, Jack Adolphe Reynolds, Heraldry and You: Modern Heraldic Usage in America, Edinburgh; New York : Nelson:

(heraldry) A diminutive of the bend (especially of the bend sinister) which is half its width.


catch-as-catch-can

In Lancashire and the north of Ireland, the catch-hold or catch-as-catch-can system still finds favour.

1980, Walter Armstrong, Wrestling, page x:

(wrestling) Relating to catch wrestling, a folk style of wrestling with minimal restrictions.


chancellor

chancellors (plural)
chanceler (alternative)
chanceller (alternative)
chancellour (alternative)
chancelor (alternative)
chancelour (alternative)
chaunceler (alternative)
chaunceller (alternative)
chauncellor (alternative)
chauncellour (alternative)
chauncelor (alternative)
chauncelour (alternative)

/ˈtʃɑːnsələ/

/ˈt͡ʃænsələ/

Angela Merkel
Frick Collection
Hans Holbein the Younger
Thomas More

From Anglo-Norman or Middle English chaunceler, chanceler, canceler (“chief administrative or executive officer of a ruler; chancellor, secretary; private secretary, scribe; Lord Chancellor of England; officer of the ruler's exchequer; a high administrative or executive officer (for example, a deputy or representative of a bishop; the head of a university)”), from Old French cancelier, chancelier (“chancellor”), from Late Latin cancellārius (“secretary; doorkeeper, porter; usher of a court of law stationed at the bars separating the public from the judges”), from Latin cancellī (plural of cancellus (“grate; bars, barrier; railings”), diminutive of cancer (“grid; barrier”), from Proto-Italic *karkros (“enclosure”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to bend, turn”)) + -ārius (suffix forming nouns denoting an agent of use).
The word was present as Late Old English canceler, cancheler, from Norman cancheler, but was displaced in the 13th century by the Old French and Anglo-Norman forms mentioned above.

refn

From the Frick Collection in New York City, New York, USA.

مُسْتَشَار

[page 111] […] Lord Falkland […] took an Opportunity to tell the King, that He had now a good Opportunity to prefer Mr. Hyde, by making him Chancellor of the Exchequer, in the Place of Sir John Colepepper; […] [page 112] He [Colepepper] ſurrendered his Office of Chancellor of the Exchequer: And the next Day Mr. Hyde was ſworn of the Privy-Council, and Knighted, and had his Patents ſealed for that Office.

[1760, Edward, Earl of Clarendon [i.e., Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon], “Part the Second”, in The Life of Edward, Earl of Clarendon, Lord High Chancellor of England, and Chancellor of the University of Oxford. […], volume I, Oxford, Oxfordshire: At the Clarendon Printing-house, →OCLC, pages 111 and 112:

Chancellor Philip Hammond has told the BBC he and other MPs will "find a way" of blocking a no-deal Brexit. […] Mr Hammond is expected to be replaced as chancellor whoever wins the Conservative leadership election later this month.

2019 July 5, “Philip Hammond: MPs will and should Stop No-deal Brexit”, in BBC News, archived from the original on 2019-07-08:

Liz Truss has sacked Kwasi Kwarteng as her chancellor and replaced him with Jeremy Hunt ahead of a U-turn on key sections of her disastrous mini-budget, as she launched a desperate attempt to restore her crumbling political authority.

2022 October 14, “Liz Truss sacks Kwasi Kwarteng before corporation tax U-turn”, in The Guardian:

Chancellor of the Exchequer
Chancellor of the Exchequer#English

A senior secretary or official with administrative or legal duties, sometimes in charge of some area of government such as finance or justice.

(UK politics) Ellipsis of Chancellor of the Exchequer.


chancery

en-noun

chancery (countable and uncountable, plural chanceries)

/ˈt͡ʃɑːnsəɹɪ/

/ˈt͡ʃænsəɹɪ/

/ˈt͡ʃɑːnsəɹi/

From French chancellerie, from Late Latin cancellaria, from Latin cancellarius, from Latin cancellus (“lattice”) (English chancel), from Latin cancelli (“grating, bars”), from the lattice-work that separated a section of a church or court.
See related chancellor and chancellery, and the more distantly related incarcerate (“put behind bars”), from carcer (“prison”).
The adverbial form is an allusion to the condition of a person involved in the chancery court.

The Chicken himself attributed this punishment to his having had the misfortune to get into Chancery early in the proceedings, when he was severely fibbed by the Larkey one, and heavily grassed.

1846 October 1 – 1848 April 1, Charles Dickens, Dombey and Son, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1848, →OCLC:

(boxing, slang) The position of a boxer's head when under his adversary's arm.


chancery

/ˈt͡ʃɑːnsəɹɪ/

/ˈt͡ʃænsəɹɪ/

/ˈt͡ʃɑːnsəɹi/

[Round] 9. This was a scientific round on both sides; Acton got away well; and also parried some tremendous blows. The latter, however, received a chancery nobber; but he contended every inch of ground till he went down.

1823 May 14, “Sporting Intelligence”, in The Literary Humbug, number 1, page 15, Between Peter Crawley and Dick Acton:

15th round. Chancery. Fibbing. Biggs makes dreadful work with his left. Break away. Rally. Biggs down. Betting still six to four on the gown-boy.

1852, William Makepeace Thackeray, “The Fight at Slaughter House”, in Men's Wives, page 17:

(boxing) With the head of an antagonist under one's arm, so that one can pommel it with the other fist at will.


Starfighter

(military, aviation) The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter, a jet fighter-interceptor.


crusade

From French croisade, introduced into English (in the French spelling) by 1575. The modern spelling emerges c. 1760,. Middle French croisade is introduced in the 15th century, based on Spanish cruzada (late 14th century) and Old Occitan crozada (early 13th century), both reflecting Medieval Latin cruciāta, cruxiata, the feminine singular of the adjective cruciātus used as an abstract noun.
Adjectival cruciātus originally meant "tormented; crucified", but from the 12th century crucesignatus was also used for "marked with a cross; making the sign of the cross" and eventually "taking the cross" in the sense of "going on a crusade".
Old Occitan crozada is used in the sense "[the Albigensian] crusade" in the Song of the Albigensian crusade, written c. 1213. From vernacular usage, Middle Latin cruciāta also comes to be used in the sense "crusade" from about 1270.

The same period that has seen social and political crusades increasingly replace religious messages in the pulpits has seen a sharp 35 percent decline in membership of the mainline Protestant denominations associated with the National Council of Churches.

1994, Richard Nixon, “America Beyond Peace”, in Beyond Peace, New York: Random House, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 239:

(politics, Protestantism, dated) A mass gathering in a political campaign or during a religious revival effort.


anti-aircraft

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

antaircraft (alternative)
antiaircraft (alternative)

Special lamps were provided for working during the blackout, and an anti-aircraft gun, manned by the R.A.O.C., was mounted on the coal depot line.

1947 January and February, “Wartime Traffic at Tanfield, L.N.E.R.”, in Railway Magazine, page 47:

Truth's ships are clustered above the excavation site. And his infantry has deployed anti-aircraft batteries around the perimeter.

2007 September 25, Bungie, Halo 3, spoken by Miranda Keyes (Justis Bolding), Microsoft Game Studios, Xbox 360, level/area: Crow's Nest:


anti-aircraft

anti-aircraft (countable and uncountable, plural anti-aircraft or anti-aircrafts)

anti-aircraft (plural)
anti-aircrafts (plural)
antaircraft (alternative)
antiaircraft (alternative)

I am blacking out—ease the stick forward slightly—the sky is clear again—I turn out over water—reverse turn—there are antiaircraft on the island below—I reverse again—and again.

1944 June 3, Charles A. Lindbergh, The Wartime Journals of Charles A. Lindbergh, New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, published 1970, page 839:

(military) An anti-aircraft artillery organization.


enriched uranium

(chemistry, military) Uranium enriched with a higher than normal amount of the fissile isotope U-235; used in nuclear reactors and nuclear weapons.

verrykte uraan

uranium enriched with a higher amount of U-235


scourge

From Middle English scourge (“a lash, whip, scourge; affliction, calamity; person who causes affliction or calamity; shoot of a vine”), and then either:
* from Anglo-Norman scorge, escorge, escurge, or Old French scurge, escourge, escorge, escorgiee, escurge (modern French escourgée (“(archaic) whip made of leather strips”)), either:
** from Vulgar Latin *excoriāta (“strip of hide; a scourge”), from Late Latin excoriāre, the present active infinitive of excoriō (“to strip the skin from, to skin”), from Latin ex- (prefix meaning ‘away; out’) + corium (“skin; hide, leather”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to cut off, sever; to divide, separate”)); or
** from Latin ex- (intensifying prefix) + corrigia (“a whip”) (from corrigō (“to make right, correct; to reform”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃reǵ- (“to righten; to straighten”)); or
* from Middle English scourgen (verb) (see etymology 2).
Cognates
Italian scuriada, scuriata

col

Cognates

He flogged him with a scourge.

Yf they breake myne ordinaunces, and kepe not my commaundementes. I vil vyſet their offences with the rodde, and their ſynnes with ſcourges.

1535 October 14 (Gregorian calendar), Myles Coverdale, transl., Biblia: The Byble, […] (Coverdale Bible), [Cologne or Marburg]: [Eucharius Cervicornus and Johannes Soter?], →OCLC, Psalm lxxxviij:[31–32], folio xxvij, verso, column 1:

My father layd vpon you a heauie yoke, vvhich I vvil make heauier: my father bette you vvith ſcourges, but I vvil beate you vvith ſcorpions.

1609, The Holie Bible, […] (Douay–Rheims Bible), Doway: Lavrence Kellam, […], →OCLC, 2 Paralipomenon 10:11, page 886:

Up to coach then goes / Th' observed Maid, takes both the scourge and reins, / And to her side her handmaid straight attains.

1614–1615, Homer, “The Sixth Book of Homer’s Odysseys”, in Geo[rge] Chapman, transl., Homer’s Odysses. […], London: […] Rich[ard] Field [and William Jaggard], for Nathaniell Butter, published 1615, →OCLC; republished in The Odysseys of Homer, […], volume I, London: John Russell Smith, […], 1857, →OCLC, page 136, lines 111–113:

[H]eaven-born truth, / And moderation fair, vvere the red marks / Of ſuperſtition's ſcourge: […]

a. 1749 (date written), James Thomson, “Winter”, in The Seasons, London: […] A[ndrew] Millar, and sold by Thomas Cadell, […], published 1768, →OCLC, page 204, lines 1059–1061:

Mortify / Your flesh, like me, with scourges and with thorns; / Smite, shrink not, spare not.

1833 (date written), Alfred Tennyson, “St. Simeon Stylites”, in Poems. […], volume II, London: Edward Moxon, […], published 1842, →OCLC, page 61:

Another strange manifestation of collective mental abnormality, though not directly connected with sorcery, was the Brotherhood of Flagellants. […] These men lashed themselves and each other unmercifully with knotted leather scourges until the blood ran, two or three times daily.

1936, Rollo Ahmed, “The Church and Monastic Black Magic”, in The Black Art, London: Senate, Studio Editions, published 1994, →ISBN, page 99:

(weaponry, chiefly historical) A whip, often made of leather and having multiple tails; a lash.


dinette

(US, military, informal) A submarine's mess hall.


give in

en-verb

give in (third-person singular simple present gives in, present participle giving in, simple past gave in, past participle given in)

gives in (present singular third-person)
giving in (participle present)
gave in (past)
given in (participle past)

(boxing, of a pugilist) To droop the head.


Luftwaffe

Unadapted borrowing from German Luftwaffe (literally “air-weapon”).

ubor

Politicians insist that lockdown under coronavirus is like the experience of wartime. It’s not – except in one way, which I’ll come to. It’s so quiet, for one thing. War is noisy. Sirens, soldiers tramping past singing, Luftwaffe engines in the night sky.

2020 April 19, Neal Ascherson, “After the crisis, a new world won’t emerge as if by magic. We will have to fight for it”, in The Guardian:

Owing to its location at the entrance to the River Tyne, South Shields was of strategic importance in the Second World War, especially to the merchant navy, and the town was heavily hit by a Luftwaffe strike in October 1941.

2021 September 8, Dr Joseph Brennan, “Electric tramways at the heart of our seaside story”, in RAIL, number 939, page 57:

(military) The German air force, especially during the Second World War.

Люфтва́фэ

(military) the German air force, especially during the Second World War


facing

Red coats were worn by the King's Life Guards and Queen's Life Guards in 1645, while other regiments wore white, blue or grey. Prince Rupert's Footguards wore scarlet, and in Cromwell's army some wore scarlet coats with different facings.

1971, Gwen White, Antique Toys And Their Background, page 189:

(military, in the plural) The collar and cuffs of a military coat, commonly of a different colour from the rest of the coat.

(military, usually in the plural) The movement of soldiers by turning on their heels to the right, left, or about.


ninjutsu

(martial arts) A Japanese martial art that is a collection of techniques originally practiced for Japanese espionage purposes, and includes methods of gathering information, nondetection, avoidance, and misdirection techniques. Used by ninja (忍者).


SCO

(politics, economics) Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.


honeypot

honeypots (plural)
honey pot (alternative)

From Middle English hwny pott; equivalent to honey + pot.

And the American Embassy in Moscow was infiltrated thanks to “honeypots,” Soviet women who seduced Marine guards.

1989, The Washingtonian, volume 24, page 25:

Perhaps in order to create his own, more controlled environment for debaucherie, he set up a house of prostitution with Gestapo funds, justifying it as a "honeypot" with which to ensnare unsuspecting foreign diplomats.

1996, John H. Waller, The Unseen War in Europe: Espionage and Conspiracy in the Second World War, Random House, →ISBN, page 226:

The NKVD uses attractive ballerinas for honeypot espionage.

2004, Richard C.S. Trahair, Encyclopedia of Cold War Espionage, Spies, and Secret Operations, Greenwood Press, →ISBN, page 353:

(figuratively) Something or someone similarly sweet or enticing, particularly:

(espionage) A spy (typically attractive and female) who uses sex to trap and blackmail a target.


NIST

Since the lab has been "doged," a petition posted to Change.org by Evgeny Stambulchik asked for signatures to oppose the layoff of the NIST Atomic Spectroscopy Group and has garnered 2,500 signatures as of reporting time. There is also a campaign website.

2025 March 28, Andrea Fox, “Lab critical to medical device development 'DOGEd'”, in Healthcare IT News:

w:National Institute of Standards and Technology

(government, US) Acronym of National Institute of Standards and Technology.


fruit salad

en-noun

fruit salad (countable and uncountable, plural fruit salads)

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

(military, slang) Awards worn on a military uniform.


crossed

In certain popular heraldic works the crest assigned to the surname "Archer," in Ireland, is "a mound azure banded and crossed or," whereas there is no instance of the Archers of Kilkenny - probably the earliest of the name […]

1871, Kilkenny and South-east of Ireland Archaeological Society, The Journal of the Kilkenny and South-east of Ireland Archaeological Society, page 220:

Quarterly gu. and az. a royal orb arg. banded and crossed or. Sweden; granted 1751. Gilbert UNIVERSAL, Bishop of London 1128-34.

1874, John Woody Papworth, An Alphabetical Dictionary of Coats of Arms Belonging to Families in Great Britain and Ireland, page 1095:

Gules, a cross potent crossed or. CHADERTON, Chester 1579; Lincoln 1595.

1897, William Kirkpatrick Riland Bedford, The Blazon of Episcopacy: Being the Arms Borne by Or Attributed to the Archbishops and Bishops of England and Wales with an Ordinary of the Coats Described and of Other Episcopal Arms, page 217:

(heraldry) Having a cross placed on it, or (with respect to the arms of a cross) having a bar placed crosswise over (an existing bar) so as to form a cross.


barrage balloon

barrage balloon (plural barrage balloons)

(historical, military) A tethered balloon, attached to the ground with a metal cable, intended to deter low-flying enemy aircraft; used especially in World War II.

sulkupallo

tethered balloon for deterring enemy aircraft


negatory

/ˈnɛɡəˌtɔɹi/

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

From Medieval Latin negātōrius (possibly via Middle French negatoire), from Latin negātus.

Ah, you wanna give me a 10-9 on that, Pig Pen?
Negatory, Pig Pen, you're still too close.
Yeah, them hogs is startin' to close up my sinuses.
Mercy sake's, you better back off another ten.

1975, “Convoy”, in C.W. McCall, Chip Davis (lyrics), Black Bear Road, performed by C. W. McCall:

Dolores... was asking if he had crossed the Penobscot River in Medway yet. "That's a negatory on that one, Darlin'."

1991, Rick Hautala, Cold Whisper, page 421:


Amerika

/əˈmɛ.ɹɪ.kə/

From German Amerika, in imitation of the German-speaking Nazis.

Steal This Book is, in a way, a manual of survival in the prison that is Amerika.

1971, Abbie Hoffman, Steal This Book, page 4:

CARL WITTMAN From Refugees from Amerika: A Gay Manifesto 1969
If the gay liberation movement began on the East Coast with the Stonewall riots, it began on the West Coast with the publication of "Refugees from Amerika."

2008 April 30, Zoe Trodd, American Protest Literature, Harvard University Press, →ISBN, page 444:

United States of America
United States of America

(derogatory, politics) America, i.e. the United States of America; used to imply that the US is fascist.


left wing

My politics are extreme left-wing.

The wing on the left side of some body, most commonly one half of a pair:

(politics) The more left-wing faction of a group, party, or group of parties.


right wing

Sunak seems so scared of his party's swivel-eyed right wing that he has been panicked into focusing all new legislation on perceived 'red meat' issues which he hopes the Tory right will support.

2023 May 31, Nigel Harris, “Comment: GBR now! We have no Plan B”, in RAIL, number 984, page 3:

The wing on the right side of some body, most commonly part of a pair:

(politics) The more right-wing faction of a group or party.

Only make the right wing strong.

(military) The rightward thrusting force of an advancing army.


elector

electors (plural)
electour (alternative)

From Middle English electour (“one with a right to vote in electing some office, elector”), borrowed from Late Latin ēlēctor (“chooser, selector; voter, elector”), from Latin ēligere (“to elect”) + -tor (suffix forming masculine agent nouns), equivalent to elect + -or. Ēligere is the present active infinitive of ēligō (“to extract, pluck or root out; (figurative) to choose, elect, pick out”), from ē- (variant of ex- (prefix meaning ‘away; out’)) + legō (“to appoint, choose, select”) (from Proto-Italic *legō (“to gather, collect”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *leǵ- (“to collect, gather”)).

der

I Think this Letter, which was ſent to me by my Electors, worth printing, becauſe as it has convinced me, it may convince others.

1701, J. D. [Fothers?], H. W., T. S., R. L. [et al.], “To the Bookseller”, in A Letter from Some Electors, to One of Their Representatives in Parliament. Shewing the Electors Sentiments, Touching the Matter in Dispute between the Lords and Commons in the Last Session of Parliament, in Relation to the Impeachments. […], London: […] Booksellers of London and Westminster, →OCLC:

The constitutional right of the Electors to exact pledges, from Candidates who are soliciting the honour of representing the nation in Parliament, has been frequently agitated, and as loudly contended for as manfully resisted, at different periods of effervescence; [...]

1818, Kent [pseudonym], “Pledges for Parliamentary Conduct”, in A View of the Great Constitutional Questions, Addressed to the Electors of the United Kingdom. (Part the First.), Canterbury, Kent: […] Rouse, Kirkby, and Lawrence; and sold by […] Messrs. Baldwin, Cradock, and Joy, […], →OCLC, page 8:

India is to have a new Constitution, under which certain limited powers will be assigned to elected representatives. [...] Who, then, are to be the electors in rural constituencies? Only a few general statements can be made on this point. Women must wait, and, in the country at least, they will not mind; there is to be no literacy test, but military service will very properly qualify.

1919 May 23, “The Indian Franchise. The Political Centre of Gravity.”, in The Near East, volume XV, number 420, London: […] St. Clements Press […], →OCLC, page 481:

Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament

(politics) A person eligible to vote in an election; a member of an electorate, a voter.

(British, Commonwealth) A person eligible to vote to elect a Member of Parliament.

kiezer

The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. He shall hold his Office during the Term of four Years, and, together with the Vice-President chosen for the same Term, be elected, as follows / Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be appointed an Elector.

1787 September 17, “[Constitution of the United States]”, in The Constitution of the United States: A Transcription, Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, archived from the original on 2020-01-01, Article II, section 1:

The electors were originally designed to be the agents of a State, armed with plenary authority to cast its vote for President and Vice-President in such manner as the agents themselves or a majority of them might will, all danger of abuse of the trust being intended to be averted by the selection of worthy and fitting instruments for the execution of this high office. [...] Electors are now the mere instruments of party, "party puppets," as Justice [Joseph Philo] Bradley termed them, to perform a function which an automaton without intelligence or volition might as fittingly discharge.

1906, J[ohn] Hampden Dougherty, “The Electoral System should be Abolished—Defects in the Provisions of the Constitution Regarding the Presidential Succession”, in The Electoral System of the United States: Its History, together with a Study of the Perils that have Attended Its Operations, […], New York, N.Y., London: G[eorge] P[almer] Putnam’s Sons […], →OCLC, page 250:

The secondary electors will be formed into twelve electoral colleges according to the religious community to which they belong: the number of colleges to be allotted to each religious community will be proportionate to the number of secondary electors belonging to the several communities; and each electoral college will elect one member of the [Legislative] Council.

1922 February 16, “The Future of Palestine. Administration Outlined.”, in The Near East, volume XXI, number 562, London: […] St. Clements Press […], →OCLC, page 213:

Presidents have never been elected directly by individual voters. They vote for electors from their respective state. Each state then chooses its electors that equals to its representation in Congress. The electors then vote for the president. In most states, the candidate who wins the popular vote also wins the electoral vote of that state.

2009, Michael Duvalle, “Electoral Votes”, in Complete Book of Historic Presidential Firsts: With Fascinating Details & Factual Tidbits, [Bloomington, Ind.]: Xlibris, →ISBN, page 260:

Faithless electors were nothing new in Wallace County. When President [John Fitzgerald] Kennedy won the election of 1960, Democratic electors from Alabama and Mississippi—incensed over Kennedy's stance on civil rights—tried to sabotage democracy by voting for Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia—a former Klansman who wasn't even on the ballot. Had enough electors followed suit, the election of 1960 would have been thrown into the House [of Representatives], and [Richard] Nixon might have won.

2015, Pate McMichael, “Election Night: Tuesday, November 5, 1968”, in Klandestine: How a Klan Lawyer and a Checkbook Journalist Helped James Earl Ray Cover Up His Crime, Chicago, Ill.: Chicago Review Press, →ISBN, part V (Stand Up for America, 1967–1968), page 176:

A member of an electoral college; specifically (US) an official selected by a state as a member of the Electoral College to elect the president and vice president of the United States.

ընտրիչ

member of an electoral college; official selected by a state as a member of the Electoral College to elect the president and vice president of the United States

Whan the electours profered to make him [Ottokar II of Bohemia] emperour, he refuſed it, ſaiyng, that it was a greatter thynge to be kynge of Boheme, than emperour of Rome.

1560, Thomas Cooper, “[The Thirde Part of Lanquettes Chronicle]”, in Coopers Chronicle, Conteininge the Whole Discourse of the Histories as well of This Realme, as All Other Countreis, […], new edition, London: […] [[I]n the house late Thomas Berthelettes], →OCLC, 3rd book, folio 227, recto:

In one of the conflicts, the [Holy Roman] emperor himſelf was put to flight, and very near being made priſoner by the elector of Saxony.

1788, Publius [pseudonym; James Madison], “Number XIX. The Subject [the insufficiency of the present confederation to preserve the Union] Continued, with Farther Examples.”, in The Federalist: A Collection of Essays, Written in Favour of the New Constitution, […] , volume I, New York, N.Y.: […] J. and A. M‘Lean, […], →OCLC, page 117:

[T]he seven Imperial electors who chose the [Holy Roman] emperor controlled him by the pledges exacted from him as the price of his election. These electors were the king of Bohemia, the rulers of Saxony, Brandenburg, and the Palatinate, and the "spiritual electors"—the archbishops of Cologne, Trier, and Mainz.

1961, Will Durant, Ariel Durant, “Imperial Armageddon: 1564–1648”, in The Age of Reason Begins: A History of European Civilization in the Period of Shakespeare, Bacon, Montaigne, Rembrandt, Galileo, and Descartes: 1558–1648 (The Story of Civilization; 7), New York, N.Y.: Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, page 538:

Hanover, seat of the electors, was an attractive small town set on the River Leine. [...] The electoral court was in residence at Herrenhausen only between May and October, so that by the beginning of November 1709 the only activity was in one of the private wings where Caroline of Ansbach, wife of the elector’s heir, had chosen to give birth to her second child.

1995, Veronica P. M. Baker-Smith, “An Electoral Family”, in A Life of Anne of Hanover, Princess Royal (Publications of the Sir Thomas Browne Institute Leiden; no. 13 (New Series)), Leiden, New York, N.Y.: E[vert] J[an] Brill, →ISBN, →ISSN, page 1:

(historical) Alternative letter-case form of Elector (“a German prince entitled to elect the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire”).

Elector

Where the qualifications of the electors are the ſame, whether they have to chooſe a ſmall or a large number their votes will fall upon thoſe in whom they have the moſt confidence; whether thoſe happen to be men of large fortunes or of moderate property or of no property at all.

1788, Publius [pseudonym; Alexander Hamilton], “Number XXXV. The Same Subject [the general power of taxation] Continued.”, in The Federalist: A Collection of Essays, Written in Favour of the New Constitution, […] , volume I, New York, N.Y.: […] J. and A. M‘Lean, […], →OCLC, page 217:

The conſtitution of France ſays, that every man who pays a tax of ſixty ſous per annum, (2s. and 6d. Engliſh), is an elector.— [...] Can any thing be more limited, and at the ſame time more capricious, than what the qualifications of electors are in England? [...] Capricious—becauſe the loweſt character that can be ſuppoſed to exiſt, and who has not ſo much as the viſible means of an honeſt livelihood, is an elector in ſome places; while, in other places, the man who pays very large taxes, and with a fair known character, and the farmer who rents to the amount of three or four hundred pounds a year, and with a property on that farm to three or four times that amount, is not admitted to be an elector.

1791, Thomas Paine, Rights of Man: Being an Answer to Mr. Burke’s Attack on the French Revolution, London: […] J. S. Jordan, […], →OCLC, pages 56–57:

In the courſe of not many years muſt the electours of one place grapple in the waves for their town, and at preſent a ſeptennial conſequence is given to a heap of ruins.

1793, William Frend, Peace and Union Recommended to the Associated Bodies of Republicans and Anti-Republicans, St. Ives, Cornwall: […] P. C. Croft, →OCLC, page 7:

But in France is practice of bribing electors is almost unknown, whilst it is notoriously and publicly carried on in England.

1835, Alexis de Tocqueville, “Government of the Democracy in America”, in Henry Reeve, transl., Democracy in America. […], volume II, London: Saunders and Otley, […], →OCLC, page 93:


circus

en-noun

circus (plural circuses or (rare) circusses or (rare) circi)

circuses (plural)
circusses (plural rare)
circi (plural rare)

From Middle English circus, circo, from Latin circus (“ring, circle”), from Ancient Greek κρίκος (kríkos), κίρκος (kírkos, “ring”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to bend, turn”). Doublet of cirque. Cognate with Old English hring (whence English ring) and Old English hringsetl (“circus”, literally “ring-seat”).

cog

(military, World War II) A code name for bomber attacks with fighter escorts in the day time. The attacks were against short-range targets with the intention of occupying enemy fighters and keeping their fighter units in the area concerned.


breakthrough

breakthroughs (plural)
breakthru (alternative)

From break + through. Compare German Durchbruch and Dutch doorbraak (“breakthrough”, literally “through-break”).

gennembrud

(engineering) penetration of a physical barrier

(military) An advance through and past enemy lines.


FNG

2003: "Two agents in a dark blue sedan were waiting for me. One of them, Jim Heekin, took charge immediately, and also put me in my place. "You must be the FNG," he said as we shook hands." — https://web.archive.org/web/20050403063411/http://www.twbookmark.com/features/jamespatterson/chapters/bigbadwolf5.html

2004: "The other guy is hollering "F-N-G!" He's saying "Your FNG is here!" And I didn’t understand what FNG meant. I soon learned: Fucking New Guy. Or we called them Cherries, meaning brand-new guy in Vietnam." — https://web.archive.org/web/20050313164139/http://www.nyfolklore.org/pubs/voic30-3-4/warstr.html

2009: "The FNG here says that we have too much ammunition." District 9

"So, this isn't the first time new personnel have been improperly briefed on the special schedule for 8 September, but it is the first time it's been fatal. Sampi-5243 have our hands full dealing with the actual breach, and since we can't have random FNGs walking into our little anniversary party a bit of inter-Sectional cooperation would be a big help."

2020 July 24, HarryBlank, “SCP-5243”, in SCP Foundation, archived from the original on 2024-09-02:

(chiefly US, military, slang) Initialism of fucking new guy.


escutcheon

escutcheons (plural)
escocheon (alternative obsolete)
escutchion (alternative obsolete)
scutcheon (alternative)
'scutcheon (alternative)

/ɪˈskʌt͡ʃən/

From Middle English scochon, from Anglo-Norman escuchon, Old French escusson (French écusson), ultimately from Latin scutum (“shield”). Related to scutum, scute, scudo, escudo, and écu.

Meronyms: field, charge, emblem

He dies: his very coffin is comfortable; the very vault of his ancestors is sheltered; a funeral sermon is preached in his honour; and escutcheon and marble tablet do their best to preserve his memory.

1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “The Fête at Sir Robert Walpole’s”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume III, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 33:

And in the meanwhile, Society shivered a little feverishly, filled now with the scions of those who had come over with the Jewish and American Conquests. Escutcheons were becoming valueless, how sinister soever the blots and clots upon them.

1922, Michael Arlen, “1/5/1”, in “Piracy”: A Romantic Chronicle of These Days:

(heraldry) The shield on which a coat of arms is displayed, or, by extension, the coat of arms itself.

(heraldry) A small shield used to charge a larger one.


escalade

en-verb

escalade (third-person singular simple present escalades, present participle escalading, simple past and past participle escaladed)

escalades (present singular third-person)
escalading (participle present)
escaladed (participle past)
escaladed (past)

Borrowed from Middle French escalade, from Italian scalata, from scalare (“to climb”), from scala (“ladder”), from Latin scālae (“ladder”). Doublet of scalade.

(military, dated) To scale the walls of a fortification.


red meat

en-noun

red meat (countable and uncountable, plural red meats)

white meat

antonym(s) of “meats that are dark red when uncooked”

same old same old

antonym(s) of “fresh, inspiring, or inflammatory topics or information”

To mention Bishop Manning's name in a city room is equivalent to telling the city editor that a rip-roaring good story is brewing. A bishop for almost ten years, he has provided the hungry presses of New York with more red meat than Al Capone, Aimee Semple McPherson, Billy Sunday, 'Legs' Diamond, Albert Einstein, Charles Augusts Lindbergh, Texas Guinan, or Nicholas Murray Butler.

1931, Robert G.M. Neville, "Prima Donnas in the Pulpit," Forum and Century, June (retrieved 10 Apr. 2021)

“Keep it up,” urged Truman. “You’re doing a great job for the country and, incidentally, providing me with red meat for campaign speeches.”

1950, Drew Pearson, Washington Merry-Go-Round, “Trust-Buster Truman”, May 1, 1950 (syndicated, e.g., Prescott Evening Courier, May 1, 1950, p. 4)

Given the fiery tone of the conference, Anita Hill's speech must have come as a disappointment. She threw no red meat to the audience.

1992 October 27, John Leo, “Hill's Potential Stunted By Gender-Focused Politics”, in Seattle Times, retrieved 2010-01-07:

The decision to press ahead with the rationalisation, while there is still uncertainty about the bank's strategic direction, gives the City some red meat to chew on.

1999 May 21, Alex Brummer, “Sir Peter throws the City meat to chew on”, in guardian.co.uk, retrieved 2010-01-07:

On environmental regulation, taxes and other topics that are red meat to economic conservatives, Mr. Bush has delivered.

2002 July 10, Richard W. Stevenson, “Bush's Dance: Moral Outrage Without Pain to Loyalists”, in New York Times, retrieved 2010-01-07:

The passage, red meat for phone-ins and columnists ever since, argued less politely for an improvement in our national work ethic: […

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

Sunak seems so scared of his party's swivel-eyed right wing that he has been panicked into focusing all new legislation on perceived 'red meat' issues which he hopes the Tory right will support.

2023 May 31, Nigel Harris, “Comment: GBR now! We have no Plan B”, in RAIL, number 984, page 3:

(uncountable, politics, idiomatic) Fresh, inspiring, or inflammatory topics or information.


blue-pencil

en-verb

blue-pencil (third-person singular simple present blue-pencils, present participle (UK) blue-pencilling or (US) blue-penciling, simple past and past participle (UK) blue-pencilled or (US) blue-penciled)

blue-pencils (present singular third-person)
blue-pencilling (UK participle present)
blue-penciling (US participle present)
blue-pencilled (UK participle past)
blue-pencilled (UK past)
blue-penciled (US participle past)
blue-penciled (US past)

(politics, slang) To use a line-item veto.


tights

→ Japanese: タイツ (taitsu)

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

(wrestling) A garment, similar to briefs, worn chiefly by professional wrestlers.


lozenge

lozenges (plural)
losenge (alternative obsolete)

From Middle English losenge, from Old French losenge (“rhombus”), of uncertain origin. See the Old French for more.

Wherein the decussis is made within a longilaterall square, with opposite angles, acute and obtuse at the intersection; and so upon progression making a Rhombus or Lozenge figuration [...].

1658, Sir Thomas Browne, The Garden of Cyrus, Folio Society, published 2007, page 167:

How the junior partner of Hobbs and Dobbs leads her smiling to the carriage with the lozenge upon it, and the fat wheezy coachman!

1848, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 9, in Vani8ty Fair:

The floor is constructed from marble lozenges and triangles of every imaginable hue: yellow and pink and all manner of mottled and blotched shades, framed in white.

2004, Richard Fortey, The Earth, Folio Society, published 2011, page 14:

(shapes, heraldry) A thin rhombus, having two acute and two obtuse angles.


fess

fesses (plural)
fesse (alternative)
feese (alternative)

From Middle English fesse, from Old French fesse, an alteration of faisse, from Latin fascia. Cognate with fajita, fascia, and fascism.

Lord Robert Walsingham de Vere St. Simon, second son of the Duke of Balmoral—Hum! Arms: Azure, three caltrops in chief over a fess sable.

1892, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor, Norton, published 2005, page 294:

The space where the arms of Wolsey used to be is being repainted with his own newly granted arms: azure, on a fess between three lions rampant or, a rose gules, barbed vert, between two Cornish choughs proper.

2009, Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall, Fourth Estate, published 2010, page 420:

(heraldry) A horizontal band across the middle of the shield.


blazon

en-noun

blazon (countable and uncountable, plural blazons)

From Middle English blason, blasoun (“shield”), from Old French blason (“shield”).

...it should never be forgotten that the best blazon is that which is the most perspicuous

1894, James Parker, A Glossary of Terms Used in Heraldry:

(heraldry) A verbal or written description of a coat of arms.

We must banish, therefore, the persistent but wholly erroneous notion that the heralds invented many of the terms used in blazon and borrowed the rest from the everyday lexicon of terms...

(heraldry) A formalized language for describing a coat of arms.

He wears their motto on his blade, / Their blazon o'er his towers displayed; [...]

1808 February 22, Walter Scott, “Canto Fifth. The Court.”, in Marmion; a Tale of Flodden Field, Edinburgh: […] J[ames] Ballantyne and Co. for Archibald Constable and Company, […]; London: William Miller, and John Murray, →OCLC, stanza XV, page 264:

(heraldry) A coat of arms or a banner depicting a coat of arms.


gules

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

From Middle English goules, from Old French geule (“animal’s mouth, throat”) via Middle French geules. Compare with French gueules, Portuguese goelas and Spanish gules.

uder

gules:

(heraldry) Red, e.g. on a coat of arms, typically represented in engraving by vertical parallel lines.


gules

The symbol of the Red Cross is a cross gules.

Now is he total gules, horridly tricked

1602, William Shakespeare, Hamlet, ii 2:

You know they still
Call themselves Bulls, though thus degenerate,
And everything relating to a Bull
Is popular and respectable in Thebes.
Their arms are seven Bulls in a field gules;
They think their strength consists in eating beef,—

1820, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Oedipus Tyrannus; Or, Swellfoot The Tyrant: A Tragedy in Two Acts:

(heraldry) In blazon, of the colour red.


purpure

From Middle English purpure, from Old English purpure and Old French purpure (“purple”); both from Latin purpura. Doublet of purple and purpura.

Many authorities reject the authenticity of purpure as a tincture.

purpure:

(heraldry) A purple colour on a coat of arms, represented in engraving by diagonal parallel lines 45 degrees clockwise.


purpure

(heraldry) In blazon, of the colour purple.


chevron

chevrons (plural)
cheveron (alternative dated)

From Middle English cheveroun, from Old French chevron, the mark so called because it looks like rafters of a shallow roof, from Vulgar Latin *capriō, from Latin caper (“goat”), the likely connection between goats and rafters being the animal's horns.

(heraldry) A wide inverted V placed on a shield.


scramble

en-verb

scramble (third-person singular simple present scrambles, present participle scrambling, simple past and past participle scrambled)

scrambles (present singular third-person)
scrambling (participle present)
scrambled (participle past)
scrambled (past)

Origin uncertain. Perhaps from earlier dialectal scramble, scrammel (“to collect or rake together with the hands”), from scramb (“to pull or scrape together with the hands”) + -le (frequentative suffix) (compare Dutch schrammen (“to graze, brush, scratch”)); or alternatively from a nasalised form of scrabble (“to scrape or scratch quickly”).

lähettää

to quickly enter vehicles and proceed to destination

But on April 13 it 'scrambled' a rake of Mk 2s and dual-braked 'Black 5' 45212 to start its lucrative summer money-spinner two days later.

2024 May 1, “Network News: West Coast Railways runs 'Jacobite' with Mk 1 and Mk 2 combination”, in RAIL, number 1008, page 9:

(transitive, military, also by extension) To quickly deploy (vehicles, usually aircraft) to a destination in response to an alert, usually to intercept an attacking enemy.

As the planes scrambled, four of his veterans went up: Tom Lanphier, Rex Barber, Joe Moore and Jim McLanahan. They had waited with other Lightnings at 30,000 feet and dived on a formation of eleven Zeroes far below, working in pairs.

1969, Burke Davis, Get Yamamoto, page 115:

(intransitive, military) To be quickly deployed in this manner.


scramble

1984, Steve Harris, "Aces High", Iron Maiden, Powerslave.
There goes the siren that warns of the air raid / Then comes the sound of the guns sending flak / Out for the scramble we've got to get airborne / Got to get up for the coming attack.

(military) An emergency defensive air force mission to intercept attacking enemy aircraft.

interception

an emergency defensive air force mission


rotten borough

/ˌɹɒtn̩ ˈbʌɹə/

/ˌɹɑtn̩ ˈbʌɹoʊ/

From rotten (“in a state of decay”) + borough (“type of administrative district”), because such boroughs were regarded as having “decayed” due to their voters moving away to other places.

compound

[…] Queen's Crawley was no longer so populous a place as it had been in Queen Bess's time—nay, was come down to that condition of borough which used to be denominated rotten–yet, as Sir Pitt Crawley would say with perfect justice in his elegant way, "Rotten! be hanged—it produces me a good fifteen hundred a year."

[1847 January – 1848 July, William Makepeace Thackeray, “Crawley of Queen’s Crawley”, in Vanity Fair […], London: Bradbury and Evans […], published 1848, →OCLC, page 57:

(historical) A parliamentary borough that was represented in Parliament although the number of voters had diminished so greatly that they were largely controlled by the main landowner; such boroughs were abolished in the 19th century.

burgu usteldu

parliamentary borough represented in Parliament although the number of voters had diminished so greatly they were largely controlled by the main landowner; parliamentary constituency or electoral district in a similar situation

(by extension) A parliamentary constituency or electoral district in a similar situation.


patrol

en-noun

patrol (countable and uncountable, plural patrols)

From French patrouille, from Old French patrouille, patouille (“a night-watch”, literally “a tramping about”), from patrouiller, patouiller, patoiller (“to paddle or pudder in water, dabble with the feet, begrime, besmear”), from patte, pate (“paw, foot of an animal”), from Vulgar Latin *patta (“paw, foot”), from Frankish *patta (“paw, sole of the foot”), from Proto-Germanic *paþjaną, *paþōną (“to walk, tread, go, step, pace”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *(s)pent-, *(s)pat- (“path; to walk”), a variant of Proto-Indo-European *pent-, *pat- (“path; to go”); see find. Cognate with Dutch pad, patte (“paw”), Low German pedden (“to step, tread”), German patschen (“to splash, smack, dabble, waddle”), German Patsche (“a swatter, beater, paw, puddle, mire”). Related to pad, path.

cog

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Mélange a trois-patrol.wav

Four members of the squadron were on patrol.

The watch consisted of twelve convicts—men selected for their good behaviour. Immediately after tattoo had beat they began their patrol. 'No complaint was ever made of them,' remarks Phillip, and they were expressly cautioned to avoid disputes with soldiers or seamen ( many of whom were as great thieves as the convicts themselves).

1899, Louis Becke, Walter Jeffery, Admiral Phillip, Chapter 7:

(military) A going of the rounds along the chain of sentinels and between the posts, by a guard, usually consisting of three or four men, to insure greater security from attacks on the outposts.

(military) A movement, by a small body of troops beyond the line of outposts, to explore the country and gain intelligence of the enemy's whereabouts.

دَوْرِيَّة

movement by a small body of troops beyond the line of outposts

After cordial good-bye to our hospitable hostess we motored back to Chaumont where we dined with Colonel Mitchell; and then with another long drive we finally reached home tired but happy at 3.30 in the morning. There staring me in the face was an order directing me to lead my patrol over the lines in the morning at five o'clock, sharp! An hour and a half sleep for an utterly worn out aviator!

1919, Eddie Rickenbacker, “Chapter 7”, in Fighting the Flying Circus:

(military) The guards who go the rounds for observation; a detachment whose duty it is to patrol.

دَوْرِيَّة

(law enforcement) The largest division of officers within a police department or sheriff's office, whose assignment is to patrol and respond to calls for service.


fleur-de-lis

en-noun

fleur-de-lis (plural fleurs-de-lis or fleur-de-lises or fleur-de-lisses)

fleurs-de-lis (plural)
fleur-de-lises (plural)
fleur-de-lisses (plural)
fleur de lis (alternative)
fleur-de-lys (alternative)
flower-de-lis (alternative)
flower de lis (alternative)
fleur-de-luce (alternative)
flour-delice (alternative)
flower delice (alternative)
flower-de-luce (alternative)

From earlier flower-de-luce, from Middle English flourdelis, from Anglo-Norman flour de lis (“lily flower”); later remodelled after modern French fleur de lis (“lily flower”).

der

Adorned all with gemmes of endlesse price, […] And all embost with Lyons and with Flour-delice.

1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book V, Canto IX”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:

And waſh the Sanguin’d Fleur-de-Liſſes white.

a. 1700?, The Pepys Ballads, published 1987, page 73:

The pillars of the door that opens to this room are compoſed of pikes, on the top of which are two coats of mail, probably thoſe of John king of France, and David king of Scotland, who were priſoners here: they are both inlaid with gold, and are ornamented with fleur-de-liſſes and thiſtles.

1779, Charles Burlington, “Berkshire”, in The Modern Universal British Traveller; or, A New, Complete, and Accurate Tour through England, Wales, Scotland, and the Neighbouring Islands. Comprising All That Is Worthy of Observation in Great Britain. […], London: […] J. Cooke, […], part I (England), book III (The Western Circle of England), chapter section II (Topographical Description of Berkshire), pages 366–367:

The tressure flowerie encompasses the lion of Scotland, to shew that he should defend the fleur-de-lisses, and these to continue a defence to the lion, the ancient imperial ensign of Scotland since Fergus I.

1818, Hugh Clark, “A Dictionary of the Technical Terms Used in the Science of Heraldry. Part II.”, in A Short and Easy Introduction to Heraldry, in Two Parts. […], the ninth edition, London: […] Edward Edwards, […]; and Rodwell and Martin, […], entry “Tressure”, page 252:

Just then, an attendant to whom the Queen had whispered returned; and taking a small case from her hand, Anne produced a bracelet somewhat similar to the very one with which Francesca had parted, excepting that it had her cipher, surrounded by a wreath of fleurs-de-lis. "Louis, will you offer this to Mademoiselle Carrara?"

1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XXIV, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume I, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 290:

“We was not ridin’ with a shipment of fleur-de-lisses,” Phineas countered.

1942 December, Joe Archibald, “Pot Luck”, in Flying Aces, page 29:

One room has a pink marble bathroom with a gold fleur de lys pattern around the tub.

2013 April 26, Lesley Gillian, The Guardian:

(heraldry) A design representing a flower whose three petals are joined together at the bottom (⚜, ⚜), often used in heraldry, where it is particularly associated with the French monarchy.


squadron

squadrons (plural)
to: sqn (abbreviation)

(military, historical, army) A body of cavalry comprising two companies or troops, averaging from one hundred and twenty to two hundred soldiers.

(military) A body of infantrymen made up of several platoons, averaging from eighty to one hundred and fifty men, and led by a captain or a major.

the North Atlantic Squadron

(military, navy) A detachment of vessels employed on any particular service or station, under the command of the senior officer

(military, air force) A tactical air force unit; consists of at least two flights; multiple squadrons make up a group or wing (depending on particular air force).

سرب طيران

air force: tactical unit of at least two flights

(US, military, U.S. Space Force) A spaceforce unit; multiple squadrons make up an operations delta or a support garrison.


salute

Borrowed from Latin salūtō (“to greet; to wish health to”), from salūs (“greeting, good health”), related to salvus (“safe”).

bor

(military, nautical) A discharge of cannon or similar arms, as a mark of honour or respect.


parade

en-noun

parade (countable and uncountable, plural parades)

parades (plural)
Pde (alternative)
parad (alternative)

→ Hindi: परैड (paraiḍ)

→ Urdu: پریڈ (paraiḍ)

From French parade (“an ostentatious display, a military display”), from parer (“to beautify, prepare, take pride in”) + -ade probably under influence from earlier Italian parata (“preparation, a military parade, an ostentatious display”) and Latin magnō parātū (“with great preparation”). Various senses similarly influenced by earlier French and Italian uses. Doublet of pare.

der

There is left round about the circuit of the whole quarter, a parallell on all sides some 200, or 250 foote betweene the front of the quarter and the trench, called an Alarme Place, for the souldiers to draw out into Armes, into Parade, or when any Alarme or commotion happens...

1642, Henry Hexham, The Principles of Art Military, volume II, page 31:

And from thir Ivorie Port the Cherubim
Forth issuing at th’accustomd hour stood armd
To thir night watches in warlike Parade,
When Gabriel to his next in power thus spake...

1667, John Milton, “Book IV”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC, lines 779-782:

See how the Flow’rs, as at Parade,
Under their Colours stand displaid:
Each Regiment in order grows,
That of the Tulip Pinke and Rose.

1681, Andrew Marvell, “Upon Appleton House...”, Miscellaneous Poems, p. 87, St. 39

The next night the soldiers began teaching the girls to dance... Claude saw that a good deal was going on, and he lectured his men at parade. But he realized that he might as well scold at the sparrows.

1922, Willa Cather, chapter 17, in One of Ours:

Verrall... seldom put on his uniform for morning parade, not thinking it necessary with mere Military Policemen.

1934 October, George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair], “Ch. 18”, in Burmese Days, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, Publishers, →OCLC:

A military parade is really a kind of ritual dance, something like a ballet, expressing a certain philosophy of life. The goose-step, for instance, is one of the most horrible sights in the world, far more terrifying than a dive-bomber. It is simply an affirmation of naked power; contained in it, quite consciously and intentionally, is the vision of a boot crashing down on a face. Its ugliness is part of its essence...

1941, George Orwell, The Lion and the Unicorn, Pt. I:

An organized display of a group of people, particularly

(military) Synonym of military parade: A show of troops, an assembly of troops as a show of force, to receive orders, or especially for inspection at set times.

military parade

Parade, is a Military word, signifying the Place where Troops usually draw together, in order to mount the Guards, or for any other Service.

1704, John Harris, Lexicon Technicum, Vol. I, s.v:

When Barracks are occupied by Troops, the Yards and Parades are to be swept, rolled, and kept clean by them.

1844, The Queen's Regulations & Orders for the Army, page 240:

A place reserved for such displays, particularly

(military, now uncommon) Synonym of parade ground: A place specially designated for such displays or for practicing close-order drills.

parade ground

The Commanding Officer is then to direct the Parade to Order Arms.

1844, The Queen's Regulations & Orders for the Army, page 260:

The people who make up such a display, particularly

(military, now uncommon) The body of soldiers thus assembled.


anchored

an anchored cross, or a cross anchored

(heraldry) Having the extremities turned back, like the flukes of an anchor. (Compare sarcelly, moline.)


Assembly

Nevada Assembly

New York State Assembly

(US politics) The lower legislative body of each of a number of states of the United States.


Atlas

en-proper noun

Atlas (countable and uncountable, plural Atlases)

From Latin Ā̆tlās, from Ancient Greek Ἄτλας (Átlas), either from ἁ- (ha-, copulative prefix) + Proto-Indo-European *telh₂- (“bear, undergo, endure”) or of Pre-Greek origin.

der

(astronautics, military, US) An SM-65, an early ICBM, soon developed into a long-lived orbital launch vehicle series.


Atlas

(astronautics, military, US) A particular model or individual specimen of the Atlas missile and launch vehicle line.


Aurora

/ʔaʊ̯ˈɾo.ɾɐ/

Aurora (disambiguation)
Gérard de Lairesse
Manuel Quezon

Ultimately from Latin Aurōra. The Philippine placenames were named after First Lady Aurora Quezon, the wife of Pres. Manuel Quezon, the 2nd president of the Philippines.

(naval) the Russian cruiser Aurora, a cruiser of Soviet Navy.


Beast

Plebes spend their first summer at Cadet Basic Training — Beast Barracks — where they get soldierized.

2014, David Lipsky, Absolutely American: Four Years at West Point, page 8:

I was able to keep up with the herd and evade the Beast. Cadet Basic Training ended with a rigorous twenty four-hour exercise that included a twelve-mile, rite-of-passage road march to West Point […]

2019, Conrad Taylor, PATH to FREEDOM: My Story of Perseverance:

(US, military, slang) A cadet's basic training at West Point.


C

(UK politics, in election results) Abbreviation of Conservative.


Commons

Commons (disambiguation)#People
House of Commons

(UK politics, Canadian politics) The House of Commons, part of the parliament under the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy.


Con

(UK politics) Abbreviation of Conservative.


Congress

Congress (canonical)
the Congress (canonical)

Congress (disambiguation)#Places
United States Congress

House of Representatives
House of Representatives

(US politics) The two legislative bodies of the United States: the House of Representatives and the Senate.

(Philippine politics) The legislature of the Philippines.

(more specifically) The House of Representatives of the Philippines.


D

en-noun

D (countable and uncountable, plural Ds)

D-New York

“I think allowing this moniker, ‘Defund the police,’ to ever get out there, was not a good thing,” Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison (D) told The Washington Post’s Dave Weigel on Thursday.

2021 November 5, Chris Cillizza, “Even Democrats are now admitting ‘Defund the Police’ was a massive mistake”, in CNN:

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


Democrat

(politics) A member or supporter of a democratic party.

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

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

“Over the years, Democrats and Republicans have had policy differences, but this is way more than a policy difference. This is them dismantling government without the consent of the people,” Bonamici said. “This is not normal. Nothing feels normal right now.” […] A video filmed and shared on the social media site Bluesky by Florida Congressman Maxwell Frost, also a Democrat, shows Hairfield outside the building and several officers from the federal Department of Homeland Security behind the doors, labeled “All Access Entrance.”

2025 February 7, Alex Baumhardt, “Oregon Rep. Bonamici among electeds inexplicably locked out of U.S. Education Department”, in Oregon Capital Chronicle:

(US politics) A member or supporter of the Democratic Party in the United States.

民主黨人 /民主党人

supporter of the Democratic Party of the US


Democrat

(US politics, proscribed, derogatory, offensive) Of or belonging to the Democratic Party in the United States.

民主黨人 /民主党人

pertaining to the Democratic Party in the U.S.


Doc

Doc was awarded a Navy Cross after she ran through a minefield to get to an injured marine.

(slang, United States military) A common form of address for combat medics, especially naval hospital corpsmen.


Fred

(military, slang) The Lockheed C-5 Galaxy, a military transport aircraft widely used by USAF aircrews.


G

G (countable and uncountable, plural Gs)


Green

English surname, a topographic name for someone who either lived near a village green, or was just fond of the colour. This name is also translated from other surnames, such as German Grün and Gruen, Dutch Groen, Irish Ó huainí (from uaine, see Honan), etc. The Irish surname was also erroneously translated from Ó Fathaidh, Ó Fathaigh, from faithche (“lawn”).

Greene (alternative)
Grene (alternative)

(politics) Of, or pertaining, to a Green Party or green party.


Green

Greens (plural)
Greene (alternative)
Grene (alternative)

(politics) A member of a Green Party or green party.


Greens

In reference to the ancient Roman and medieval Byzantine racing faction, a calque of Latin prasinī (“Leek-Greens”) or factio prasina (“the leek-green faction”) and Byzantine Greek Πράσινοι (Prásinoi, “Leek-Greens”).

bor

(Australian politics) The Australian Greens, a left-wing, progressive green party in Australia


Grey

(UK, military, historical, chiefly in the plural) A member of the Royal Scots Greys, a cavalry regiment of the British Army from 1707 to 1971.


Grit

After the Clear Grits, 19th-century reformers so named because they wanted members who were "all sand and no dirt, clear grit all the way through".

(Canadian politics) A member or supporter of the Liberal Party of Canada or one of its provincial wings (except for the Quebec provincial wing).


Grit

(Canadian politics) Of or belonging to the Liberal Party of Canada.


House

en-prop

House (countable and uncountable, plural Houses)

* As an English surname, from the noun house.
* Also as an English surname, variant of Howes.
* Also as a topographic English surname, from a derivative of Old English hyse (“place overgrown with water plants”), from hos (“bramble, thorn, sprout”). This may have also made its way into Hose, Huss.
* As a German surname, calqued from the surname Haus.

der

House of Representatives
House of Representatives#English

(politics) A particular chamber of political representation

(US politics, as "the House") Ellipsis of House of Representatives.

House of Commons
House of Commons#English

(politics, Westminsterian parliamentary systems) Ellipsis of House of Commons.

House of Parliament
House of Parliament#English

(politics) Ellipsis of House of Parliament.

More generally, a shortened name for any chamber of a legislature that is named "House of...", especially where the other chamber(s) are not so named, or where there is no other chamber (unicameral).