ancien régime

From French ancien régime (“former rule, former order”); the term first appeared in English print in 1794.

bor

(derogatory, politics) A system of government long since supplanted by another, particularly a state of feudalism with an absolute monarchy supported by the doctrine of divine right with the explicit consent of an established church.


take the fall

en-verb

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

takes the fall (present singular third-person)
taking the fall (participle present)
took the fall (past)
taken the fall (participle past)
take a fall (alternative)

(idiomatic, informal, sports, especially boxing) To willingly lose a match, as in a fixed fight.


WAG

(informal, business or military slang, US) A wild-assed guess; a rough estimate.


SDR

en-noun

SDR (countable and uncountable, plural SDRs)

(espionage) Initialism of surveillance detection route.


dog whistle

dog whistles (plural)
dogwhistle (alternative)

dog + whistle. The figurative senses derive from the whistle's sound frequency, which is too high to be heard by human but can be heard by dogs.

On the lips of Premier Mike Harris, the term ‘special interest’ has the tone of epithet. It’s an all-purpose dog-whistle that those fed up with feminists, minorities, the undeserving poor hear loud and clear.

1995 October 15, Jim Coyle, Ottawa Citizen, p a9/1:

Putting “globalist” in quotes suggests a jest or in-joke of sorts, so it’s at least possible this wasn’t intended as some kind of anti-Semitic dog whistle.

2018 March 9, Bret Stephens, “In Praise of Globalists”, in New York Times:

But just as the usual dog-whistle article in The New York Times about the recently elected incoming government warning that "the far-right government that will soon take power ... marks a qualitative and alarming break with all the other governments in Israel's 75-year history" (only right-wing government are alarming) – and thus resonated with American administration officials.

2022 December 23, Dror Eydar, “Erasing Jewish history, courtesy of European-Palestinian collaboration”, in Israel Hayom:

But it was in the waning days of the campaign that the sheriff’s use of images of billionaire George Soros, a donor to many liberal causes and a target of frequent attacks from the right, sparked a charge from Democratic officials and others that Hodgson was using a “dog whistle” of antisemitism, a claim the sheriff’s campaign angrily rejected.

2022 December 24, Tom Reilly, “Top 10 of 2022: Attleboro Mayor Paul Heroux elected Bristol County sheriff, ousting Trump-touting incumbent”, in thesunchronicle.com:

“Many of them are coming from contexts where they associate socialism, or anything close to it, with what they left behind and why they left,” Bustamante explains. “I think Republicans have been very savvy – really ruthless – in exploiting that.” / Or as Regalado, a Republican, puts it: “It’s our dog whistle. And it works every time.”

2022 December 25, Joshua Chaffin, “Florida’s red wave: How Republicans turned Miami’s Latino voters away from Democrats”, in The Irish Times:

“You have to be living under a rock not to know what that statement ["All lives matter"] means. It’s a dog whistle,” Wright reportedly said.

2022 December 26, Grace Adams, “Former New Roads teacher files lawsuit against school for wrongful termination, discrimination”, in Santa Monica Daily News:

Whenever a well-placed public officer who should know comes out openly to say the naira is overvalued, overrated, should find its true value, etc., what he has done is to blow a dog whistle for speculators to take positions.

2022 December 28, ‘Tope Fasua, “Why public officials should mind what they say about the naira”, in Premium Times:

[I]f you were in India right now and watching the news channels, especially the mainstream media, the way they are literally issuing a dog whistle against the Muslim minorities in India, against the lower caste, the way they're endorsing the government's line, the way they are parroting the line, the way they are making enemies of each one of us, it is nauseating.

2022 December 29, Rana Ayyub, A Martinez (interviewer), “Independent journalists in India are being targeted for their critical reporting”, in NPR (interview):

(politics, sometimes derogatory) A political allusion or comment that only a certain audience is intended to note and recognize the significance of; particularly in relation to controversial or extreme viewpoints.


Camelot

Camelot (musical)
en:Camelot (disambiguation)
en:Chrétien de Troyes
en:Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart

First attested in Old French as Camaalot in Chrétien de Troyes' Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart. In the US politics sense a reference to the contemporary musical Camelot (1960), associated with the Kennedy era.

Of course you want to fund all these programs, and you want to fund all these activist campaigns. Of course you want that. The term “Camelot” was never used, but there was a Camelot feeling to it at the time that people must have felt in the early ’60s in the same way.

2025 January 17, Ross Douthat, quoting Marc Andreessen, “How Democrats Drove Silicon Valley Into Trump’s Arms”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

(US politics) The administration and surrounding mystique of President John F. Kennedy.


dovetail

dovetails (plural)
dove-tail (alternative)
dufftail (alternative)

The noun is derived from dove + tail. The verb is derived from the noun.

I ſhall add other tvvo Forms of Lines, […] The firſt of theſe tvvo is termed Patee, or Dove-Tail, from a Form of Art uſed by Joiners, vvho make Joints one into the other by that Name: […]

1722, Alexander Nisbet, “Of the Points and Parts of the Shield; and Forms of Lines, which Divide the Shield into Several Parts”, in A System of Heraldry Speculative and Practical: […], Edinburgh: […] J. MackEuen, →OCLC, page 23:

ASSEMBLEE, [in Heraldry,] a Dovetail or more to hold the tvvo Parts of the Eſcutcheon together, vvhere the Partition Line is, being countercharged, is ſome of the Metal and ſome of the Colour of the Eſcutcheon.

1736, John Harris, “ASSEMBLEE”, in Lexicon Technicum: Or, An Universal English Dictionary of Arts and Sciences: […], 5th edition, volume I, London: […] J. Walthoe, […], →OCLC, column 2:

The ninth is Quarterly per Pale dovetail, Ruby and Topaz; born by the Right Hon. Thomas Bromley, Lord Montfort, &c.

1765, Mark Anthony Porny [pseudonym; Antoine Pyron du Martre], “Of the Charges. Article I. Of Honourable Ordinaries.”, in The Elements of Heraldry, […], London: […] J[ohn] Newbery, […], →OCLC, section II (Of the Pale), page 47:

(heraldry) A line resembling a dovetail joint (sense 2.1).

klínová stínka

(heraldry) line resembling a dovetail joint


crampon

(heraldry) A heraldic figure in the form of a bar bent at the ends into the form of a hook.


skulk

From Middle English sculke, skulke, skulken, of North Germanic origin; compare Danish skulke (“shirk”), Swedish skolka (“play truant”).

"I shall do my duty, Mr. Jackson," replied Newton, "and fear no consequences." / "Indeed! you saw how I settled a skulk just now;—beware of his fate!"

1832, [Frederick Marryat], chapter XVI, in Newton Forster; or, The Merchant Service. […], volume I, London: James Cochrane and Co., […], →OCLC, page 238:

Toward evening there was something to be done on deck, and the carpenter who belonged to the watch was missing. “Where’s that skulk, Chips?” shouted Jermin down the forecastle scuttle.

1847 March 30, Herman Melville, chapter IV, in Omoo: A Narrative of Adventures in the South Seas; […], London: John Murray, […], →OCLC, page 32:

If you should ever need help, my son, let this be your rule—‘never ask it from the man who deserted his country in her hour of need.’ The soldier’s child will find no mercy from a skulk, depend on it.

1872, Sallie F. Chapin, chapter 7, in Fitz-Hugh St. Clair, the South Carolina Rebel Boy, Philadelphia: Claxton, Remsen & Haffelfinger, page 75:

An exempt, a skulk, or one upon whom rested the faintest suspicion of evading duty or shrinking in the critical hour of impending battle, was the special object of his wrath.

1906, Henry E. Shepherd, Life of Robert Edward Lee, New York: Neale, Part 3, p. 62:

(obsolete, chiefly nautical, military) One who avoids an obligation or responsibility.


MK

en-prop

MK (countable and uncountable, plural MKs)

Another ANC splinter party, the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MK), led by former President Jacob Zuma appears to be on course to do well in KwaZulu-Natal, the eastern coastal province where Durban is located.

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:

His MK party, named after the ANC’s former armed wing, appears to have achieved just that – formed just five months ago, it is now the third-largest party in South Africa, receiving almost 15% of the vote.

2024 June 5, Sarah Dean and David McKenzie, “Jacob Zuma has made a dramatic comeback in South Africa’s elections. Will he have the last laugh over Ramaphosa?”, in CNN:

(South Africa, politics) Abbreviation of uMkhonto weSizwe.


MK

A simple majority of 61 MKs will be able to do whatever it wants without any checks and balances.

2024, David Golinkin, “The Proposed "Judicial Revolution" In Israel: What Can We Learn From Our Sources?”, in Responsa in a Moment, volume 4, page 256:

(politics) Initialism of Member of Knesset.


brownout

brownouts (plural)
brown out (alternative)
brown-out (alternative)

A deverbal from brown out, by analogy with blackout.

Fire departments across the country have been forced to rely on rolling brownouts because of the recession.

(firefighting) A temporary closing of a fire station, usually due to budget restrictions.


cabinet minister

en-noun

cabinet minister (plural cabinet ministers)

(politics) A member of the executive branch of a government who has been appointed to the cabinet, the group of leading policy makers, advisers, and overseers of governmental departments who report to the prime minister.


Home Office

(British, UK politics) The British government department, headed by the Home Secretary, responsible for security and law enforcement in England and Wales.

內政部 /内政部

ministry responsible for internal affairs


picquet

Sometimes, it is true, Gertrude's resistance flagged; but this was only the temporary acquiescence of fatigue, and the battle was renewed with the old spirit on the next occasion, and was all to be fought over again. At breakfast there was generally, as I may say, an affair of picquets, and through the day a dropping fire, sometimes rising to a skirmish; but the social meal of supper was generally the period when, for the most part, these desultory hostilities blazed up into a general action.

1863, Sheridan Le Fanu, The House by the Churchyard:


picquet

en-verb

picquet (third-person singular simple present picquets, present participle picqueting, simple past and past participle picqueted)

picquets (present singular third-person)
picqueting (participle present)
picqueted (participle past)
picqueted (past)


From German Vergeltungswaffe eins (“retaliation weapon one”).

uder

(military, historical) An early cruise missile, powered by a pulsejet, used by Germany in the Second World War.


coxswain

coxswains (plural)
cockswain (alternative)

From Middle English cokswain; equivalent to cock (“a boat”) + swain (“boy, servant”); hence “the master of a boat”.

compound

Canadian Navy Coxswain (or Capitaine d'Armes) is the senior non-commissioned officer aboard a ship

British Royal Navy Cadets Cadet Coxswain is the highest normal rank which may be achieved.


backheel

(wrestling) A method of tripping or throwing by getting the leg back of the opponent's heel on the outside and pulling forward while pushing his body back.


backheel

en-verb

backheel (third-person singular simple present backheels, present participle backheeling, simple past and past participle backheeled)

backheels (present singular third-person)
backheeling (participle present)
backheeled (participle past)
backheeled (past)

(wrestling) To perform such a trip or throw.


one-two

(boxing) A one-two punch; two punches delivered in rapid succession

une-deux

boxing: two-punches delivered in rapid succession


DPM

en-noun

DPM (countable and uncountable, plural DPMs)

DPMs (plural)
dpm (alternative)
d.p.m. (alternative)
d. p. m. (alternative)

(military) Initialism of disruptive pattern material.

(politics) Initialism of deputy prime minister.


investiture

investiture (countable and uncountable, plural investitures)

/ɪnˈvɛstɪt͡ʃə/

/ɪnˈvɛstɪt͡ʃɚ/

From Middle French investiture, from Medieval Latin investītūra, from investīre (“to clothe”).

The Spanish constitution dictates that the king is obliged to dissolve the legislative body two months after the first failed investiture vote.

2023 July 24, Aitor Hernández-Morales, “Sánchez's tricky road to victory after shock Spanish election result”, in Politico, retrieved 2023-08-06:

(Spanish politics) The parliamentary vote required to inaugurate the Prime Minister of Spain.


NEP

(US, government) Initialism of non-English proficient.


zero-length launching

(military) A technique in which the first motion of the missile or aircraft removes it from the launcher, typically before the missile fuel or aircraft engine is fired.


zero point

zero point (countable and uncountable, plural zero points)

From early restandardization, possibly under influence of established US military terms such as zero hour, of the prior term point zero, which was coined during the Trinity Project, as point + zero, with zero being the code name for the Trinity test location. The original sense was that of ground zero and referred to only latitude and longitude, without regard to altitude, until the latter term's coinage in 1946.

(military) The location of the center of a burst of a nuclear weapon at the instant of detonation. The zero point may be in the air, or on or beneath the surface of land or water, depending upon the type of burst, and it is thus to be distinguished from ground zero.


zone of fire

(military) An area into which a designated ground unit or fire support ship delivers, or is prepared to deliver, fire support. Fire may or may not be observed.


zone of action

(military) A tactical subdivision of a larger area, the responsibility for which is assigned to a tactical unit; generally applied to offensive action.


area of influence

area of influence (plural areas of influence)

(military) A geographical area wherein a commander is directly capable of influencing operations by maneuver or fire support systems normally under the commander’s command or control.


Red Sea

From Middle English Red See, Reede See, Rede See, reade sea, from Old English Rēad Sǣ, a calque of Latin Mare Rubrum, itself a calque of Ancient Greek Ἐρυθρᾱ̀ θάλασσα (Eruthrā̀ thálassa); equivalent to red + sea.

der

Ἐρυθρᾱ̀ θάλασσα

(US politics) The states of the western and southern United States which consistently vote Republican in presidential elections.


TR

Theodore/Teddy Roosevelt
w:en:Theodore Roosevelt

(US politics) Initialism of Theodore/Teddy Roosevelt, 26th US president.


reprobation

en-noun

reprobation (countable and uncountable, plural reprobations)

/ˌɹɛpɹəˈbeɪʃən/

From French réprobation, or Latin reprobatio.

(military) Disqualification to hold office.


markup

markup (countable and uncountable, plural markups)

(US politics) The process by which proposed legislation is debated and amended.


internal affairs

(US, law enforcement) A division of a law enforcement agency investigating incidents and plausible suspicions of lawbreaking and professional misconduct attributed to officers on the force.


thunderbox

thunderboxes (plural)
thunder-box (alternative)

Probably a calque of German Donnerbüchse (“(archaic) blunderbuss; cannon”) (from Donner (“thunder”) + Büchse (“box; can; rifle”)), or its etymon Dutch donderbus (“blunderbuss”) (from donder (“thunder”) + bus (“box; container; (chiefly historical) type of early modern firearm”)).

nb...

With Illustrations of the Scenes of Remarkable Events, and of Popular Traditions. By Baron J. J. von Gerning. Embellished with Twenty-four Highly Finished and Coloured Engravings, from the Drawings of M. Schuetz; and Accompanied by a Map. Translated from the German by John Black.

101, Strand; and sold by the principal booksellers in the United Kingdom.

In the year 1346, at the battle of Crecy, the engliſh uſed a ſort of cannons, which were then called thunder-boxes.

1800, Gerhard Ulrich Anthony Vieth, “Gunpowder”, in [anonymous], transl., The Pleasing Preceptor; or Familiar Instructions in Natural History and Physics, […], volume I, London: […] [F]or G. G. and J. Robinson, […] by George Woodfall, […], →OCLC, page 58:

[…] I saw Arnoldi at Dettelbach, standing unhurt amongst the lances and swords, which flashed and glittered around him like lightning; the thunder-boxes peppering away all the while as if it snowed lead; and when the pastime (for it was nothing else to him) was over, there he stood leaning on his halbert, coolly shaking out the bullets, which rattled like peas from his breeches and doublet.

1848, H. J. Whitling, “The Old Man and His Guests”, in Bentley’s Miscellany, volume XXIII, London: Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, page 203:

(military, obsolete) A blunderbuss; also, a cannon.


interventionism

en-noun

interventionism (countable and uncountable, plural interventionisms)

From French interventionnisme. By surface analysis, intervention + -ism.

surf

(politics) The political practice of intervening in a sovereign state's affairs.


walking patient

en-noun

walking patient (plural walking patients)

(military) A patient whose injuries and/or illness are relatively minor, permitting the patient to walk and not require a litter.


wanted cargo

(military) In naval control of shipping, a cargo which is not immediately required by the consignee country, but will be needed later.


war game

war games (plural)
wargame (alternative)
war-game (alternative)

Well, the WOPR [War Operations Planning Response] spends all it's time thinking about World War III. Twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year, it plays an endless series of war games using all available information on the state of the world. The WOPR has already fought World War III as a game time and time again.

1983, Lawrence Lasker, Walter F. Parkes, WarGames, spoken by Paul Richter:

On the other hand, war games in the Weimar era did not first develop into a political instrument when they began to incorporate political entities. Rather, only war games were able to approximate exactly the situation that was to be avoided at all costs.

2012, Philipp Von Hilgers, War Games: A History of War on Paper, MIT Press, →ISBN, page 65:

In a sort of blooper reel, I will go over some of the things that occurred in a few of the wargames but we left out when collating the overall timeline.

2018 October 17, Drachinifel, 29:29 from the start, in Last Ride of the High Seas Fleet - Battle of Texel 1918, archived from the original on 2022-08-04:

en:war simulation for military readiness purposes

(military) A simulation (by whatever means, physical or digital), for training and strategy purposes, of a military operation involving two or more opposing forces using rules, data, and procedures designed to depict an actual or assumed real-life situation.


faceplant

faceplants (plural)
face-plant (alternative)

From face + plant (“place, set firmly”). Originally skateboarding and snowboarding slang, a humorous variant of handplant, which is an intentional technique in these sports.

(wrestling) A wrestling move in which an attacking wrestler forces an opponent down to the mat face-first without a headlock or facelock.


SLA

SLA (countable and uncountable, plural SLAs)

Sudan Liberation Army
w:Sudan Liberation Army

(politics) Initialism of Sudan Liberation Army.

Symbionese Liberation Army
w:Symbionese Liberation Army

(Maoism, politics, US) Initialism of Symbionese Liberation Army.


barracks

There is a large barracks in this town and two other barracks are nearby.

(military) A group of buildings used by military personnel as housing.


yobo

From Korean 여보 (yeobo, “darling, sweetheart”).

bor

Grandpa doesn't want Grandma and their kids and grandkids to know that he had to get penicillin shots all the time, or that he smoked boo (marijuana) on a daily basis, or that he dealt in the black market, or that he had yobos (purchased live-in sex slaves).

2019, Ron Cook, On Guard in the General's Chorus, page 2:

(military, historical) A soldier's female Korean lover or hired prostitute.


nightstick

nightsticks (plural)
night stick (alternative)

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

(US, law enforcement) A long, narrow, polelike club carried by police and security personnel, for use in self-defense.


CONUS

continental United States
continental United States#English

(chiefly military) Acronym of The continental United States, but is further defined to be the 48 states between Canada and Mexico, including the District of Columbia.


deliberate smoke

(military) Smoke operations which are planned with much detail for implementation over large areas or relatively long time periods.


fog oil

en-noun

fog oil (usually uncountable, plural fog oils)

(military) Petroleum based oil specially blended to produce a dense, efficient, screening smoke when vaporized and recondensed at atmospheric temperatures. Officially, fog oil is standard grade fuel number 2 (SGF2).


screening length

screening length (plural screening lengths)

(military) Distance from the source of a smoke screen to the point downwind where the background begins to become recognizable.


duster

desc

→ Cebuano: daster (“type of loose dress worn at home”)

→ Indonesian: daster (“type of loose dress worn at home”)

→ Tagalog: daster (“type of loose dress worn at home”)

en:vehicle-mounted, multi-barrelled anti-aircraft gun

(military, informal) A vehicle-mounted, multi-barrelled anti-aircraft gun.


Tories

the Tories (canonical)
toreys (alternative)
Toryes (alternative)
Torys (alternative)

Helped by massive tax increases piled on to the electorate by the Tories in their first post-election budget, we slowly began to win the battle.

2011, Philip Gould, The Unfinished Revolution: How New Labour Changed British Politics:

(UK politics) The British Conservative Party

(Canadian politics) The Conservative Party of Canada or one of that party's predecessors, or provincial variants


regardant

/ɹɪˈɡɑːdn̩t/

From Middle English regardant, from Anglo-Norman regardant, Middle French regardant.

The dog was waiting for him, her paws on the second tread, pere regardant with a happy lolling tongue.

1956, Anthony Burgess, Time for a Tiger (The Malayan Trilogy), published 1972, page 25:

I see a forked beast squatting on the midden of the world, red-eyed, regardant, gnawing on a shinbone: poor, dumb destroyer.

(heraldry, of an animal) With the head turned toward the back of the body.


lambrequin

lambrequins (plural)
lambrekin (alternative)

Borrowed from French lambrequin, from Middle French lambequin, from Middle Dutch lepperkijn, lappekijn, from Old Dutch lappakīn (“little cloth”). Compare modern English lapkin.

(heraldry) A heraldic representation of such an item, often used as drapery around a coat of arms.


armorial

armoriall (alternative)
armourial (alternative)

Mute Memento of that union
In a Saxon Church survives,
Where a cross-legged Knight lies sculptured
As between two wedded Wives—
Figures with armorial signs of race and birth,
And the vain rank the Pilgrims bore while yet on earth.

1835, William Wordsworth, The Armenian Lady's Love, Stanza 26, lines 151-156:

The Metropolitan District Railway did not at any time employ an armorial device on its rolling stock, though one was frequently displayed on its maps and timetables.

1950 June, Michael Robbins, “Heraldry of London Underground Railways”, in Railway Magazine, page 381:

Nick found a set of Trollope which had a relatively modest and approachable look among the rest, and took down The Way We Live Now, with an armorial bookplate, the pages uncut.

2004, Alan Hollinghurst, chapter 3, in The Line of Beauty […], London: Picador, →ISBN:

(heraldry) Of, or relating to heraldry, or to heraldic arms.


police force

He joined the police force a long time ago, when he lived in Virginia.

(law enforcement) Any police organization; a constabulary.


compartmentation

Nevertheless the principles of compartmentation of information and need to know are essential to secrecy.

1956, Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy, volume 1, Washington: Joint Commission on Atomic Energy:

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


communications zone

en-noun

communications zone (plural communications zones)

(military) The rear part of a theater of war or theater of operations (behind but contiguous to the combat zone) which contains the lines of communications, establishments for supply and evacuation, and other agencies required for the immediate support and maintenance of the field forces.


fan camera

(military, usually in the plural) A camera, part of an assembly of three or more cameras systematically disposed at fixed angles relative to each other so as to provide wide lateral coverage with overlapping images.


split cameras

(military) An assembly of two cameras disposed at a fixed overlapping angle relative to each other.


tri-camera photography

(military) Photography obtained by simultaneous exposure of three cameras systematically disposed in the air vehicle at fixed overlapping angles relative to each other in order to cover a wide field.


clarion

The noun is derived from Middle English clarion, clarioun (“trumpet with a narrow tube and a shrill sound, clarion; clarion player”) [and other forms], from Old French claron, clarïon (“clarion”) [and other forms], from Medieval Latin clāriōn, clario, clārōn (“clarion; trumpet”), from Latin clārus (“audible; clear, distinct, loud; (visually) bright, clear”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kelh₁- (“to call, summon; to cry”).
The adjective is from an attributive use of the noun.

nb...

clarionne, clarioune, claryon, claryoun, claryoune, claryounn, claryounne, claryowne

der

(heraldry) A charge thought to represent a type of wind instrument, a keyboard instrument like a spinet, or perhaps a rest used by a knight to support a lance during jousting.


Lib Dem

The Tories are ideologically opposed to large state-run industries, and the Lib Dems can sniff an opportunity to score points in their freshly won commuting constituencies outside London.

2025 February 19, Paul Clifton, “I am absolutely committed to reforming the railway”, in RAIL, number 1029, page 40:

Liberal Democrat
Liberal Democrat#English

(Australian politics, UK politics, informal) Abbreviation of Liberal Democrat.


in hot pursuit

PC Winters gunned the patrol car out of the side road where they'd been parked, bored and waiting for the end of their shift, and took off in hot pursuit.

2011, Colin Bateman, SOS Adventure: Tusk:

(law enforcement, idiomatic) Pursuing someone in order to apprehend them, especially across a border.


Ivy League

From earlier Ivy colleges (1933), as Ivy League first used by AP sports editor Alan J. Gould (1935). The title became official after the formation of the athletic conference in 1954. From the tradition of Ivy Day at many older colleges and universities, where ivy is planted to honor academic excellence.

Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania, Princeton, and Yale form the Ivy League.

Almost as an afterthought, we’re given an origin story for Barney’s alcoholism: he was once a sober, studious, Ivy League-bound high school scholar before Homer forced a beer on him that transformed him into a drooling, slurring, out of control rampaging id.

2012 June 3, Nathan Rabin, “TV: Review: THE SIMPSONS (CLASSIC): “Mr. Plow” (season 4, episode 9; originally aired 11/19/1992)”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name):

(US, education, politics) An association of eight universities in the USA, known for high quality.

Alan J. Gould
en:Ivy League
en:Ivy League (disambiguation)


dry fire

en-verb

dry fire (third-person singular simple present dry fires, present participle dry firing, simple past and past participle dry fired)

dry fires (present singular third-person)
dry firing (participle present)
dry fired (participle past)
dry fired (past)
dryfire (alternative)
dry-fire (alternative)

Rob finished cleaning his empty gun then pointed it at an imaginary target and dry fired.

2009, Debra Parmley, A Desperate Journey, →ISBN, page 32:

(firearms) To discharge a weapon without ammunition in the chamber.

(archery) To draw and release a bow without an arrow loaded.


disclosed

Azure, a harpy with her wings disclosed, her hair flotant or, armed of the same. This coat stands in Huntingdon church.

1854, Hugh Clark, Thomas Wormull, An Introduction to Heraldry, page 137:

Culcheth of Culcheth: argent, an eagle disclosed, preyant on a child in a mantle gules, wattled or. This is the crest of Stanley, well known in Lancashire as the bird and bantling.

1880, Thomas Spencer Baynes, The Encyclopaedia Britannica: A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and General Literature, page 700:

Guillim [in Display of Heraldry] shows another coat of arms, a shield with "a Harpey disclosed in her wings."

1967, Colin Clair, Unnatural History: An Illustrated Bestiary:

(heraldry, of wings) Expanded, spread; (of a winged creature) with its wings extended or spread.


R'n'R

(military) rest and recuperation (or recreation)


baksheesh

en-noun

baksheesh (usually uncountable, plural baksheeshes)

baksheeshes (plural)
bachshish (alternative)
bakshee (alternative)
backsheesh (alternative)
backshish (alternative)
backsishe (alternative)
bacsheese (alternative)
bacshish (alternative)
bakhshish (alternative)
bakhshîsh (alternative)
bucksheesh (alternative)
buckshish (alternative)
buksheesh (alternative)
bukshish (alternative)
buxees (alternative)
buxies (alternative)
buxie (alternative)

From Turkish bahşiş, from Persian بخشیش (baxšiš, “present; an honorary or pecuniary gratuity; drink-money”) or بخشش (baxšeš), from بخشیدن (baxšidan, “to give, grant, bestow”).

derived

When we had made the boys as comfortable as possible and given them fags, of which our Padre seemed to have an inexhaustable^([sic]) supply, they were quite cheerful, and joked about “backsheesh” wounds.

1981, The Kia Ora Coo-ee: The Magazine for the ANZACS in the Middle East, 1918, →ISBN:

Clearly the preferred wound, it ranked in seriousness between a 'buckshee' or 'baksheesh', a slight would that merely took a man out of the line for a short time, and a 'N.Z. smack', which meant being invalided back to New Zealand, usually disabled for life.

2009, Gavin McLean, Penguin Book Of New Zealanders At War, →ISBN:

Some prayed for what was known as a 'blighty' wound or a 'backsheesh' wound, a wound that would be bad enough to have them sent home but not so bad that it would cripple them.

2018, David Hastings, Odyssey of the Unknown Anzac, →ISBN:

(military slang) A minor wound that is severe enough to get a soldier sent away from the front.


snapper

snappers (plural)
schnapper (alternative)

(US politics, historical) A supporter of Senator Hill's premature scheduling of the Democratic National Committee convention of 1892.


switch horn

(military) In naval mine warfare, a switch in a mine operated by a projecting spike.


sympathetic detonation

en-noun

sympathetic detonation (plural sympathetic detonations)

(especially military) Detonation of an explosive triggered by the explosion of another quantity of explosive adjacent to it.


synchronized clock

synchronized clock (plural synchronized clocks)

(military) A technique of timing the delivery of fires by placing all units on a common time. The synchronized clock uses a specific hour and minute based on either local or universal time. Local time is established using the local time zone.


changement

(fencing) A change in the tempo or rhythm of one's actions, to mislead the opponent.


dogfight

The two bi-planes swirled around each other like angry wasps in a violent dogfight.

(aviation, military) A twisting turning battle between two or more military aircraft, especially between fighters.


ashlar

ashlar (countable and uncountable, plural ashlars)

From Middle English assheler, acheler, etc., from forms of Old French esselier (“wooden support, traverse beam”), from Medieval Latin ascelāris and assellāris (equivalent to a diminutive of early forms of ais (“plank”)), variant of *axillāris (attested only after the Renaissance), from Latin axilla (“little plank”) + -āris (“-ary: forming adjectives”), from axis (“axle, plank”) + -illa (“-ella: forming diminutives”).

carreuada

well-finished masonry creating an effect similar to well-done wooden flooring

(military, historical) A stone intended for hurling by means of a catapult or similar device.


infanteer

infanteers (plural)
infantier (alternative)

From Spanish infante (“soldier”) + -eer.

suffix

Spanish <i class="Latn mention" lang="es">infante</i>

The appointment of an infanteer from The Highlanders as the Sovereign's Piper shows that the events following Culloden are no longer raw in the memory. official web site of the British Monarchy

(UK, Canada, military) A soldier employed in any infantry role; an infantryman.


red lead

Saturday/Wednesday morning breakfast beans were accompanied by corn bread and bowls of "red lead" [catsup for you landlubbers].

2003, The Four Stack APDs: The Famed Green Dragons, page 54:


MPS

Metropolitan Police Service
w:Metropolitan Police

(UK, law enforcement) Initialism of Metropolitan Police Service.


Wilfred

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

(UK, military, World War I, slang) The Victory Medal.


polarity

en-noun

polarity (countable and uncountable, plural polarities)

international system
international system

(politics) Any of the various ways in which power is distributed within the international system. ᵂᵖ


infantryman

(military) a soldier employed in an infantry role


nation-state

nation-states (plural)
nation state (alternative)

Compound of nation + state. Coined c. 1890s under the influence of European languages; compare German Nationalstaat (from 1840s), Italian Stato-nazione (from 1860s).

Two years on, and while the Sultan of Slowjamastan has instigated more than a few bizarre laws (he’s outlawed the wearing of Crocs, for example), the Republic also has all the trappings of a fledgling nation-state. It issues its own passports, flies its own flag, prints its own currency (“the duble”), and has a national anthem that’s played on state occasions.

2023 June 8, Richard Collett, “He ran out of countries to visit, so he created his own”, in CNN:

(politics) A political entity (a state) associated with a common national identity (historically, culturally, or ethnically; as with a nation) and a sovereign territorial unit.


munition

From Latin mūnitiō (“a defence, fortification”) via French munition, from mūnīre (“fortify, defend (with a wall)”) + -tiō, from moenia (“city walls, defensive walls, or walls in general”). Equivalent to munite + -ion.

suf

(chiefly in the plural, military, NATO) Bombs, rockets, missiles (complete explosive devices, in contrast to e.g. guns).


rover

From Middle English roven (“to wander, to shoot an arrow randomly”) + -er.

inh

"By my hilt! no. There was little Robby Withstaff, and Andrew Salblaster, and Wat Alspaye, who broke the neck of the German. Mon Dieu! what men they were! Take them how you would, at long butts or short, hoyles, rounds, or rovers, better bowmen never twirled a shaft over their thumb-nails.

1890, Arthur Conan Doyle, chapter 22, in The White Company:

(archery, usually in the plural) A randomly selected target.


on point

Possibly from the French "en pointe" meaning to be on the tip of the toes in ballet and reflects a higher degree of skill. "On point" also describes a degree of competence and in the military the man "on point" was at the front and most exposed position in a combat military formation, that is, the leading soldier or unit advancing through hostile or unsecured territory. In recent American youth (especially hip hop) culture, the idiom "on point" refers either to someone who possesses abundant and various qualities of competence, leadership or style, or to specific acts which demonstrate such qualities.

Halo interrupted, “We are all dialed in. Music begins in five minutes. Security is on point. Light show is programmed. Do this for me: roll up the road and grab us some smokes at the convenience store across the street. Here's some cash.”

2003, Aaron Traylor, chapter 14, in The DJ Chronicles: A Life Remixed, Port Hole Publications, →ISBN, page 71:

(chiefly military) Having taken point; responsible for leading an operation; more generally, deployed and alert.


oppo

Clipping of opposition, or of opposition research as a whole.

(uncountable, US, politics, informal) Research into one's opponent's family, friends, and past, which aims to uncover activities or interests which embarrass or discredit them.


drill instructor

en-noun

drill instructor (plural drill instructors)

Army: drill sergeant

Navy: recruit division commander

Marine Corps: drill instructor

Air Force: military training instructor

Coast Guard: company commander

(US military) The generic term for the principal instructor of fresh military recruits undergoing basic training in the various branches of the United States military, routinely abbreviated to the initialism DI; always filled by enlisted personnel (a sergeant or petty officer).


code name

code names (plural)
codename (alternative)

(business, espionage, military) A name used to clandestinely identify somebody or something, either for military or espionage purposes, or for commercial confidentiality.

代號 /代号

name used to clandestinely identify something


buffalo soldier

buffalo soldier (plural buffalo soldiers)

(US, military, historical) An African-American soldier in the US Army, serving in one of a number of segregated units under white officers, in the period after the US Civil War up to the final racial integration of the US military, at the end of the Korean War.


CDR

CDR (countable and uncountable, plural CDRs)


kayfabe

Unknown, but attributed to US carnival slang (carny), usually as a purposefully obscure variant of the admonition “be fake” formed through backslang or mangled pig Latin. Also sometimes attributed to an alteration of cave (Latin for “beware”), keep cavey (“stay alert”), or an eponymous figure named Kay Fabe or Kay Fabian.

Kay Fabe (alternative)
kay fabe (alternative)
kay-fabe (alternative)
kafabe (alternative)

"Jack, Gordon and I were talking about how we heard Ric Flair do an interview where he said there was no such thing as kay-fabe any more," said Blair, referring to the fact most wrestler secrets were exposed in the 1990s.

2001 April 27, Alex Marvez, "Grappling for the Right Words?", South Florida Sun-Sentinel, p. 44

Suddenly, I heard a shout behind me: "Kayfabe! Kayfabe!" It was Gagne, freaking out and twitching and gesturing. He was afraid that some of the marks would see us in such close proximity and wonder why I wasn't choking out Wahoo with the velvet rope leading to the reservation counter, or carving him up with the ticket agent's pen. The thing was that, with the exception of the AWA guys, the terminal was empty.

2006, Eldridge Wayne Coleman & al., Tangled Ropes, p. 143

I've been breaking kayfabe a lot lately and it's bad, completely unprofessional.

2013, Saul Lemerond, "Cowboys in Rainbow City", Kayfabe & Other Stories, p. 45

professional wrestling
professional wrestling

(professional wrestling) The act, situation, or code of portraying staged events, performances, rivalries, etc as authentic or spontaneous.


kayfabe

My wife... currently serves as a Florida State Senator... My kayfabe wife has enormous fake breasts, bleach blonde hair, and a nose that is too small for her face.

2013, Saul Lemerond, "Cowboys in Rainbow City", Kayfabe & Other Stories, pp. 43–4

(professional wrestling) Of or related to kayfabe, especially forbidden to mention or show in order to maintain kayfabe.


kayfabe

en-verb

kayfabe (third-person singular simple present kayfabes, present participle kayfabing, simple past and past participle kayfabed)

kayfabes (present singular third-person)
kayfabing (participle present)
kayfabed (participle past)
kayfabed (past)
Kay Fabe (alternative)
kay fabe (alternative)
kay-fabe (alternative)
kafabe (alternative)

...Mascaras was never one of the boys. Here's an example: after his matches, he'd shower with his mask on. I understand protecting your image, but the guy was kayfabing us.

2006, Eldridge Wayne Coleman & al., Tangles Ropes, p. 97

He joked around with me and had me laughing so hard that it was tough not to feel silly about being "kayfabed.

2013, Julie Hart, Hart Strings, →ISBN, page 54:

(professional wrestling) To maintain kayfabe, to deceive by staying in character.


sagamore

From an Algonquian language; compare Abenaki sôgmô, sôgemô (“chief”), Mi'kmaq saqamaw (“chief”), and Penobscot sagama, sagema, sagemo, sangemo (“chief”), all ultimately from Proto-Algonquian *sa·kima·wa (“male chief”). Doublet of sachem.

der

The society elects annually thirteen sachems, which represent the original thirteen States. […] The other officers of the society are a Secretary, Treasurer, Sagamore, and Wiskinkie. The duty of the Sagamore is to take care of the property of the society; that of the Wiskinkie, to act as doorkeeper.

1865, R. G. Horton, “The History of Tammany Society, or, Columbian Order. Chapter V. From 1834 to 1840.”, in D. T. Valentine, Manual of the Corporation of the City of New York, New York, N.Y.: Edmund Jones & Co. [for the Common Council], →OCLC, page 876:

(politics) A high-ranking officer of the Tammany Hall political organization responsible for taking care of its property.


chumming

(military, aviation, historical) The use of a lit aeroplane to draw enemy fire so that the enemy can be destroyed by another aeroplane whose lights are off.


case-shot

anti-personnel weapon
anti-personnel weapon

(military, natuical, historical) A mixture of stones and old iron, put into a wooden case and fired from a cannon as an anti-personnel weapon.


dragnet

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

From drag + net, probably based on the model of Middle English draynet, dreynett (“dragnet”), Old English dræġnet, dræġnett (“dragnet”), equivalent to dray + net. Cognate with Swedish dragnät, Norwegian dragnett, from Icelandic dragnet.

The use of algorithms in policing is one example of their increasing influence on our lives.[…]who, if anyone, is policing their use[?] Such concerns were sharpened further by the continuing revelations about how the US National Security Agency (NSA) has been using algorithms to help it interpret the colossal amounts of data it has collected from its covert dragnet of international telecommunications.

2013 July 26, Leo Hickman, “How algorithms rule the world”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 7, page 26:

(law enforcement) Heightened efforts by law enforcement personnel undertaken in order to capture suspects.

eftersøgning

Heightened efforts by law-enforcement personnel to capture suspects.


dragnet

en-verb

dragnet (third-person singular simple present dragnets, present participle dragnetting, simple past and past participle dragnetted)

dragnets (present singular third-person)
dragnetting (participle present)
dragnetted (participle past)
dragnetted (past)

In fact, Carty was not the man, but, after a police swoop had dragnetted twenty men suspected of having taken part in the business, he was lodged in Sligo jail and accused of this violence to the lady.

2010, Florence O'Donoghue, IRA Jailbreaks 1918-1921, →ISBN, page 164:

A May Day anti-capitalist protest last year in Seattle saw clashes between police and protesters, and the FBI had been dragnetting potential anarchists.

2013 September 19, Audrey Black, “Targeting Oppression”, in Eugene Weekly:

(law enforcement, transitive) To undertake heightened efforts to catch a suspect.


field marshal

From field + marshal, calque of German Feldmarschall or its source, Middle French maréchal de camp.

(military) In certain nations the highest military rank, ranking below only the commander in chief; now essentially disused.

field marshall

highest military rank after the commander in chief


forced march

I did not believe this possible because of the distance and the condition of the roads, which was bad; besides, troops after a forced march of twenty miles are not in a good condition for fighting the moment they get through.

1885, Ulysses S. Grant, chapter 28, in Personal memoirs of U.S. Grant^(http://etext.virginia.edu/etcbin/ot2www-pubeng?specfile=/texts/english/modeng/publicsearch/modengpub.o2w&act=surround&offset=327093481&tag=Grant,+Ulysses+S.+(Ulysses+Simpson),+1822-1885.:+Personal+memoirs+of+U.S.+Grant,+Volume+I,+1885&query=forced+march&id=GraPers):

[M]any of their leaders could not yet wholly believe that Jackson and his army, making a forced march in the dead of winter, were at hand.

1914, Joseph A. Altsheler, chapter 4, in The Scouts of Stonewall:

American and Filipino prisoners from the fall of Corregidor in 1942 were refused food and water on a six-day, 97-km forced march to their place of confinement at Camp O'Donnell.

2001 June 24, Howard Chua-Eoan, “War of the Worlds”, in Time, retrieved 2013-08-08:

(military) A movement on foot by soldiers or prisoners of war, who must, in order to satisfy a military requirement, travel at a speed or in adverse conditions that would normally tire them excessively.


AUTODIN

(military) Abbreviation of automatic digital network: the standard digital computer network of the US military.


vair

en-noun

vair (countable and uncountable, plural vairs)

From Middle English veir, veire, from Old French vair, veir, from the accusative singular masculine form of Latin varius (“variegated”).

(heraldry) An heraldic fur formed by a regular tessellation of bell shapes in two colours, (for example in the image, blue and white).


eschatocol

Borrowed from Byzantine Greek ἔσχατοκολλον (éskhatokollon, “last sheet glued onto a manuscript”), from ἔσχατον (éskhaton) + κόλλα (kólla, “glue”).

bor

ἔσχατοκολλον

(diplomacy) The final section of a document, often involving a formulaic close (e.g. “Yours faithfully”), the date and location of writing, and information on the document's originators e.g. author, counter-signer, witnesses present, etc.


vote bank

vote banks (plural)
votebank (alternative)

(India, politics) A section of an electorate that will vote for a particular party or formation, come what may.

base

group of voters who almost always support a single party's candidates


waza-ari

(judo) a throw in which the opponent is thrown with control and accuracy, but not to the extent of an ippon, or held on the back for between 20 and 25 seconds on the mat; the score of half a point awarded for this throw

wazari

a judo throw in which the opponent is thrown with control and accuracy


ippon

Borrowed from Japanese 一本 (“one full point”).

(martial arts, judo) The highest score in judo, awarded for a throw that places the opponent on their back with impetus or for holding the opponent on their back for a number of seconds.


whipsaw

en-verb

whipsaw (third-person singular simple present whipsaws, present participle whipsawing, simple past whipsawed, past participle whipsawn)

whipsaws (present singular third-person)
whipsawing (participle present)
whipsawed (past)
whipsawn (participle past)

(US politics) To accept bribes from multiple parties at once, with the intent of letting down one or more of them.


splint

From Middle English splint, splent, splente, from Middle Low German splinte, splente or Middle Dutch splint, splinte. Cognate with Old High German splinza (“bar, bolt, latch”). All ultimately from Proto-Germanic *splintǭ, *splintō (“piece of wood, splinter”), from Proto-Germanic *splint-, *splind- (“to split”), from a nasalized form of *splītaną (“to split”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)pley- (“to split, splice”).

der

The fore-part of his thighs, where the folds of his mantle permitted them to be seen, were also covered with linked mail; the knees and feet were defended by splints, or thin plates of steel, ingeniously jointed upon each other; and mail hose, reaching from the ancle to the knee, effectually protected the legs, and completed the rider's defensive armour.

1819 December 20 (indicated as 1820), Walter Scott, chapter II, in Ivanhoe; a Romance. […], volume I, Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co. […], →OCLC, page 25:

(military, historical) A segment of armour consisting of a narrow overlapping plate.


backhaul

en-noun

backhaul (countable and uncountable, plural backhauls)

(military) The shipment of material to or through an area from which the material had previously been shipped.


Rupert

A German name, brought to England by Prince Rupert of the Rhine in the seventeenth century. Doublet of Robert.

(derogatory, slang, military) A junior army officer.


Matilda

Matildas (plural)
Mathilda (alternative)

From Middle English Matilda, from Old French Mathilde, from Old High German Mahthilt, Mehthilt, from Proto-Germanic *Mahtihildiz; compare German Mechthild, Old English Mæþhild (“Matilda”).

(UK, army, historical) Either of two British infantry tanks in use during World War II, the Infantry Tank Mark I or Infantry Tank Mark II.


indented

en-adj

indented (comparative more indented, superlative most indented)

more indented (comparative)
most indented (superlative)

an indented border or ordinary

(heraldry) Notched like the part of a saw consisting of the teeth; serrated.


purchasing

en-noun

purchasing (countable and uncountable, plural purchasings)

(business, government) A complex, organized process in large organizations for obtaining goods that may include identification of requirements, approvals, supplier management, negotiation, receipt of goods, and payment.


incoming

(military) A warning that something is coming towards the addressee, especially enemy artillery fire.


incoming

incoming (countable and uncountable, plural incomings)

From Middle English incomming, in comyng, in-comyng, incomyng, in-comynge, incomynge, inne comyng, yn comyng, equivalent to in (adverb) + coming (noun).

Volume, however, was only part of the story because the incoming was almost always the heavier stuff. The hill received little 60mm or 82mm mortar fire but a deluge of 120mm mortar and 100mm artillery rounds.

1977, Moyers S. Shore, The Battle for Khe Sanh:

I'll never forget the sight of those cannoneers standing at their guns firing back while the incoming was hitting all over. That was artillery's mission.

1992, Michael R. Conroy, Don't tell America!, page 120:

Things had improved a little bit compared to the Eastern Solomons, and three dozen F4F Wildcats on combat air patrol were vectored onto the oncoming hostiles, but once that initial task was accomplished, things began to collapse back into the cacophony and chaos that was all too familiar to those aboard the Enterprise, meaning that the end result was round about the same, the Japanese aircraft screaming into their attack runs on Hornet about the same time as most of the Wildcats managed to sort themselves out to begin their own attacks on the incoming.

2021 February 3, Drachinifel, 11:05 from the start, in Guadalcanal Campaign - Santa Cruz (IJN 2 : 2 USN), archived from the original on 2022-12-04:

(uncountable, military) Enemy fire directed at oneself.


reformed

en-adj

reformed (comparative more reformed, superlative most reformed)

more reformed (comparative)
most reformed (superlative)

(UK, military, of an officer) Retained in service on half or full pay after the disbandment of the company or troop.


turn around

en-verb

turn around (third-person singular simple present turns around, present participle turning around, simple past and past participle turned around)

turns around (present singular third-person)
turning around (participle present)
turned around (participle past)
turned around (past)

Some months ago, the Captain had come to the FBI with a story that he had been contacted by Soviet agents, and the FBI had “turned him around” and used him to plant false and specially made up classified material of no importance on the Soviets.

2014, Joseph DiMona, To the Eagle's Nest:

(transitive, espionage) To convert (an agent) to work for one's own side.


morne

non-rhotic, without the horse–hoarse merger


lapping

en-noun

lapping (countable and uncountable, plural lappings)

From Middle English lapping, lappyng, lappinge, equivalent to lap + -ing.

(firearms) The process of rubbing away the lands, or metal between the grooves of a rifled gun, to increase the bore.


Pearl Harbor

/ˌpɝ˞l ˈhɑɹbɚ/

/ˌpɜːl ˈhɑːbə/

Calque of Hawaiian Wai Momi (“pearl water”). The extended senses allude to the surprise attack executed by the Imperial Japanese Navy on the harbor on December 7, 1941.

cal

en:Pearl Harbor
en:Pearl Harbor (disambiguation)

Bluto: What? Over? Did you say "over"? Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no!
Otter: [to Boon] Germans?
Boon: Forget it, he's rolling.

1978, Harold Ramis, Douglas Kenney, Chris Miller, Animal House (motion picture), spoken by Bluto (John Belushi), Universal Pictures:

(military) A naval base in Pearl Harbor, Oahu, Hawaii, United States: a US Navy base


shadowed

[...] 2d and 3d Gules, a Man's Heart proper, Shadowed Or, betwixt three Cinquefoils Ermine, for Hamilton […]

1722, Alexander Nisbet, A System of Heraldry Speculative and Practical, page 394:

The supporters have rede collares about there nekes "bordered with gold, and are vert" shadowed gules and blew, proper, like parates.

1862, Thomas Tonge, Heraldic Visitation of the Northern Counties in 1530, page 27:

Consequently, a month later, by the Maid's desire, the King gave to Guy de Cailly a grant of new arms on a field azure, three heads of cherubim, winged, bearded in flame-colour, which is or shadowed with gules.

Armorial bearings (L.O., 1678-9) Quarterly 1 and 4, gules a mullet argent between three cinquefoils ermine; 2 and 3 gules, a man's heart proper shadowed or, between three cinquefoils ermine, all within a bordure argent[…]

1910, Arthur Charles Fox-Davies, Armorial Families: A Directory of Gentlemen of Coat-armour, page 116:

(heraldry) Depicted with shading, as if showing areas in shadow.


pompadour

pompadours (plural)
pompador (alternative nonstandard)

/ˈpɑːmpədɔːɹ/

From French Pompadour, after Madame de Pompadour (1721–1764), mistress of Louis XV.

(UK, military, slang, historical) A member of the 56th (West Essex) Regiment of Foot, an infantry regiment in the British Army, active from 1755 to 1881.


scalawag

scalawags (plural)
scallawag (alternative)
scalliwag (alternative)
scallywag (alternative)
skalawag (alternative)

Of obscure origin, perhaps from the name of the Shetland village of Scalloway (from Old Norse Skálavágr), known for its dwarf ponies and dwarf cattle.

(Philippines, law enforcement, military) rogue police; rogue military personnel


jobber

My argument has ALWAYS been that 99.9% of all wrestlers are jobbers (and I'm 100% correct).

1998 December 30, Don Martin, “Get over it, Jericho would be nothing but a jobber in the WWF:”, in rec.sport.pro-wrestling (Usenet):

I agree, Superstars got a bit dull with the jobber matches at times but it furthered storylines so they didn't have to give away PPV matches on a regular TV show...

2001 February 9, GraDee, “Reminiscing the jobber matches era from "WWF Superstars"”, in alt.pro-wrestling.nostalgia (Usenet):

(professional wrestling slang) A performer whose primary role is to lose to established talent.


ring rat

(professional wrestling, slang) A promiscuous person, often a young female, who attends professional wrestling events primarily to seek sexual liaisons with wrestlers and other performers.


ham-and-egger

From boxing, where a poor boxer would only win enough money to pay for meals; ham and egg + -er.

(wrestling slang) A preliminary wrestler; a jobber.

Well, it's just that, you see, uh, I fight in clubs, you know, and uh, I'm really a ham-and-egger. This guy, he's the best, and uh, it wouldn't be such a good fight.

1976 November 21, Rocky, spoken by Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone):


debased

en-adj

debased (comparative more debased, superlative most debased)

more debased (comparative)
most debased (superlative)

For quotations using this term, see Citations:debased.

(heraldry) Abased, abaissé: (of a charge) borne lower than usual.


warhorse

Just within the inner edge of the circle stood a soldier, in the military attire of a strange nation; and without it was his warhorse, in the center of a collection of mounted domestics, seemingly in readiness to undertake some distant journey.

1826, [James Fenimore Cooper], The Last of the Mohicans; a Narrative of 1757. […], volume II, Philadelphia, Pa.: H[enry] C[harles] Carey & I[saac] Lea— […], →OCLC:

As he spoke, the knight-errant, who had remounted his war-horse, galloped forward to the royal stand, with a silken kerchief bound round his wounded arm.

1891, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “How a Champion Came forth from the East”, in The White Company […], volume II, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC, pages 254–255:

(historical, military) Any horse used in horse-cavalry, but especially one bearing an armoured knight.


DSC

en-noun

DSC (countable and uncountable, plural DSCs)

Distinguished Service Cross
w:Distinguished Service Cross

(military, British, US, Australia) Initialism of Distinguished Service Cross.


call sign

call signs (plural)
callsign (alternative)
call-sign (alternative)

Charlie: I'm Charlotte Blackwood.
Maverick: I'm Maverick.
Charlie: Did your mother not like you?
Maverick: No, it's my call sign.

1986, Jim Cash, Jack Epps Jr., Top Gun (motion picture):

Four drone operators, led by Shved, whose call sign means “the Swede” on account of his blond hair, […]

2023 June 17, Dan Sabbagh, “‘It’s 21st-century warfare’: on Ukraine’s counteroffensive frontline”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC:

(military) Any combination of characters or pronounceable words, which identifies a communication facility, a command, an authority, an activity, or a unit; used primarily for establishing and maintaining communications.


pepperbox

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She had her knees up, resting her wrists on them; the pepperbox muzzle of a flechette pistol emerged from her hands.

1984, William Gibson, Neuromancer (Sprawl; book 1), New York, N.Y.: Ace Books, →ISBN, page 21:

(firearms) A repeating firearm with three or more barrels grouped around a central axis.


collective call sign

collective call sign (plural collective call signs)

CHARLIE PAPA: Command Post of the 1098th Transportation Company (Medium Boat) in Vietnam.

CHARLIE 34: Landing Craft #34 of the 1098th Transportation Company (Medium Boat) in Vietnam.

CHARLIE 6: Commmander of the 1098th Transportation Company (Medium Boat) in Vietnam.

(military) Any call sign which represents two or more facilities, commands, authorities, or units. The collective call sign for any of these includes the commander thereof and all subordinate commanders therein.


indefinite call sign

indefinite call sign (plural indefinite call signs)

(military) A call sign which does not represent a specific facility, command, authority, activity, or unit, but which may represent any one or any group of these.


international call sign

international call sign (plural international call signs)

(military) A call sign assigned in accordance with the provisions of the International Telecommunications Union to identify a radio station. The nationality of the radio station is identified by the first or the first two characters. (When used in visual signaling, international call signs are referred to as “signal letters.”)


net call sign

(military) A call sign that represents all stations within a net.


tactical call sign

tactical call sign (plural tactical call signs)

(military) A call sign that identifies a tactical command or tactical communication facility.

NATO Military Symbols for Land Based Systems


camouflet

(military) The resulting cavity in a deep underground burst when there is no rupture of the surface.


cobbing

cobbing (countable and uncountable, plural cobbings)

Previous to the infliction of cobbing, or booting, the delinquent is fairly tried by a court, consisting of–a president, the oldest soldier; members, next two oldest soldiers, youngest soldier, next youngest soldier.

1846, Henry Marshall, Military Miscellany, page 156:

(military, prison) an unofficial form of punishment among the crew or prisoners involving blows to the buttocks from a piece of wood or a handsaw.


Beltway

Extended from beltway (“freeway encircling a city”); compare also highway.

But given that it takes 60 votes to beat a filibuster and 66 to override a veto, and given that the GOP has since added four hard-right senators to its total, it’s safe to say that nothing will be happening inside the Beltway anytime soon.

2005 May, Bill McKibben, “Climate of Denial”, in Mother Jones:

While not the entirety of the reason why the Beltway struggles to shed its imperial hubris and adapt to the new multipolar world, (much of that is simply complacency) understanding democratism’s hold over the governing elite is vital for explaining the unique hostility found in so much of foreign policy commentary towards a soberer and more realistic appraisal of the world.

2023 April 17, Christopher Mott, “The Democratist War on Diplomacy”, in The National Interest:

(US politics) The US federal government and policy and lobbying organizations, located in Washington, D.C.


borganism

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The word and concept are derived from the Borg, a race of cyborgs in the fictional Star Trek universe with a hive mind that operates as one.

(rare, idiomatic, science fiction, politics) Some forms of government.


floryshe

(martial arts) In the Association for Renaissance Martial Arts, an unstructured practice routine of guard transitions, cuts, thrusts, slices and parries with appropriate footwork; an expression of techniques already learned in an original way.


MFWIC

(military) Initialism of military figure who's in charge.

(slang, military) Initialism of motherfucker who's in charge.


tomato can

Presumably because of tendency to bleed when battered, tomato juice leaking from a can being a metaphor for bleeding.

(slang, boxing, derogatory) An inferior fighter in the sport of boxing. The insinuation is that an up-and-coming fighter takes on a "tomato can" to burnish his reputation and record.

(slang, boxing) A boxer who takes a dive, or loses a fight on purpose.


couché

Borrowed from French couché, past participle of coucher (“to lay, to lay down”). Doublet of couchant and collocate.

Azure, semé of tratti or billets couché or, two lions passant in pale of the same.

1866, The Herald and Genealogist, page 77:

3rd, to sinister—on a shield couché a lion rampant within a bordure charged with eight roses, behind the shield a pastoral staff in pale, for Bishop Columba de Dunbar, being his arms and "baculum pastorale." […] Sir David Dunbar of Cockburn, said to be a son or grandson of George, tenth Earl. Seal, 12th December 1452,—on a shield couché, a lion rampant within a bordure charged with eight roses or stars; […]

1881, Robert Riddle Stodart, Scottish Arms: Being a Collection of Armorial Bearings, A.D. 1370-1678, Reproduced in Fascimile from Contemporary Manuscripts, page 11:

Argent, semé of billets couches azure, a lion rampant gules, crowned or, Lordship of GEROLDSECK.

1896, John Woodward, A Treatise on Heraldry, British and Foreign: With English and French Glossaries, page 114:

Andrew, Lord Avandale, bore on his seal a shield couché quartered : 1st , a lion rampant within a royal tressure […]

1909, James Balfour Paul, The Scots Peerage: Founded on Wood's Edition of Sir Robert Douglas's Peerage of Scotland; Containing an Historical and Genealogical Account of the Nobility of that Kingdom, page 519:

A heater - shield of Savoy (Gules, a cross argent) couché, with helm, mantling, and crest of a lion's head between two wings;

1916, Francis Pierrepont Barnard, The Casting-counter and the Counting-board: A Chapter in the History of Numismatics and Early Arithmetic, page 123:

A chevron couché is one which emerges from one side of the escutcheon and has its apex on the opposite side, or at the fess point.

Gules, a chevron couché (or issuant from the dexter flank) argent, is the coat of MARSCHALCK. (Plate VII., fig. 5.) Gules , a chevron reversed argent, is the coat of the Bavarian Barons RUMLINGEN DE BERG; and of[…]

1896, John Woodward, A Treatise on Heraldry, British and Foreign: With English and French Glossaries, page 148:

(heraldry, of a chevron) Couched: issuing from the side of the shield rather than the bottom or top.


couchant

From Middle English couchant, from Middle French couchant.

His crest was covered with a couchant Hownd, / And all his armour seem'd of antique mould […]

1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto II”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:

(heraldry) Represented as crouching with the head raised.

liggande

represented as crouching with the head raised


quick time

(military) A fast marching pace of 120 thirty-inch steps per minute.


montant

From Italian montante. Doublet of mountant.

HOST: To see thee fight, to see thee foin, to see thee traverse; to see thee pass thy punto, thy stock, thy reverse, thy distance, thy montant.

c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merry Wiues of Windsor”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene iii]:

(fencing, archaic) An upward cut with a blade


montant

[…] as it is usually designated, the 'crescent montant,' has long been a symbol of the Turkish empire, which has thus[…]

1873, Harper's New Monthly Magazine, page 178:

The eagle montant, to borrow a term from falconry, is understood to typify the mythical phœnix, and may be regarded as alluding to the vicissitudes of that illustrious and ever-resurgent family.[…]

2018 January 31, R. D. Blackmore, Delphi Complete Works of R. D. Blackmore (Illustrated), Delphi Classics, →ISBN:

(heraldry) Ascending toward the chief of the escutcheon.


AIPAC

In their new 30-second ad, the J Street group hammers Stevens for accepting AIPAC support – in the form of bundled donations – in a video featuring images of violence at the US Capitol and from a recent hearing of the House select committee investigating it.

2022 July 12, Gregory Krieg, “Progressive pro-Israel group takes on AIPAC in Michigan Democratic primary fight”, in CNN:

(US politics) Acronym of American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a pro-Israel lobby in the United States.


incensed

en-adj

incensed (comparative more incensed, superlative most incensed)

more incensed (comparative)
most incensed (superlative)

[…] between two lions passant azure, incensed gules, three besants;[…]

1861, George Oliver, The History of the City of Exeter, page 211:

Argent, a lion rampant gules, incensed azure;

1920, History of the Family of Maunsell (Mansell, Mansel), page 428:

Supporters — Dexter, a lion argent; sinister, a panther guardant argent semy of roundels vert azure and gules incensed proper both gorged with a collar attached thereto a chain reflexed over the back and terminating in a ring or.

2020 April 20, Susan Morris, Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage 2019, eBook Partnership, →ISBN, page 2996:

(heraldry, of a panther, lion, etc) Emitting fire from its mouth, often its ears, and sometimes elsewhere.


tercio

(military) A mutually supportive infantry formation made up of pikemen, swordsmen and arquebusiers or musketeers.


fourche

fourchee (alternative)
fourchée (alternative)
fourché (alternative)
fourchy (alternative)
furché (alternative)
furchy (alternative)

Borrowed from French fourché. Doublet of furcate and fork.

(heraldry) Having the ends forked or branched, and the ends of the branches terminating abruptly as if cut off; said of an ordinary, especially of a cross.


screening smoke

en-noun

screening smoke (countable and uncountable, plural screening smokes)

(military) Smoke clouds used by the military for blinding, cover and deception


nationalize

en-verb

nationalize (third-person singular simple present nationalizes, present participle nationalizing, simple past and past participle nationalized)

tlb

(American spelling, Oxford British English)

nationalizes (present singular third-person)
nationalizing (participle present)
nationalized (participle past)
nationalized (past)
nationalise (alternative)

From French nationaliser. By surface analysis, national + -ize.

2018, Daniel J. Hopkins, The Increasingly United States: How and Why American Political Behavior Nationalized, The University of Chicago Press:

(politics) To change from having local and regional variation to being national in character and scope.


magnetic mine

(military) A mine, often a naval mine, which responds to the magnetic field of a target.


magnetic compass

en-noun

magnetic compass (plural magnetic compasses)

(military, nautical) An instrument containing a freely suspended magnetic element which displays the direction of the horizontal component of the Earth’s magnetic field at the point of observation.


magnetic variation

magnetic variation (countable and uncountable, plural magnetic variations)

(military, nautical, navigation) In navigation, at a given place and time, the horizontal angle between the true north and magnetic north measured east or west according to whether magnetic north lies east or west of true north.


fire and forget

(military) A kind of missile guidance system which does not require further control after launch, and can hit its target without the launcher being in line of sight of the target.


on-message

en-adj

on-message (comparative more on-message, superlative most on-message)

more on-message (comparative)
most on-message (superlative)
on message (alternative)

[Tracey Emin] sounds like an on-message Labour MP when she talks like this.

2024 May 29, Simon Hattenstone, “The radical, ravishing rebirth of Tracey Emin: ‘I didn’t want to die as some mediocre YBA’”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

As with much of Carsley's reign, England entered this Athens hothouse with sub-plots in the background, this time the nine withdrawals from the squad which was met with a critical public response from the normally strictly-on-message captain Harry Kane.

2024 November 14, Phil McNulty, “'A night of redemption for Carsley offers real hope for Tuchel'”, in BBC Sport:


off-message

off-message (comparative more off-message, superlative most off-message)

more off-message (comparative)
most off-message (superlative)
off message (alternative)


musketeer

musketeers (plural)
musqueteer (alternative)

From Middle French mousquetaire in the late 16th century. By surface analysis, musket + -eer. Doublet of mousquetaire.

(military, historical) A foot soldier armed with a musket.

(military, historical) In 17th- and 18th-century France, a member of the royal household bodyguard.


SRAM

en-noun

SRAM (countable and uncountable, plural SRAMs)


MLC

military load classification
military load classification#English

(military) Initialism of military load classification.


motion of no confidence

motion of no confidence (plural motions of no confidence)

vote of no confidence
vote of no confidence


vote of no confidence

vote of no confidence (plural votes of no confidence)

(politics, law) A parliamentary motion representing the lack of confidence of a parliament in the standing government. A passed motion of no confidence usually results in the government's fall.


precinct

precincts (plural)
præcinct (alternative obsolete)

From Middle English precinct, precincte, early 15th century, in sense of “district for government purposes”, from Medieval Latin precinctum, alternative form of praecinctum (“enclosure, boundary line”), neuter singular of praecinctus, perfect passive participle of Latin praecingō (“surround, gird”), from prae (“before”) + cingō (“surround, encircle”), from which also cinch.
Cognate to Italian precingere (“to encircle”).

(US, law enforcement) A subdivision of a city under the jurisdiction of a specific group of police; the police station situated in that district.


CRS

Congressional Research Service
w:Congressional Research Service

(US, government) Initialism of Congressional Research Service.

Common Reporting Standard
w:Common Reporting Standard

(taxation) Initialism of Common Reporting Standard.


BMS

BMS (countable and uncountable, plural BMSes or BMSs)

(military) Initialism of battlefield management system.


countermeasure

(military, chiefly in the plural) Any of the devices and techniques used to impair the operational effectiveness of an enemy.


sonobuoy

(nautical, military) A buoy that sends a radio signal when it detects the sound of underwater objects (such as submarines).


chamade

Borrowed from French chamade, from Italian or Portuguese, from Latin clamare.

But when the chamade was beat, and the corporal helped my uncle up it, and followed with the colours in his hand, to fix them upon the ramparts.

1762, Laurence Sterne, The Life & Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, volume 6, Penguin, published 2003, page 402:

(military, historical) A signal sounded on a drum or trumpet inviting a parley.

Schamade

a signal sounded on a drum or trumpet inviting a parley


UNIFIL

w:United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon

(UN, military) Acronym of United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon.


BEF

B.E.F. (alternative)
B. E. F. (alternative)

British Expeditionary Force
w:British Expeditionary Force

(military, UK) Initialism of British Expeditionary Force.


social democracy

social democracy (countable and uncountable, plural social democracies)

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(politics) A moderate political philosophy or ideology that aims to achieve socialist (socialistic) goals within a democratic society and a liberal democracy such as by means of a strong welfare state and regulation of private industry.


write-in

Deverbal from write in. So called because anybody wishing to vote for such a candidate must explicitly write the candidate's name on the ballot.

He won a write-in campaign for Youngstown school board in 2015; he joined the Green Party last year.

2019 February 19, Jeremy Pelzer, “Youngstown School Board member Dario Hunter seeks Green Party presidential nomination”, in cleveland.com:

(politics) A candidate whose name is not listed on the ballot.

(politics) A vote made for a candidate of this kind.


woobie

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From the 1983 film Mr. Mom, in which it is a child's word for his security blanket.

baby girl

male morally-ambiguous character romanticised by fans

Draco in Leather Pants

any morally-ambiguous character romanticised by fans

poor little meow meow

endearingly pathetic villain or morally-ambiguous character


wakey

'You beauty, only 364 and a wakey to go,' the countdown had begun and would continue, as few days passed without someone calling the time. I spared a thought for our temporary enemy whose tour would endure to the end of the war[…]

Morale was also usually high, helped by the men's recognition that their service in Vietnam had strict limits – one year, or, to use a soldiers' expression of the time, 364 days and a 'wakey' (the day the men woke to prepare to fly out).

2010, Ian McGibbon, New Zealand's Vietnam War, page 542:

When you became a 'short timer' (20 days and a wakey) you delighted in sticking it up to the new arrivals.

2011, Richard "Barney" Bigwood, We Were Reos: Australian Infantry Reinforcements in VIETNAM (page 47)

(military, slang) The day on which one wakes up and travels home.


aide-mémoire

aide-mémoire (plural aide-mémoires or aides-mémoire)

aide-mémoires (plural)
aides-mémoire (plural)

Unadapted borrowing from French aide-mémoire (literally “memory aid”).

ubor

In August, Finance Minister Larry Howai signed an aide-mémoire with the IDB for the bank to provide funding and expertise to the government to develop its Public/Private Sector Partnership Programme (PPP).

2013 November 15, Trinidad Express, “IDB tells T&T: Fix procurement laws”, in Trinidad Express:

(diplomacy) A document circulated in a meeting or summit for discussion purposes.


AIM

(US, military) Acronym of air intercept missile.


NPC

Nationalist People's Coalition
w:Nationalist People's Coalition

(Philippine politics) Initialism of Nationalist People's Coalition.


electric chair

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(wrestling) A transitional hold in which an attacking wrestler hoists an opponent up onto his/her shoulders so that they are both facing in the same direction.


ARVN

Army of the Republic of Vietnam
w:Army of the Republic of Vietnam

(military, historical) Initialism of Army of the Republic of Vietnam.


OMRLP

(UK, politics) Initialism of Official Monster Raving Loony Party.


deploy

Borrowed from French déployer (“to unroll, unfold”), from Old French desploiier, itself from des- + ploiier, or possibly from Late Latin displicāre (“to unfold, display”), from Latin dis- (“apart”) + plicare (“to fold”). Doublet of display.


whistle-stop

Named for the train whistle that is frequently blown before stopping in small towns.

(politics) A brief stop on a campaign tour to make a speech or perform some other type of public electioneering.


whistle-stop

en-verb

whistle-stop (third-person singular simple present whistle-stops, present participle whistle-stopping, simple past and past participle whistle-stopped)

whistle-stops (present singular third-person)
whistle-stopping (participle present)
whistle-stopped (participle past)
whistle-stopped (past)

(politics, intransitive) To make a brief stop on a campaign tour to make a speech or perform some other type of public electioneering.


pickup

en-noun

pickup (countable and uncountable, plural pickups)

pickups (plural)
pick-up (alternative)
pick up (alternative)

Chinese:

→ Mandarin: 皮卡 (píkǎ)

→ Finnish: pick-up

→ French: pick-up, pickup

→ German: Pickup

→ Indonesian: pikap

→ Japanese: ピックアップ (pikkuappu)

desc

→ Khmer: ភីកអាប់ (pʰiik’ap), ពីកឺប (piikəɨp)

→ Korean: 픽업 (pigeop)

→ Portuguese: pickup, pick-up, picape (Brazil)

→ Russian: пика́п (pikáp)

→ Spanish: pickup, picop

→ Thai: ปิคอัพ (bpìk-àp)

→ Turkish: pikap

→ Uyghur: پىكاپ (pikap)

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The returns from the election show Apple Party candidate Jane Doe has made a pickup in the district of City West defeating Orange Party Incumbent Joe Smith

(US, Canada, politics) The act of a challenging party or candidate winning an electoral district held by an incumbent party or candidate.


holdover

en-noun

holdover (countable and uncountable, plural holdovers)

This rangefinder not only measures the distance to the target, but also provides a digital readout of the inches of holdover at that distance.

(firearms) The distance (at target) by which a rifle scope is aimed higher than the intended point of impact in order to compensate for bullet drop over the distance to the target.


embattled

en-adj

embattled (comparative more embattled, superlative most embattled)

more embattled (comparative)
most embattled (superlative)

From embattle (“to furnish with battlements”) + -ed.

suffix

Argent, a Feſs embattled and tvvo Eſtoils in Chief, Sable, is born by the Name of Tvvyne, and vvas atteſted to belong (and vvas confirm'd) to Tvvyne of Preſton in the County of Lancaſter, Eſquire, […]

1724, John Guillim, chapter II, in A Display of Heraldry. […], 6th edition, London: […] T. W. for R. and J. Bonwicke and R. Wilkin, […] [a]nd J. Walthoe and Tho[mas] Ward, […], →OCLC, 2nd part (Honor Civil), [part I […]], page 87, column 1:

All theſe bearings have different Epithets, ſerving either to expreſs their Poſition, Diſpoſition, or Make, viz. […] Tovvers covered, embattled, &c. […]

1765, Mark Anthony Porny [pseudonym; Antoine Pyron du Martre], “Of Common Charges Born in Coats-of-arms. Article II. Of Artificial Figures Born in Coats-of-arms.”, in The Elements of Heraldry, […], London: […] J[ohn] Newbery, […], →OCLC, pages 147–148:

There are but three irregular lines mentioned in Glover's Roll, viz: 1. Undée (ondée) or wavy, 2. Engrailed, and 3. Indented or Dancettée. Later heralds have added three more: Invecked (the exact converse of Engrailed), Nebulée, and Embattled.

1852, J[ames] R[obinson] Planché, “Subordinate Ordinaries”, in The Pursuivant of Arms, or Heraldry Founded upon Facts, London: W. N. Wright, […], →OCLC, page 60:

(by extension, heraldry) Having an upper edge or outline of alternating square indentations and extensions like battlements, unless the embattled item is a pale, cross or saltire, in which case it has the crenelations on all sides.

tindesnit

having an edge or outline of alternating square indendations and extensions like battlements


embattle

From Middle English enbatelen, enbatailen, from Old French *embastiller ("to fortify"; > Middle Latin imbataliare, imbattajare), from en- + + bastiller (“to build, fortify, embattle”). More at baste.

gloss

Again, it can be drawn with the angle of the limbs being greater or less than a right angle, but they will appear to conflict with the embattles which have to be rectangular. In some ordinaries such as the fess, there must be an odd number of embattles, otherwise it will start high and end low [...]

1996, Anthony Wood, Heraldic Art and Design, page 53:

(heraldry) A merlon, or a single one of the series of solid projections of a battlement.


corpsman

The corpsman prescribed Motrin to the sick marine for his symptoms.

(US, military, nautical) A hospital corpsman.

(deprecated, US, military) An enlisted person in the U.S. Army who works as a field medic.

hospik

(medicine, military, nonstandard) A military medic.


can opener

can openers (plural)
can-opener (alternative)

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(military, nautical, slang) A ramming maneuver, that opens up the target ship like a tin can.

(military, slang) An anti-tank munition or attack vehicle, that opens up armour like a tin can.


orgue

From French orgue, from Latin organum (“organ, instrument, tool”), from Ancient Greek ὄργανον (órganon, “organ, instrument, tool”). Doublet of organ, organon, and organum.

der

(military) Any of a number of long, thick pieces of timber, pointed and shod with iron, and suspended, each by a separate rope, over a gateway, to be let down in case of attack.

(military) A piece of ordnance, consisting of a number of musket barrels arranged so that a match or train may connect with all their touchholes, and a discharge be secured almost or quite simultaneously.


Demoncrat

American Blacks have made huge strides over the years, but the Demoncrats invent class warfare and inequality issues.

2003 May 26, mange [username], “Re: Abe Lincoln: The Republican Party”, in alt.politics.republicans (Usenet):

The Demoncrats, truly the party of anti-Xtians and actually the embodiment of everything that is the traditional evil […]

2004 November 28, John S. Dyson, “Re: Zogby OHIO-FINAL: Bush up 48% to 44% (It's Over for Kerry)”, in alt.politics.republicans (Usenet):

The fact is Demoncrats are more intolerant of those differing from them than are Republicans.

2006 October 3, alamonation1 [username], “Re: Did Democrats Page Mark Foley?”, in alt.politics.republicans (Usenet):

(US politics, Internet slang, derogatory) A member or supporter of the Democratic Party (with an implication that its members are demonic).


double-time

en-verb

double-time (third-person singular simple present double-times, present participle double-timing, simple past and past participle double-timed)

double-times (present singular third-person)
double-timing (participle present)
double-timed (participle past)
double-timed (past)
doubletime (alternative)

(intransitive, military) To march at double time.

[…]after ten or fifteen minutes of preparation, he stopped the artillery and instructed Corporal Lamb to double-time his platoon to the intermediate knoll under cover of fire from the machine guns.

1954, Russell A. Gugeler, “Combat Actions in Korea”, in CMH Publication 30-2:

(transitive, military) To order troops to march at double time.


battleground

battlegrounds (plural)
battle ground (alternative)
battle-ground (alternative)

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Mr. Biden, the former vice president, is ahead of Mr. Trump in the Northern battlegrounds of Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, as well as in the Sun Belt states of Florida and Arizona, according to a poll of likely voters conducted by The New York Times and Siena College.

2020 November 1, “Election at Hand, Biden Leads Trump in Four Key States, Poll Shows”, in New York Times:

battleground state
battleground state#English

(US politics) Ellipsis of battleground state.


identic

en-adj

identic (comparative more identic, superlative most identic)

more identic (comparative)
most identic (superlative)
identick (alternative)

From French identique, from Medieval Latin identicus (“the same”), from Latin identi-, from idem (“the same”).

The English and French Governments had, on the 6th January, 1882, given to the Khedive an assurance of their support in an “identic declaration,” since known as the “dual note,” […]

1887, J. F. Maurice, The Campaign of 1882 in Egypt, page 1:

The Department on March 5, 1909, notified the countries represented at the Naval Conference of its intention to prepare and transmit an identic circular note dealing with this question, and on October 18, 1909, an elaborate identic circular note [was prepared].

1916, James Brown Scott, An International Court of Justice: Letter and Memorandum, page 12:

While Britain blew cold the French blew hot and proposed to Britain that she should join in an identic note to Russia, but Palmerston's view was that the Polish affair was coming to a close: An identic note is good for a definite and positive […]

1969, R. F. Leslie, Reform and insurrection in Russian Poland, 1856-1865, page 199:

(diplomacy, obsolete) Precisely agreeing in sentiment or opinion and form or manner of expression; applied to concerted action or language used by two or more governments in treating with another government.


kye

[…] wrapped in layers of warm clothing against rushing icy air, and all longing for bubbling hot kye (Navy cocoa) at midnight.

2009, John Roberts, Safeguarding the Nation: The Story of the Modern Royal Navy:

Then he walked back to the wheelhouse. Guido arrived with three cups of kye and a plate of hot buttered toast.

2013, David Arnold, Hursey in Conflict: A Story of Love and Victory, page 73:


feds

Which leaves the states in an awful hole. The Feds have ripped $80 billion out of their budgets over the next 10 years.

2016 February 10, Peter Martin, “State governments are about to hike up taxes”, in The Sydney Morning Herald:

(US, Australia, slang, government) The federal level of government, viewed as a collective group of people. Typically its law enforcement agencies and officers.


danger space

(military) The areas between a weapon and its target in which the trajectory is not greater than the typical height of a human (about 1.8 meters).

(military) The area or space around the target of a missile in which it has a probability of landing or exploding.


headspace

en-noun

headspace (countable and uncountable, plural headspaces)

headspaces (plural)
head space (alternative)
head-space (alternative)

en:gap inside firearm action, bolt face to cartridge stop

(firearms) The gap between the face of the bolt and the stopping surface for the cartridge.


headspace

en-verb

headspace (third-person singular simple present headspaces, present participle headspacing, simple past and past participle headspaced)

headspaces (present singular third-person)
headspacing (participle present)
headspaced (participle past)
headspaced (past)
head space (alternative)
head-space (alternative)


dependa

(US, military, slang, derogatory) Clipping of dependapotamus.


heraldric

en-adj

heraldric (comparative more heraldric, superlative most heraldric)

more heraldric (comparative)
most heraldric (superlative)

(heraldry) Of, or relating to heraldry; heraldic.


flory

From French fleuri (“covered with flowers”), past participle of fleurir. See flourish for more.

(heraldry, of a bordure, etc) Decorated with fleurs-de-lis projecting from it.

(heraldry, of a cross) Having the ends of the arms turn into fleurs-de-lis, rather than having fleurs-de-lis attached to the ends as in a cross floretty.


counterflory

counter-flory (alternative)
counterfleury (alternative)

From French contrefleuri; equivalent to counter- + flory.

(heraldry) Decorated with fleurs-de-lis or other floral motifs arranged in pairs opposite each other, especially on opposite sides of a border on a shield or banner.


tressure

From Middle English tressour, from a mixture of Old French tressure and tresseor. By surface analysis, tress + -ure.

(heraldry) A narrow border near the edge of a shield or banner.


cannoneer

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

Luckily, the cannoneer was only mildly injured when his cannon malfunctioned.

Just as the Spring came laughing through the strife,
With all its gorgeous cheer;
In the bright April of historic life,
Fell the great cannoneer.

1908, James Ryder Randall, “Pelham”, in Maryland, my Maryland, and other poems, Baltimore, Md., New York: John Murphy Company, page 20:

(military) A person who tends and operates a piece of artillery, especially a cannon.

kanonýr

person who operates a piece of artillery, especially a cannon


bipolar

bipolar (comparative more bipolar, superlative most bipolar)

more bipolar (comparative)
most bipolar (superlative)

(politics) Of or relating to an international system in which two states wield most of the cultural, economic, and political influence.


rectification

en-noun

rectification (countable and uncountable, plural rectifications)

/ˌɹɛktɪfɪˈkeɪʃən/

From Middle English rectificacioun, from Old French rectificacion, from Late Latin rectificatio.

(politics, historical) Any of a number of Chinese and Filipino communist purges. See rectification movement.


ovular

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

From ovule + -ar. In the feminist sense, chosen as an opposite to seminar because of that term's etymological link with semen, the male sexual fluid.

Trebilco considers 'seminar' offensively 'masculinist', so she has replaced it with ovular, which she regards as its feminist equivalent.

1994, Christina Hoff Sommers, Who Stole Feminism?:

(feminism, rare) A seminar for feminists.


basher

Suddenly awake she looked around, startled, it was light, hot, intensely hot and she was sleeping in a shell scrape under a basher.

2014, LA Clarke, Callsign Whiskey, page 24:

I was well used to sleeping out under the stars whatever the weather. I had a hammock and a basher, a rain sheet to go over where I was sleeping.

(military, slang) A rainproof sheet for sleeping under.


kaymakam

kaymakams (plural)
qaimaqam (alternative)
qaim maqam (alternative)
kaimakam (alternative)
kaimacon (alternative)
kaimacan (alternative)
kaimakan (alternative)
kaimacham (alternative)
kaimacam (alternative)
caimacon (alternative)
caimacan (alternative)
caimakan (alternative)
caimacham (alternative)
caimacam (alternative)
caimakam (alternative)
caimaicon (alternative)
caimaican (alternative)
caimaikan (alternative)
caimaicham (alternative)
caimaicam (alternative)
caimaikam (alternative)
caymacon (alternative)
caymacan (alternative)
caymakan (alternative)
caymacham (alternative)
caymacam (alternative)
caymakam (alternative)
chaimacon (alternative)
chaimacan (alternative)
chaimakan (alternative)
chaimacham (alternative)
chaimacam (alternative)
chaimakam (alternative)
chaymacon (alternative)
chaymacan (alternative)
chaymakan (alternative)
chaymacham (alternative)
chaymacam (alternative)
chaymakam (alternative)

/kʌɪməˈkɑːm/

From Ottoman Turkish قایمقام (kaymakam), from Arabic مَقَام قَائِم (qāʔim maqām, “stand in”).

der

Arabic مَقَام

kajmekam

Various deputies or administrators in Turkish contexts

He desird him to leave a charge with the Chimacham his Deputy.

1645, James Howell, Epistolae Ho-elianae..., volume iii, page 87:

A lieutenant or deputy in various Turkish contexts, particularly

(politics, historical) An Ottoman official who acted as grand vizier and governor of Constantinople during any absence or illness of the incumbent.

(politics, historical) An Ottoman official who acted as beylerbey of Egypt between regular appointments.

(politics, historical) An Ottoman official who acted as hospodar of Moldavia or Wallachia during any absence or illness of the incumbent.

(military, historical) A lieutenant colonel in the Ottoman or early Turkish army, replaced by the rank of yarbay.

(politics, historical) Synonym of sanjakbey during the mid-19th century.

(politics, historical) An Ottoman official who oversaw a kaza during the late 19th and early 20th centuries; similar positions in Ottoman successor states.

(politics) A local administrator in Turkey, Northern Cyprus, Iraq, and Lebanon.


kayo

His stunning title-winning kayo of Charles captivated the country, and on top of everything, he was actually an amazing fighter for one of his years, both as a puncher and boxer.

2023, Ian Phimister, David Patrick, editors, A Boxing Legacy: The Life and Works of Writer and Cartoonist Ted Carroll, Rowman & Littlefield, →ISBN, page 239:


reconnoitre

en-verb

reconnoitre (third-person singular simple present reconnoitres, present participle reconnoitring, simple past and past participle reconnoitred)

reconnoitres (present singular third-person)
reconnoitring (participle present)
reconnoitred (participle past)
reconnoitred (past)
reconnoiter (alternative US)
reconnaitre (alternative archaic)
reconnaître (alternative rare)
reconnoître (alternative rare)

/ˌɹɛkəˈnɔɪtə/

[ˌɹʷɛkəˈnɔɪ̯tʰə]

/ˌɹɛkəˈnɔɪtɚ/

[ˌɹˠɛkəˈnɔɪ̯ɾɚ]

From French reconnoître (obsolete spelling of reconnaître), from Latin recognoscere (“to recognise”). There is also an obsolete 19th-century British English spelling reconnaitre, influenced by the modern French form.

Our scout will reconnoitre the path ahead of our troops.

Not a drop of rain fell; the clouds went portentously off, like ships of war after reconnoitering a strong fort, to return with added strength and fury.

1820, [Charles Robert Maturin], Melmoth the Wanderer: A Tale. […], volume I, Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and Company, and Hurst, Robinson, and Co., […], →OCLC, page 150:

"Damn!" said Tommy, and tried to sit up. He had remembered. He was in that sinister house in Soho. He uttered a groan and fell back. Through his almost-closed lids he reconnoitred carefully.

1922, Agatha Christie, “Chapter 16”, in The Secret Adversary:

(transitive, intransitive, military) To perform a reconnaissance (of an area; an enemy position); to scout with the aim of gaining information.


antinational

en-adj

antinational (comparative more antinational, superlative most antinational)

more antinational (comparative)
most antinational (superlative)

(politics) Opposed to one's own nation; unpatriotic.

just as important have been the effects of diasporas and migrations (creating a mobile, ‘anti-national’ historical tradition) and the partial liberalization of many regimes […]

2007, John Darwin, After Tamerlane, Penguin, published 2008, page xi:

(politics) Opposed to purely national concerns; not founded on the idea of the nation.


JATO

en-noun

JATO (countable and uncountable, plural JATOs)

(uncountable) Acronym of jet-assisted takeoff, a method of using booster rockets to allow heavily-loaded aircraft to lift off more quickly and use less runway length for takeoff.

jet-assisted takeoff

An enduring urban legend claims that someone in Arizona strapped a JATO to their car and crashed it into a cliff.

(countable) One of the rockets used for the above purpose.


crewman

armoured crewman
armoured crewman#English

(Canada, military) Synonym of armoured crewman.


aparejo

(historical, especially military) A kind of packsaddle formerly used in the United States military, and in Latin America, made of leather stuffed with hay, moss, or similar substances.

albarda

packsaddle made of leather stuffed with hay


narcotics

(law enforcement, law, politics) Pertaining to illicit drugs, especially psychoactive ones.


voluntarism

voluntarism (countable and uncountable, plural voluntarisms)

(politics) The political theory that a community is best organized by the voluntary cooperation of individuals, rather than by a government, which is regarded as being coercive by nature.


polls

On the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November, American voters go to the polls for general elections.

(politics, government) A place where votes are cast in elections.


chapé

(heraldry) A division of the field, used in French heraldry, created by drawing two lines from the centre of the upper edge of the shield towards the outer bottom edges (creating a triangle), with the tincture being applied to the two upper portions which the triangle divides.


confronté

From French confronté (“confronted”), past participle of confronter (“to confront”).

(heraldry, of two animals) Face-to-face; facing each other; fornenst.


deprime

en-verb

deprime (third-person singular simple present deprimes, present participle depriming, simple past and past participle deprimed)

deprimes (present singular third-person)
depriming (participle present)
deprimed (participle past)
deprimed (past)

(firearms) to remove the (remnant) primer from a cartridge casing (from the brass).


designado

(politics) In some Latin American countries, a person designated to succeed the vice president.


HM

HMs (plural)
H.M. (alternative)
H. M. (alternative)

(India, government) Initialism of Home Minister.

(military, US) Abbreviation of hospital corpsman.