finesse

en-verb

finesse (third-person singular simple present finesses, present participle finessing, simple past and past participle finessed)

finesses (present singular third-person)
finessing (participle present)
finessed (participle past)
finessed (past)

From Middle English finesse (“degree of excellence; (of metal) fineness, purity”), from Middle French finesse, Old French finesse (“fineness; delicacy; slenderness”), from fine, fin (“fine, thin”) (from Latin fīnis (“end”); compare Middle English fīn (“of superior quality; precious, valuable; admirable, pleasing; pure, refined; fineness, purity; delicate, exquisite, fine; sharp, thin”)) + -esse (suffix forming nouns describing the condition of being something).
The verb is derived from the noun.

esquivar

to evade using some clever argument or stratagem

Distressed as she was, she rose the next morning determined to contend with her feelings,—to think no more of Trevor,—and to finesse no more for a husband—she had had enough of it.

1835, chapter XIV, in Finesse. … In Two Volumes, volume I, London: Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, page 240:

As the children continue to shoot one another, I ask them some questions about guns. […] [M]ost revealing to me is that the children fully agree that they are playing a pretend game. The bad guys "really hurt people" and Freddie knows it because he "plays" it. Really hurting in pretend play … the children are not confused by this finessing of real and pretend. I think it is we adults who are confused by it.

2010 May, Kim Atkinson, “Working among the Good & Bad”, in Island Parent Magazine, Victoria, B.C.: Krayenhoff-Holland Enterprises, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2019-02-05; quoted in Veronica Pacini-Ketchabaw, Fikile Nxumalo, Laurie Kocher, Enid Elliot, Alejandra Sanchez, “Thinking Together”, in Journeys: Reconceptualizing Early Childhood Practices through Pedagogical Narration, Toronto, Ont.: University of Toronto Press, 2015, →ISBN, page 128:

When we get the script and we have a piece that's being written to or being created around a voiceover, we'll generally do a scratch voiceover track here and time it out to that, then get the real voiceover and do some finessing there.

2011, Yael Braha, Bill Byrne, quoting Stacy Nimmo, “The Essentials of Typography and Time [Interview: Stacy Nimmo on Title Design]”, in Creative Motion Graphic Titling for Film, Video, and the Web, Burlington, Mass., Kidlington, Oxfordshire: Focal Press, →ISBN, page 108:

After making the original capture[…], I sat down to finesse it in Photoshop.

2015, Nylora[-Joy] Bruleigh, “Just beyond Reach: Lighting, Posing, and Styling; Postproduction”, in Fine Art Portrait Photography: Lighting, Posing & Postproduction from Concept to Completion, Buffalo, N.Y.: Amherst Media, →ISBN, page 62:

Finesse a nigga with some counterfeits, but now I'm countin' this / Parmesan where my accountant lives, in fact I'm downin' this

2017 March 30, Kendrick Duckworth, Michael Williams II, Asheton Hoga, “Humble”, in Damn, performed by Kendrick Lamar:

So with valuable extra time to finesse its passenger handling and communications strategies, NR set its sights on rescheduling the work to begin this December instead.

2020 September 23, Paul Stephen, “East Coast upgrade: changes to schedule... but on schedule”, in Rail, page 30:

(transitive, chiefly Canada, US, politics) To evade (a problem, situation, etc.) by using some clever argument or stratagem.

(ambitransitive) To handle or manage carefully or skilfully; to manipulate in a crafty way.

finasser

to handle or manage carefully or skilfully; to manipulate in a crafty way

I was tryin'a finesse you outta them drawers, and you finessed a nigga out his heart," he said with a chuckle, "But that's cool. 'Cause I know it's in good hands."

2020, Racquel Williams, Finessed a Dope Boy's Heart:

(transitive, slang) To obtain something from someone through trickery or manipulation.

It is said that democratic institutions necessarily lead to political corruption. I can only say that it has not been so in this Colony. Members have schemed, finessed, log-rolled, to serve their districts, but never to put money in their own pockets.

1876, “Government and Laws”, in William Harcus, editor, South Australia: Its History, Resources, and Productions, London: Sampson Low, Marston, Searle, & Rivington, […], →OCLC, page 38:

The founders deliberately finessed other issues concerning religion and the relationship between church and state to ensure the ratification of the Constitution.

2013, James F[ranklin] Harris, “The Supreme Court”, in The Serpentine Wall: The Winding Boundary between Church and State in the United States, New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction Publishers, →ISBN, part III (Church and State in the Modern United States), page 185:

[…] Britain's Prime Minister David Lloyd George finessed the distinction between "indemnification" and "reparations" by insisting that his government's pension payments to the families of fallen soldiers should also be categorized as 'civilian" damages, thus making the recipients eligible for "reparations" to the tune of at least $110 billion[…].

2015, Howard M[orley] Sachar, “The Death of Giacomo Matteotti”, in The Assassination of Europe, 1918–1942: A Political History, Toronto, Ont.: University of Toronto Press, →ISBN, page 82:

Almost miraculously, [risk-neutral valuation] finesses the problem that we know hardly anything about the risk aversion of the buyers and sellers of options.

2018, John C. Hull, Options, Futures and Other Derivatives, 10th edition, Pearson, page 276:


lobby

→ Armenian: լոբբի (lobbi)

→ Catalan: lobby

→ Danish: lobby

→ Dutch: lobby

→ French: lobby

→ German: Lobby

→ Italian: lobby

→ Japanese: ロビー (robī)

→ Korean: 로비 (robi)

→ Macedonian: лоби (lobi)

→ Polish: lobby

desc

→ Portuguese: lóbi, lobby (unadapted spelling)

→ Russian: ло́бби (lóbbi)

Serbo-Croatian:

→ Cyrillic script: лоби

→ Latin script: lobi

→ Slovene: lobi

→ Spanish: lobby

From Medieval Latin lobia, lobium, laubia (“a portico, covered way, gallery”), borrowed from Frankish *laubijā (“arbour, shelter”), related to Old English lēaf (“foliage”). More at leaf. Doublet of leaf, lodge, and loggia.
Political sense derives from the entrance hall of legislatures, where people traditionally tried to influence legislators because it was the most convenient place to meet them.

The influence of the tobacco lobby has decreased considerably in the US.

(politics) A class or group of interested people who try to influence public officials; collectively, lobbyists.


squish

en-noun

squish (countable and uncountable, plural squishes)

Apparently an alteration of squash, influenced by obsolete squiss (“to squeeze”). Cognate with Scots squische, squies (“to crush, squeeze”). Compare also French esquicher from Old Occitan esquichar (“to squeeze, squish”). See also squeeze, squelch.

cog

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

Some conservatives think that in the long run, the party will be better off without squishes like Specter […]

2009, Time, volume 173, numbers 17–26, page 236:

“Josh Mandel: Another failed career politician squish,” a new ad from a super PAC supporting Mr. Vance blared on Ohio television sets on Friday, calling Mr. Mandel, who is mounting his third Senate run, a “two-time loser” and “a moderate for the moderates.”

2022 April 30, Jonathan Weisman, Trip Gabriel, “Once Soft-Spoken, Ohio Conservatives Embrace the Bombast”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

(countable, politics, informal, derogatory) A political moderate.


/ˌeɪt͡ʃtuːˈoʊ/

Two H initials (Hishammuddin Hussein) represented by H₂ + O for Onn, chosen to humorously match the chemical formula for water.

(Malaysia, Internet slang, humorous, politics) Hishammuddin Hussein Onn, Malaysian politician and son of Hussein Onn, third prime minister of Malaysia.


missing in action

/ˈmɪsɪŋ ɪn ˈækʃən/

Missing in action are those who have been dropped from the muster-roll as missing in action, and have subsequently joined again. [...] If the missing in action, or desertion, and the return to the company, both occur in the quarter, it is not necessary to note them; in other words, it is not necessary that the soldiers should be dropped and taken up again on the same return.

1864, August V[alentine] Kautz, “Return of Men Joined”, in The Company Clerk: […], Philadelphia, Pa.: J. B. Lippincott & Co., →OCLC, paragraph 135, page 77:

Private Louis R. Ziegra of this place [Deep River, Connecticut], formerly a bookkeeper at the Pratt-Reid Player Action Co., who is announced in dispatches from the War Department as missing in action is a German prisoner of war.

1918 July 20, “In the Hands of the Huns”, in John C[hristian] Freund, editor, The Music Trades, volume LVI, number 3, New York, N.Y.: The Music Trades Co., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 25, columns 1–2:

One and one-tenth percent of the academy graduates have been lost or missing in action, prisoners of war or physically disabled as a result of the war. [...] An additional 150 Cadet-Midshipmen, before graduation, lost their lives or are missing in action.

1946 January, “Merchant Marine Cadet Corps Record is Finest”, in Pat Martin et al., editors, The Log, volume 41, number 1, San Francisco, Calif.: Miller Freeman Publishers, →OCLC, page 49:

My husband, Colonel Bobby Vinson, U.S. Air Force, has been missing in action since April 24, 1968. Well over half of the men currently listed by the Departments of State and Defense have been missing or imprisoned for longer than that. Some men have spent twice that long in prison cells in the north, jungles in the south, and pits in Laos. Many more have spent at least that time in the limbo we have termed "missing in action."

1971 March 23, Joan Vinson (witness), “Statement of Joan Vinson, National Coordinator, National League of Families of American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia”, in American Prisoners of War in Southeast Asia, 1971: Hearings before the Subcommittee on National Security Policy and Scientific Developments of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives, Ninety-second Congress, First Session: […], Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, →OCLC, page 28:

Before examining the French experience, it would seem useful to consider some of the major differences and similarities between the French war and the American war in Vietnam. The areas of combat and the type of warfare, the composition of the armed forces, the bargaining power of the adversaries and their dissimilar set of values, were all factors that affected, in one way or another, the numbers of killed in action, missing in action, prisoners of war, died in captivity, and bodies recovered.

1976 April 7, Anita Lauve (witness), “Statement of Ms. Anita Lauve”, in Americans Missing in Southeast Asia: Hearings before the House Select Committee on Missing Persons in Southeast Asia, Ninety-fourth Congress, Second Session: Part 4: […], Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, →OCLC, page 2:

Our Nation will not forget these heroes, and we will not stop searching for our service members who are missing in action. [...] I call upon the people of the United States to join me in saluting all American POWs and those missing in action who valiantly served our great country.

2004 September 14, George W[alker] Bush, “Proclamation 7815 of September 14, 2004: National POW/MIA Recognition Day, 2004”, in Code of Federal Regulations: [Title] 3: 2004 Compilation and Parts 100–102: […] The President … A Special Edition of the Federal Register, Washington, D.C.: Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration; U.S. Government Printing Office, published 1 January 2005, →OCLC, page 83:

On 27 April 1981, Private Kevin Joyce (20) was on guard duty at a UN observation post in south Lebanon when he was kidnapped. He was never seen again and is now officially regarded by the Defence Forces as: ‘Missing in Action, Presumed Dead.’

2010, Ralph Riegel, John O’Mahony, chapter 12, in Missing in Action: The 50 Year Search for Ireland’s Missing Soldier, Cork, Munster: Mercier Press, →ISBN, page 203:

(chiefly military) The designation for a member of an organization (usually military) with whom contact is lost and whose whereabouts are not known, but whose death is not confirmed.

فُقِدَ فِي الْمَعْرَكَة

designation for a member of an organization with whom contact is lost but whose death is not confirmed


killed in action

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-killed in action.wav

There were only some four hundred United States marines who in the heroic and historic defense of Wake Island inflicted such great losses on the enemy. Some of those men were killed in action; and others are now prisoners of war.

1942 January 6, Franklin Roosevelt, 1942 President's Annual Message to Congress:

(chiefly military) The designation for a member of an organization (primarily military) who has died while on duty.


brigadier general

en-noun

brigadier general (plural brigadier generals)

brigadier generals (plural)
Brig. Gen. (alternative)

(military) A military officer who commands a brigade.

(military) A military rank between colonel and the second lowest general rank or major general, having an O7 NATO rank scale equivalency


mantle

From Middle English mantel, from Old English mæntel, mentel (“sleeveless cloak”), from Proto-West Germanic *mantel; later reinforced by Anglo-Norman mantel, both from Latin mantēllum (“covering, cloak”), diminutive of mantum (French manteau, Spanish manto), probably from Gaulish *mantos, *mantalos (“trodden road”), from Proto-Celtic *mantos, *mantlos, from Proto-Indo-European *menH- (“tread, press together; crumble”). Compare Icelandic möttull. Doublet of manteau.


pannier

From Middle English panere, panȝere, panyere, from Old French panier, paniere, from Latin pānārium (“a bread basket”), from pānis (“bread”). Doublet of panary.

(historical, military) A piece of basketwork for protecting archers, or, filled with gravel or sand, for forming and protecting embankments, etc.


ogive

From late Middle English ogif, egeve, egeove, from Old French ogive, œgive, augive. Doublet of ogee.

However, Ordnance tests revealed that the existing metal ogive (nose cone) tended to telescope on impact, cushioning the impact shock, and resulting in the failure of the impact fuze. In addition, the ogive tended to shear off from the rest of the body at impact angles of 20 degrees or more, […]

2016, Steven J. Zaloga, Bazooka vs Panzer: Battle of the Bulge 1944, Bloomsbury Publishing, →ISBN, page 32:

Nose: The forward end of a warhead. May have a fuze-well, be solid, or be defined by the shape of the ogive.
Ogive: Is aft of the nose, and forward of the bourrelet. May house a fuze adapter with a shape consistent with the contour of the ogive.

2019, Thomas Gersbeck, Practical Military Ordnance Identification, 2nd edition, CRC Press, →ISBN, page 111:

(weaponry, ballistics) The pointed, curved nose of a bullet, missile, or rocket.


pick up

en-verb

pick up (third-person singular simple present picks up, present participle picking up, simple past and past participle picked up)

picks up (present singular third-person)
picking up (participle present)
picked up (participle past)
picked up (past)

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

[…] there are now 98 officers of that rank who have been passed over one or more times, most of whom have little prospect of being picked up by future selection boards but will await only the completion of 21 years' service before going on the retired list.

1937, United States. Congress. Senate, Hearings, volume 2, page 141:

The list is about the same as when each class was commissioned, except for a small percentage who were passed over once or twice and then picked up.

1938, United States. Congress. House. Committee on Naval Affairs, Hearings on H.R. 9997 to Regulate the Distribution, Promotion, and Retirement of Officers of the Line of the Navy and for Other Purposes, page 3239:

(US, military, transitive) To promote somebody who was previously passed over.


reactionary

en-adj

reactionary (comparative more reactionary, superlative most reactionary)

more reactionary (comparative)
most reactionary (superlative)

/ɹiˈæk.ʃəˌnɛɚ.i/

/ɹiˈæk.t͡ʃəˌnɛɚ.i/

/ɹiˈæk.ʃɪˌnɛɚ.i/

/ɹiˈæk.t͡ʃɪˌnɛɚ.i/

From French réactionnaire. Used in the time of the French revolution to refer to a person opposing the revolution; as in favoring a reaction against the revolution.

quote-web

Archived copy

2024 July 14 (last accessed), “Archived copy”, in Oxford English Dictionary Online (overall work in English), archived from the original on 2024-06-30:
OED's earliest evidence for reactionary is from 1799, in Reply L. N. M. Carnot to Rep. Conspiracy 18th Fructidor (page 149).

There's a fairly simple reason for the embrace of radicalism on the right, and it has to do with the reactionary imperative that lies at the core of conservative doctrine. […] If he is to preserve what he values, the conservative must declare war against the culture as it is.

2011 September 29, Corey Robin, The Reactionary Mind: Conservatism from Edmund Burke to Sarah Palin, New York: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, →OL, page 25:

[Jeffrey] Epstein was interested in transhumanism, a theory of human perfection via technological manipulation that—like its predecessor, eugenics—is shot through with racist and reactionary ideas.

2019 August 7, Marissa Brostoff, Noah Kulwin, “The Right Kind of Continuity”, in Jewish Currents:

(politics) Extremely conservative; opposing revolution (such as the French Revolution); favoring a return to a golden age of the past.


reactionary

/ɹiˈæk.ʃəˌnɛɚ.i/

/ɹiˈæk.t͡ʃəˌnɛɚ.i/

/ɹiˈæk.ʃɪˌnɛɚ.i/

/ɹiˈæk.t͡ʃɪˌnɛɚ.i/

Archived copy

Hindu reactionaries, whose conception of a well-ordered society had not moved beyond the laws of Manu, fell into line for the moment with the intellectual products of the modern Indian University.

1921, Valentine Chirol, India, Old and New:

It is not simply a conservative preference for things as they are, with a few nudges back, but a passionate loathing of the status quo and a desire to return to the past in one emotionally cathartic revolt. If conservatives are pessimistic, reactionaries are apocalyptic.

2017 April, Andrew Sullivan, “The Reactionary Temptation”, in New York [Magazine]:

(politics) One who opposes revolution, wanting to reverse it, favoring a return to a past golden age. Often used as a derogatory by revolutionaires.


antisubmarine

A depth charge is an antisubmarine weapon.

NATO held extensive wargames to practice antisubmarine warfare.

(military) Intended for use against submarines.


antitank

A TOW missile is an antitank weapon capable of killing everyone in a tank from great distance.

armored fighting vehicle
armored fighting vehicle

(military) Of weapons or tactics, designed for thwarting or (especially) attacking tanks or other armored fighting vehicles.

مضاد للدبابات

designed for attacking tanks or other armored vehicles


antiship

A single EXOCET antiship missile can sink a destroyer. Try not to get hit.

(military) Designed to attack a naval ship.


antimonarchical

en-adj

antimonarchical (comparative more antimonarchical, superlative most antimonarchical)

more antimonarchical (comparative)
most antimonarchical (superlative)

(politics) Opposing a particular monarchy.

Antimonarchical sentiment threatened to sweep away the last vestige of royal prerogative.

(politics) Opposing the concept of monarchy, rule by a single person.


buffer

Agent noun from obsolete verb buff (“make a dull sound when struck”) (mid-16c.), from Old French buffe (“blow”).
The “boatswain's mate” sense is said to be popularly explained by the mate being a “buffer”, that is intermediary, between officers and men, but various other explanations have also been proposed.

bufro

anything used to isolate or to minimise the effects of one thing on another

Anything used to isolate or minimize the effect of one thing on another.

(politics, international relations) A buffer zone (such as a demilitarized zone) or a buffer state.

international relations
international relations


flagship

After Russia’s flagship in the Black Sea, the Moskva, sank last week, the authorities said that the entire crew of more than 500 had been rescued.

2022 April 21, Neil MacFarquhar, Alina Lobzina, “With sunken warship, Russian disinformation faces a test.”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

(nautical, military) The ship occupied by the fleet's commander (usually an admiral); it denotes this by flying his flag.


mantlet

mantlets (plural)
mantelet (alternative)

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

From Middle English mauntelet, from Old French mantelet, diminutive of mantel (“mantle”). Doublet of mantelletta.

Already their archers were stealing forward, pushing their rolling mantlets.

2000, George R.R. Martin, A Storm of Swords, Bantam, published 2011, page 947:

(military, now historical) A portable screen or other covering, especially as used to protect the approach of soldiers engaged in a siege.


AFP

(Australia, law enforcement) Initialism of Australian Federal Police

Armed Forces of the Philippines
w:Armed Forces of the Philippines

(Philippines, military) Initialism of Armed Forces of the Philippines.


IDS

(UK politics) Initialism of Iain Duncan Smith.


BB

en-noun

BB (countable and uncountable, plural BBs)

BBs (plural)
B.B. (alternative)
B. B. (alternative)
bb (alternative)


SAPOL

For example, the SAPOL Police Security Services Division (a service designed to act in competition with private providers) mentions, in its Strategic Plan 1998-2003, its similarity with SAPOL as an advantage.

2003, Canberra Law Review, volumes 7-8, page 112:

When information is provided to SAPOL and it is considered by the officer receiving the information that it is necessary that the identity of the informant and the information be kept confidential, it is the practice of SAPOL officers to give an assurance of confidentiality.

2003, South Australian Supreme Court, The South Australian State Reports, volume 87, page 482:

The data were acquired from sworn serving SAPOL police officers. To collect data for this study a submission was made to SAPOL′s Officer in Charge of Policy and Project Services.

2005, Laurence J. Alison, The Forensic Psychologist′s Casebook, page 126:

South Australia Police
w:South Australia Police

(Australia, law enforcement) Abbreviation of South Australia Police.


EFF

The EFF asked Legere about the issue on Twitter. After partially answering the question in a video, Legere said, "Who the f— are you anyway EFF? Why are you stirring up so much trouble, and who pays you?"

2016 January 11, Heather Kelly, “T-Mobile CEO apologizes for EFF F-bomb”, in CNN Business:

(Internet, electronics, politics) Initialism of Electronic Frontier Foundation.

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

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

(South Africa, politics) Initialism of Economic Freedom Fighters.


PSB

PSB (countable and uncountable, plural PSBs)

Presidential Service Badge
w:Presidential Service Badge

(military, US) Initialism of Presidential Service Badge.


LWT

(military, nautical) Abbreviation of lightweight torpedo.


SFC

SFC (countable and uncountable, plural SFCs)

Sergeant First Class
w:Sergeant First Class

(military, US) Initialism of Sergeant First Class.


plonk

A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English

From WWI military slang, derived by alteration of French vin blanc (“white wine”) by the law of Hobson-Jobson. Recorded earliest in the playful rhyming slang form plinketty-plonk. Possibly influenced by the sound of wine being poured into a glass.


plonk

Chris and that plonk had better be flushing the scum out.

(countable, derogatory, UK, Ireland, law enforcement slang) A female police constable.


chickenshit

chickenshit (countable and uncountable, plural chickenshits)

chickenshits (plural)
chicken-shit (alternative)
chicken shit (alternative)

That chickenshit drove his men nearly to mutiny.

(vulgar, military, slang) A low-ranking officer who lords over and needlessly makes life miserable for his underlings; a petty, abusive martinet.


degraded

en-adj

degraded (comparative more degraded, superlative most degraded)

more degraded (comparative)
most degraded (superlative)

/dɪˈɡɹeɪdɪd/

/dɪˈɡɹeɪdɪd/

[dɪˈɡɹeɪɾɪd]

/dɪˈɡɹæɪdɪd/

[dɪˈɡɹæɪɾɪd]

See degrade and compare French degré (“step”).

A Cross degraded Fitchee.

1725, A New Dictionary of Heraldry ... Illustrated with 196 devices on copper ... Revis'd and corrected, with a letter to the publisher, by Mr. James Coates, page 98:

Ar. a cross, degraded, sa.

1828, William Berry, Encyclopaedia Heraldica Or Complete Dictionary of Heraldry, page 168:

Argent, a cross degraded and conjoined, (or issuing from eight degrees,) sable. WYNT-WORTH.

1847, Henry Gough, A Glossary of Terms Used in British Heraldry: With a Chronological Table, Illustrative of Its Rise and Progress, page 99:

(heraldry, not comparable) Having steps; said of a cross whose extremities end in steps growing larger as they leave the centre; on degrees.


electoral college

en-noun

electoral college (plural electoral colleges)

In Hong Kong, proponents for universal suffrage criticize that the current electoral college responsible for electing the Chief Executive is undemocratic and unrepresentative in nature.

[I]f the reigning president pleases his masters, he need be under no apprehensions of being turned out for any severities used to the people, for though the congress may not have influence enough to procure him the majority of the votes of the electoral college, yet they will always be able to prevent any other from having such a majority

1788, "Aristocrotis", The Government of Nature Delineated; Or An Exact Picture of the New Federal Constitution, Carlisle, PA:

(politics) A body of electors empowered to elect someone to a particular office, such as the Holy Roman Emperor or the President of the United States.


enveloped

(heraldry) Entwined, as with snakes, laurels, etc.


LCS

LCS (countable and uncountable, plural LCSs)

The “rotational deployment” of the vessels, called littoral combat ships (LCS), comes as China continues to flex its muscles in the South China Sea and tensions remain on the Korean Peninsula. / “We will soon see up to four LCS here in Singapore as we rotationally deploy Seventh Fleet ships,” said Rear Admiral Charles Williams.

2015 February 18, “US to base four warships in Singapore as China flexes military muscles”, in The Guardian:

littoral combat ship
littoral combat ship#English

(US, military, nautical, countable) Initialism of littoral combat ship: a specialized type of frigate for green water and coastal combat and transoceanic capability designated by the US Navy.


payor

(law, healthcare, medical insurance) One who makes a payment.


Winchester

French: Bicêtre

Hungarian: vincseszter

Russian: винчестер (vinčester)

From Middle English Wynchester, Winchestre, from Old English Wintanċeaster, from Latin Venta Belgārum (literally “Venta of the Belgae”), perhaps ultimately from Proto-Celtic *wentā (“town, place”), Proto-Indo-European *h₁wen- (“place (?)”) + Old English ċeaster, from Latin castra (“camp”).
The bottle is named for the former customary units of the English city. The rifle is named named after American businessman Oliver Winchester (1810–1880). The computer disk is named for the rifle.


trigger

Originally tricker, from Dutch trekker (“pull”, noun, as in drawer-pull, bell-pull), from Dutch trekken (“to drag, draw, pull”).

bor

Just pull the trigger.

[W]e pull'd aſide the Tricker, and obſerv'd, that according to our expectation the force of the Spring of the Lock vvas not ſenſibly abated by the abſence of the Air.

1659 December 30 (date written), Robert Boyle, “[Experiment 14]”, in New Experiments Physico-Mechanicall, Touching the Spring of the Air, and Its Effects, (Made, for the Most Part, in a New Pneumatical Engine) […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] H[enry] Hall, printer to the University, for Tho[mas] Robinson, published 1660, →OCLC, page 89:

(firearms) A finger-operated lever used to fire a gun.


hootchie

(military slang) Alternative form of hutchie (“type of shelter”).


remora

en-noun

remora (plural remora or remorae or remoras)

remora (plural)
remorae (plural)
remoras (plural)

Borrowed from Latin remora (“delay, hindrance, passive resistance”), from the belief that the fish would attach themselves to ships and slow them down, from re- (prefix meaning ‘back, backwards’) + mora (“delay”) (from Proto-Indo-European *mere (“to delay, hinder”), from *(s)mer- (“to fall into thinking, remember; to care for”)).

der

LORD SCARSDALE. [...] On the dexter ſide, the figure of Prudence repreſented by a woman, habited argent, mantled azure, holding in her ſiniſter hand a javelin entwined with a remora proper; [...]

1766 July 23, [Edward] Kimber, “Barons”, in The Peerage of England. […], volume 60, London: Printed for H[enry] Woodfall, […], →OCLC, page 217:


overkill

/ˈəʊ.vəˌkɪl/

[The] increase in nuclear missiles available to the West was operationally unnecessary and would only add to the existing nuclear overkill; mixed manning was a formula for military disaster; […]

1990, Sir William Godfrey Fothergill Jackson, Britain's Defence Dilemma: An Inside View : Rethinking British Defence Policy in the Post-imperial Era, B. T. Batsford Limited:

(literally, military) A destructive capacity that exceeds that needed to destroy an enemy; especially with nuclear weapons.


goutte

From Middle English goute, from Old French goutte, goute, gote, from Latin gutta (“drop”). Doublet of gout and gutta.

Per fesse nebuly chequy azure and or, each of the last charged with a goutte of the first, and sable, in base five estoiles, four and one of the second, all within a bordure argent, charged with eight crosses couped gules.

1915, Arthur Charles Fox-Davies, The Book of Public Arms: A Complete Encyclopædia of All Royal, Territorial, Municipal, Corporate, Official, and Impersonal Arms, London : T.C. & E.C. Jack, page 832:

(heraldry) A charge in the form of a teardrop shape, originally with wavy sides, but now often with straight sides.

on a lion rampant argent gouttes purpure

gouté. They may be of various tinctures

that is, semé of an indefinite number of drops


FEM

(Philippine politics) Initialism of Ferdinand Marcos, 9th President of the Philippines.


dugout

The key unit of life here is the dugout – what the soldiers call a ‘blindage’ – an underground burrow where half a dozen men share the narrow space between the bunks with weapons, ammunition, biscuits, tea bags, and a jumble of other essentials (there is also usually a cat, not to mention the mice).

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

(military) A pit dug into the ground as a shelter, especially from enemy fire.


rookery

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

(military, slang, obsolete) That part of the barracks occupied by subalterns.


lat

lats (plural)
lât (alternative)
lāt (alternative)
lath (alternative)

Borrowed from Hindi लाट (lāṭ, “pillar; minaret; staff, club”), लाठ (lāṭh, “long staff; cudgel”), etc.

bor+

(weaponry, rare) A staff, particularly one of an Indian kind.


cook-off

en-noun

cook-off (countable and uncountable, plural cook-offs)

(chemistry, military) The accidental detonation of explosives as the result of excessive heat.


fire at will

All cruisers, fire at will! Burn their mongrel hides!

2007 September 25, Bungie, Halo 3, spoken by Rtas 'Vadum (Robert Davi), Microsoft Game Studios, Xbox 360, level/area: The Ark:

(military) Fire when ready. A command that allows troops to use weapons at their discretion and choose their own targets, allowing the individual soldier a greater freedom of timing the shot with target movement and similar.


peacekeeper

officer of the peace
officer of the peace

(Canada, law enforcement) An officer of the peace (police officer) in a force run by a Canadian aboriginal community.


CATO

(Canada, military) Acronym of Cadet Administrative and Training Order.


fuze

Variant spelling of fuse used to differentiate senses, see Usage note there.

(military, professional usage) An auxiliary device with explosive components, used to detonate a munition.


fuze

en-verb

fuze (third-person singular simple present fuzes, present participle fuzing, simple past and past participle fuzed)

fuzes (present singular third-person)
fuzing (participle present)
fuzed (participle past)
fuzed (past)

(transitive, military, professional usage) To equip with a fuze.


mugwump

The noun is borrowed from Massachusett mugquomp, mummugquomp (“war leader”). Folk etymology reinterpreted it as referring to a person who sat on the fence with their mug (“face”) on one side and wump (“rump”) on the other, which influenced political cartoons during the 1884 United States presidential election.
The verb is derived from the noun.

(US, historical) A member of the Republican Party who declined to support the party's nominee James G. Blaine (1830–1893) during the 1884 United States presidential election, believing him to be corrupt, and instead supported the Democratic Party's candidate Grover Cleveland (1837–1908).

The story of the capture of Vicksburg is the old, old story of failure turned into success, by which man is made immortal. It involves the history of a general who never retraced his steps, who cared neither for mugwump murmurs nor political cabals, who took both blame and praise with equanimity.

1901 May, Winston Churchill, “A Strange Meeting”, in The Crisis, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC, book III, page 427:

After them came the politician, who said there was only one purpose in Nature, and that was to get him into parliament. I told him I did not care whether he got into parliament or not; so he called me Mugwump and went his way.

1901–1903, [George] Bernard Shaw, Man and Superman. A Comedy and a Philosophy, Westminster [London]: Archibald Constable & Co., published 1903, →OCLC, Act III, page 116:

(by extension) A person who purports to stay aloof from party politics.

(Australia, US, by extension) One who switches from supporting one political party to another, especially for personal benefit.


MOS

"I was a marine. My MOS was 0311," he said.

(military) Initialism of military occupational specialty.

"We have an MOS down," the dispatcher said.

(law enforcement) Initialism of member of the service.


BFH

(military slang) Initialism of big fucking hammer.


PVT

en-noun

PVT (countable and uncountable, plural PVTs)

PVTs (plural)
Pte (alternative)
Pte. (alternative)
Pvt (alternative)
Pvt. (alternative)

(US, military) Abbreviation of private (“soldier”).


banana republic

banana republic (plural banana republics)

Coined by American author O. Henry in 1901 in his short story Money Maze, set in the fictional "Anchuria", which was based on his 1896–97 stay in Honduras.

coin

At that time we had a treaty with about every foreign country except Belgium, and that banana republic, Anchuria.

1901 May 7, O. Henry, “Money Maze”, in Ainslee's Magazine, volume vii, number 4, New York, page 305:

The banana workers of this former banana republic were exceptionally well organized and effective in their demands from the very beginning of the revolution.

2001, Cindy Forster, The Time of Freedom: Campesino Workers in Guatemala's October Revolution, University of Pittsburgh Press, →ISBN, page 117:

The McCanns, it is hinted and sometimes expressed explicitly, cannot possibly be treated fairly under this inadequate Portuguese system. There is a touch of arrogant xenophobia here, as if Portugal was some backward banana republic […]

2007 September 10, Marcel Berlins, “Media have rushed to judge Portuguese police”, in The Guardian:

(politics, idiomatic, derogatory) A small country, especially one in Central America or the West Indies, that is dependent on a single export commodity (traditionally bananas) and that has a corrupt, dictatorial government.


encampment

en-noun

encampment (countable and uncountable, plural encampments)

PIE word
 *h₁én
From encamp (“to establish a camp or temporary shelter”) + -ment (suffix forming nouns denoting actions or their results).

affix

As ſoon as he came to the top of thoſe Hills he plainly diſcovered the Creek or Harbour vvhere the Pyrate Ships lay, and vvhere they had form'd their Encampment on the Shore.

1725, [Daniel Defoe], “Part I”, in A New Voyage Round the World, by a Course Never Sailed before. […], London: […] A[rthur] Bettesworth, […]; and W. Mears, […], →OCLC, page 69:

One of the greatest dangers that beset the travellers in this part of their expedition, was the vast number of rattlesnakes which infested the rocks about the rapids and portages, and on which the men were in danger of treading. They were often found, too, in quantities about the encampments.

1836 October, Washington Irving, chapter XIII, in Astoria, or Anecdotes of an Enterprise beyond the Rocky Mountains. […], volume II, Philadelphia, Pa.: [Henry Charles] Carey, [Isaac] Lea, & Blanchard, →OCLC, page 116:

[P]erhaps, had the Moors passed these gates, and reached the Christian encampment, lulled, as it was, in security and sleep, that wild army of twenty thousand desperate men might have saved Granada; and Spain might, at this day, possess the only civilised empire which the faith of Mahomet ever founded.

1838, [Edward Bulwer-Lytton], “The Return—the Riot—the Treachery—and the Death”, in “Leila; or, The Siege of Granada”, in Leila; or, The Siege of Granada: And Calderon, the Courtier. […], London: Longman, Orme, Brown, Green, and Longmans; Paris: Delloy and Co., →OCLC, book V, page 286:

Shortly after leaving the station, the train passes the site of a small halt, built in August, 1889, to serve a large army encampment situated nearby.

1946 July–August, K. Westcott Jones, “Isle of Wight Central Railway—2”, in The Railway Magazine, London: Tothill Press, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 243:

In Mississippi, Tom turned an encampment of do-gooder burners into an organization he dubbed Burners Without Borders.

2011, Steven T. Jones, The Tribes of Burning Man: How an Experimental City in the Desert is Shaping the New American Counterculture, San Francisco, Calif.: Consortium of Collective Consciousness, →ISBN:

(often military) A place where people (such as displaced people, soldiers, or travellers) encamp, that is, stay in tents or other temporary structures; a camp or campsite.

lag

place where people encamp — see also camp, campsite


Mirandize

en-verb

Mirandize (third-person singular simple present Mirandizes, present participle Mirandizing, simple past and past participle Mirandized)

Mirandizes (present singular third-person)
Mirandizing (participle present)
Mirandized (participle past)
Mirandized (past)

From Miranda + -ize. The former refers to the US Supreme Court case Miranda v. Arizona. Named after Ernesto Miranda.

1981. Television program Hill Street Blues, Season 1, Episode 7, "Film At Eleven".
Lt. Furillo: Be sure to Mirandize them, Ray.

[1997. New York State Bar Journal, "Volume 69"
We credit Judge John G. Gabbert of California with the first reported usage of "Mirandize" […] ]

[2007. Anu Garg, "The dord, the diglet, and an avocado or two"
To mirandize is to advise people under arrest of their legal rights, such as the right to remain silent under questioning, the right to legal counsel, etc.]

2012. Garrett Graff, "The Threat Matrix"
There was also a fierce debate over whether to Mirandize the detainees immediately. “You wouldn't Mirandize an American in this situation,” Knowles argued with Justice Department officials.

(transitive, US, law enforcement) To inform someone who has been arrested of their constitutional rights.


backdraught

(firefighting, chiefly British spelling) Alternative spelling of backdraft.


HST

(US, politics, historical) Initialism of Harry S. Truman.


Zouave

From French, from Arabic زَوَاوِيّ (zawāwiyy), used to refer to a Kabyle soldier, especially of the Igawawen people.

(military, historical) One of a body of soldiers in the French service, originally Kabyle, but now composed of Frenchmen who wear the Kabyle dress.

الزواف

a Kabyle or French soldier in Kabyle dress

(military, historical, by extension) One of a body of soldiers who adopt the dress and drill of the Zouaves in French service, as was done by a number of volunteer regiments in the army of the United States in the Civil War (1861–65).


lanyard

lanyards (plural)
laniard (alternative)
laniard (alternative)

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

Auckland War Memorial Museum
Imperial War Museum
M777 howitzer
New Zealand Expeditionary Force
Royal Artillery
United States Army

From late Middle English lainer, lainere, lanyer (“strap or thong used to fasten armour”) (with the ending modified in the 17th century under the influence of yard), from Old French laniere, lasniere (“thong, lash”) (see modern French lanière (“lanyard, strap”)).
The French word is ultimately from Germanic, cognate with Old High German nestila (“band, headband; strap”) (modern German Nestel (“lace; strap; string”)), Old Norse nesta (“brace; fastener, strap”).

ref

From the collection of the Auckland War Memorial Museum in Auckland, New Zealand.

From the collection of the Imperial War Museum, UK.

cog

(by extension, military) A cord with a hook which is secured to an artillery piece, and pulled to fire the weapon.

Abzugsleine

cord with a hook secured to an artillery piece, and pulled to fire the weapon


isu

(sumo) An individual seat in the loft-like balcony of a sumo arena.


composite

Borrowed from Middle French composite, from Latin compositus, past participle of compōnō (“put together”). Doublet of compost, compote, and kompot.

(chiefly law enforcement) A drawing, photograph, etc. that combines several separate pictures or images.


extremist

In Urif, extremists spray painted “Death to Arabs” on shipping containers belonging to a local resident and the local quarry was tagged with the words “Fight the enemy.”

2018, Edo Konrad, “Living in the constant shadow of settler violence”, in +972 Magazine:

(politics) A person who holds extreme views, especially one who advocates such views; a radical or fanatic.


ISF

Israeli security forces
w:Israeli security forces

(military, Israel) Initialism of Israeli security forces.


minibus

en-noun

minibus (plural minibuses or minibusses)

From mini- + bus. In the political sense, probably a back-formation from omnibus.

The minibus is the first of two funding packages the House hopes to pass this month.

2020 July 25, Danielle Haynes, “House passes 4-bill spending package”, in UPI:

(US politics) A combined spending bill for multiple departments that is smaller than an omnibus bill.


invasive

en-adj

invasive (comparative more invasive, superlative most invasive)

more invasive (comparative)
most invasive (superlative)

PIE word
 *h₁én
The adjective is derived from Middle English invasif (“of a weapon: offensive”), from Middle French invasif, Old French invasif (“invasive”) (modern French invasif), from Medieval Latin invāsīvus, from Latin invāsus (“entered; invaded”) + -īvus (suffix forming adjectives). Invāsus is the perfect passive participle of invādō (“to enter; to invade”), from in- (prefix meaning ‘in, inside’) + vādō (“to go; to rush; to walk”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *weh₂dʰ- (“to go, proceed; to pass, traverse”)).
The noun is derived from the adjective.

der

He managed to get back Lorraine; made truce with the Hungarians, who were excessively invasive at that time. Truce with the Hungarians; and then, having gathered strength, made dreadful beating of them; two beatings,—one to each half, for the invasive Savagery had split itself, for better chance of plunder; […]

1858, Thomas Carlyle, “Brannibor: Henry the Fowler”, in History of Friedrich II. of Prussia, Called Frederick the Great, volume I, London: Chapman and Hall, […], →OCLC, book II, page 70:

(military, also figuratively) That invades a foreign country using military force; also, militarily aggressive.

агресивен

that invades a foreign country using military force; militarily aggressive


RTFA

Derived from the initialism RTFM, which was originally used in the context of Usenet.

(military) Initialism of ready team fire assist.


arms

From Middle English armes, from Old French armes, from Latin arma (“weapons”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂er-mo-, a suffixed form of *h₂er- (“to fit together”), hence ultimately cognate with etymology 2.

The arms of England are: gules, three lions passant gardant or.

The Metropolitan Electric trams bore the three seaxes of the Middlesex arms, with a crown above the shield, on a blue circle.

1950 June, Michael Robbins, “Heraldry of London Underground Railways”, in Railway Magazine, page 382:

(heraldry) A visual design composed according to heraldic rules, consisting of a coat of arms normally displayed upon an escutcheon, sometimes accompanied by other elements of an achievement


ICS

en-noun

ICS (countable and uncountable, plural ICSs)

integrated care system
w:integrated care system

(UK, healthcare) Initialism of integrated care system.


golpe

Unknown. Compare Spanish golpe (“strike, blow”). Perhaps the reference is to a blow leaving a purple bruise, compare the theories about hurt (“blue roundel”).

(heraldry) A roundel purpure (purple circular spot).


wanted

en-adj

wanted (comparative more wanted, superlative most wanted)

more wanted (comparative)
most wanted (superlative)

(law enforcement) Subject to immediate detainment by law enforcement authorities on sight.


flusher

From Middle English flusshere, equivalent to flush + -er.

Each flusher is typically paid $20 to $50. Fleets of cars, buses, and other vehicles are also at the ready to ferry voters to and from the polls.

1996, Larry J. Sabato, Glenn R. Simpson, Dirty Little Secrets: The Persistence of Corruption in American Politics, →ISBN, page 191:

(US, politics) A worker for a political campaign who encourages voters to vote on Election Day.


inlet

en-verb

inlet (third-person singular simple present inlets, present participle inletting, simple past and past participle inlet)

inlets (present singular third-person)
inletting (participle present)
inlet (participle past)
inlet (past)

From Middle English inleten, equivalent to in- + let. Cognate with Dutch inlaten (“to let in, admit”), Low German inlaten (“to let in”), German einlassen (“to admit, let in”), Swedish inlåta (“to enter, engage”).

(firearms) To carve the wooden stock of a firearm so as to position the metal components in it.


neocon

I realized today that the politics of divisiveness embraced by the neocons has worked, and it has worked on me.

2006 October 17, Gasonfires, “Neocon Divisiveness Has Worked - On Me! Oh Damn!”, in Daily Kos:

[The film's] message is that Iraq's fabled "weapons of mass destruction" did not exist, and that neocons within the administration fabricated them, lied about them, and were ready to kill to cover up their deception.

March 12, 2010, Roger Ebert, "Facts May Be Debatable, but Thrills Certainly Not: Green Zone", "Movies" column, Universal Press Syndicate, Kansas City, MO: Andrews McMeel Universal

(US, possibly derogatory, politics) A neoconservative.


esquire

Old French esquiere, esquierre, esquarre (“a square”) (whence modern French équerre), perhaps via a form like based esquire from bas d'esquire ("bottom of a square"), whence attested forms base (e)squire, e(s)quire bast.

Thre pallets between ij Esquires bast dexter and sinister of the second.

1597, Gerard Legh, Armorie, page 154, quoted in the NED

Mortimer, Barry of 6, or & az. an inescutcheon arg. on a chief of the first 2 pallets between as many base esquires of the second.

1883, Transactions of the Shropshire Archaeological and Natural History Society, page 142:

Against the theory of two wives for Sir Thomas, is the fact that the Lumley Monument mentions only one, Elizabeth. In addition she appears to have been granted the Royal Arms: 1. France and England, 2. a plain cross of Ulster, 3. as 2, 4. barry of siz, a chief three pallets, between two esquires bastions, dexter and sinister, an inescutcheon Argent, Mortimer, over all a bar sinister, which are also displayed on the monument.

2011 October 24, Peter Beauclerk-Dewar, Roger Powell, Royal Bastards: Illegitimate Children of the British Royal Family, The History Press, →ISBN:

(heraldry, rare) The lower of the halves into which a square is divided diagonally, a single gyron, but potentially larger (extending across the shield) or smaller (for example, on Mortimer's arms).


diadem

diadems (plural)
diademe (alternative obsolete)

From Middle English diademe, dyademe, from Old French diademe, from Latin diadēma, from Ancient Greek διάδημα (diádēma, “band, especially worn around a tiara”), from διαδέω (diadéō, “bind around”).

der

(heraldry) An arch rising from the rim of a crown (rarely also of a coronet), and uniting with others over its centre.


DIA

Defense Intelligence Agency
w:Defense Intelligence Agency

(US, military) Initialism of Defense Intelligence Agency.


Ali Baba

From Persian علی بابا. The use of Ali Baba to designate a type of container originates from the story of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves (see the use as proper noun below), suggesting the appearance of the oil jars in which the thieves hide in the story.

bor

Persian علی بابا

(slang, ethnic slur, US, military) An Iraqi.


antimissile

antimissile defense

antimissile missile

(military) Designed to intercept and destroy another missile in flight.

проціраке́тны

designed to destroy another missile in flight


riser

From Middle English ryser, risere, equivalent to rise + -er.


UDC

Umbrella for Democratic Change
w:Umbrella for Democratic Change

(Botswana, politics) Initialism of Umbrella for Democratic Change.


layette

(US, military) A bin for storing equipment parts prior to their use.


point-blank

From French point blanc (“white point”), originally referring to the white spot to be aimed at on a target (see blank's "bull's eye") or alternatively into empty space being fired horizontally.

Now, here's a useful tool—.470, telescopic sight, double ejector, point-blank up to three-fifty. That's the rifle I used against the Peruvian slave-drivers three years ago.

1912, Arthur Conan Doyle, “‘I was the Flail of the Lord’”, in The Lost World […], London; New York, N.Y.: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC:

Heavily armed militants launched a series of coordinated attacks in rural Assam on Tuesday, pulling villagers from their homes and shooting them at point-blank range, witnesses said.

2014 December 24, “Assam rebels kill scores on night of brutal attacks in Indian state”, in The Guardian:

Fifteen of those people had died of natural causes, the rest from gunshot wounds, including point-blank shots, or from shrapnel.

2022 April 3, Carlotta Gall, Andrew E. Kramer, “In a Kyiv Suburb,‘They Shot Everyone They Saw’”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

(ballistics) The distance between a firearm and a target where a projectile in flight is expected to strike the centre of the target without adjusting the elevation of the firearm.


heya

(sumo) the so-called "stable" of rikishi who train under the instruction of a particular shisho; the place where this group lives and trains


radarman

(US, naval) A person who operates all navigational and communications systems.


naiant

From Middle French noiant, present participle of noier (“to swim”), from Latin natare. Doublet of natant.

(heraldry, of a fish) Depicted swimming horizontally.


beasting

en-noun

beasting (usually uncountable, plural beastings)

(UK, military, slang) The imposition of arduous exercises, either as training or as punishment.


suplex

Perhaps related to the suplay of classical wrestling, if not further inspired by super; also see -ex. Another explanation could be from sub + plecto, (meaning essentially I turn, twist, combine, or "braid" from under) which could ultimately reduce into English as suplex due to it being a novel innovation.

professional wrestling
professional wrestling

(professional wrestling) A wrestling move in which the wrestler picks up their opponent off the ground (or mat) and then, using a large portion of their own body weight, drives the opponent down on the mat by throwing them over their center of gravity, usually arching their back.


suplex

en-verb

suplex (third-person singular simple present suplexes, present participle suplexing, simple past and past participle suplexed)

suplexes (present singular third-person)
suplexing (participle present)
suplexed (participle past)
suplexed (past)

(transitive, professional wrestling) To subject to this maneuver.


avoision

"Avoision" is how I referred to the panoply of questionable conduct about whose status as either avoidance or evasion we couldn't make up our minds.

1996, Leo Katz, Ill-Gotten Gains, University of Chicago Press, page 52:

"Seldon (1979) coined the term 'Avoision' to indicate 'the blurring between tax avoidance and evasion that arises from the looser connection between the legal and the moral'"

2008, Alan Lewis, editor, The Cambridge Handbook of Psychology and Economic Behaviour, Cambridge University Press, page 306:

(taxation, law) Nonpayment of tax that cannot clearly be seen as either tax avoidance, which is legal, or tax evasion, which is illegal.


Old Dart

Possibly from the river Dart in Devonshire which enters the sea at Dartmouth, location of a Royal Navy College. Royal Navy officers who were returning to England at the end of a foreign tour of duty referred to going back to the "Old Dart" for further training.
Alternatively a variation of "old dirt" (compare old sod).

(colloquial, UK, naval) Dartmouth Royal Navy College.


air base

air bases (plural)
airbase (alternative)

American officers have observed how Chinese troops stationed at American air bases have frequently refused to shoot at Japanese raiding planes. Asked by an American officer for the reason for this behavior, a Chinese officer at Lao-ho-k’ou air base in Hupeh answered (November 1944): “Well you see, if we shot down a Jap plane, the Japs would be angry and would take revenge and return and bomb the city and do a lot of damage.”

1968, Lyman P. Van Slyke, editor, The Chinese Communist Movement: A Report of the United States War Department, July 1945, Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 90:

(military) A military airport, providing housing and support for aircraft and personnel.


bearded

en-adj

bearded (comparative more bearded, superlative most bearded)

more bearded (comparative)
most bearded (superlative)

From Middle English berded, from Old English ġebearded, ġebeardede, ġebierd, ġebierde (“bearded”), from Proto-Germanic *bardōdaz (“bearded”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰardʰéh₂tos (“bearded”), equivalent to beard + -ed. Cognate with Dutch bebaarde (“bearded”), Middle Low German bārt (“bearded”), archaic German gebartet (“bearded”).

(heraldry) Having barbs of a certain color.


SR

en-noun

SR (countable and uncountable, plural SRs)

(law, politics) Initialism of state resolution.

(law, politics) Initialism of senate resolution.


EITC

EITC (usually uncountable, plural EITCs)

The IRS may audit an EITC claim or deny all or part of the credit if there are errors on a tax return.

2025 May 7, “The One, Big, Beautiful Bill”, in United States House Committee on Ways & Means, page 44:

(US, taxation) Initialism of earned income tax credit.


provincialism

provincialism (countable and uncountable, plural provincialisms)

From French provincialisme, equivalent to provincial + -ism.

(politics) Synonym of regionalism: belief in the superiority of one's regional government; the belief that most or nearly all political power should be decentralized to provincial governments.


regionalism

regionalism (countable and uncountable, plural regionalisms)

(politics) The belief that most or nearly all political power should be decentralized to regional governments.


Dakota

Dakotas (plural)
Dacota (alternative)
Dacotah (alternative)
Dahcotah (alternative)

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

(military, aviation) Out of air-to-ground ordinance.


tricameral

From tri- + Latin camera (“chamber”) + -al.

(government) Having three legislative chambers.


mora

(historical, military) An ancient Spartan military unit of about a sixth of the Spartan army, typically composed of hoplites.


cohabitation

cohabitation (countable and uncountable, plural cohabitations)

From Middle English cohabitacioun, from Old French cohabitacion and Late Latin cohabitātiō. By surface analysis, co- + habitation.

Commentators agreed that Mr Chirac's unusually aggressive remarks, followed by the equally fierce response of Mr Jospin's government, signalled the beginning of the end for the tense but so far civil "cohabitation" under which the two men have ruled France since 1997.

2001 July 18, Jon Henly, “French cohabitation hits rocky road”, in The Guardian:

She said: “I am respectful of institutions; I am not calling for institutional chaos. There will simply be a cohabitation.”

2024 June 16, Jennifer Rankin, quoting Marine Le Pen, “Macron calling snap elections could leave France in chaos, Sarkozy warns”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

(politics) Cooperation between politicians of opposing political parties; especially, in France, between a President and Prime Minister.

Kohabitation

(politics) cooperation between politicians of opposing political parties


contourné

From French contourné, from Latin con- (“altogether, completely”) and tornāre (“to make round”).

(heraldry, of beasts, etc) Facing sinister instead of dexter.


old school

en-adj

old school (comparative more old school, superlative most old school)

more old school (comparative)
most old school (superlative)
oldschool (alternative)
old-school (alternative)
Old School (alternative)
oldskool (alternative)
old skool (alternative)

→ German: oldschool

The noun is derived from old + school (“followers of a particular doctrine; particular doctrine or way of thinking”), probably a shortening of old school of thinking, old school of thought, or some similar phrase.
The adjective is derived from the attributive form of the noun.

compound

Local politicians assume various appellations, such as New School and Old School Democrats, Snyderites, Clintonians, and many others, mostly derived from the name or principles of some popular demagogue.

1816, “an Old Scene Painter” [pseudonym], The Emigrant’s Guide; or, A Picture of America: […], London: […] W[illiam] Clowes, […] for W[illiam] Simpkin and R[ichard] Marshall, […], →OCLC, footnote *, page 17:

[W]e both agree that you are defrauding some honest man of his just due. I recommend that you form an acquaintance, with a view to prospective results for life, with some well-settled, Old-School Presbyterian clergyman, and send me some of the cake.

1862 (date written), Ida Husted Harper, quoting Theodore Tilton, “Mob Experience—Civil War. 1861–1862.”, in The Life and Work of Susan B. Anthony […], volume I, Indianapolis, Ind.; Kansas City, Mo.: The Bowen-Merrill Company, published 1899, →OCLC, page 218:

(US, Christianity, politics) Chiefly in the form Old School: having conservative or traditional views on Christianity or politics.


triangulate

en-verb

triangulate (third-person singular simple present triangulates, present participle triangulating, simple past and past participle triangulated)

triangulates (present singular third-person)
triangulating (participle present)
triangulated (participle past)
triangulated (past)

/tɹaɪˈæŋɡjəleɪt/

Cruz, meanwhile, could wind up in the hot seat as he tries to triangulate between his disagreement with Trump’s position and his clear unwillingness to openly attack.

2015 December 14, Alexis Levinson, “Four Storylines to Watch at the Las Vegas GOP Debate”, in National Review:

By attempting to triangulate, Labour convinced leavers it was for remain and remainers that it was for leave. The party looked cynical and opportunistic, […]

2019 December 16, Tom Kibasi, “How Labour went from near-breakthrough in 2017 to disaster in 2019”, in The Guardian:

Triangulating after a midterm loss is a tried-and-true tactic for improving an administration’s position, yet it’s a tactic that the Biden Democrats largely eschewed: There was no Clintonian push for a sweeping legislative deal on deficit reduction, no serious outreach on social issues, no reconsideration of the aggressive efforts to regulate gas-powered cars or forgive student loans, and only a too-little-too-late effort to restore order to the southern border.

2024 November 8, Ross Douthat, “How Democrats Helped Trump”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC:

play both sides against the middle
play both sides against the middle

(politics) To pit two others against each other in order to achieve a desired outcome or to gain an advantage; to "play both sides against the middle".


triangulation

en-noun

triangulation (countable and uncountable, plural triangulations)

/tɹʌɪaŋɡjʊˈleɪʃn̩/

/ˌtɹaɪˌæŋɡjəˈleɪʃən/

From Medieval Latin triangulātiōnem (“triangulation”), from triangulāre (“to triangulate”) + -tiōnem (suffix forming nouns relating to some actions or the results of actions). Triangulāre is derived from triangulāris (“triangular”), from triangulus (“triangular; triangle”), from trēs (“three”) + angulus (“angle; corner”). The English word is analysable as triangulate + -ion, and is cognate with French triangulation.

refn

An engraving from a 16th-century treatise by Levinus Hulsius (1546–1606).

der

Triangulation was a presidential leadership strategy that presented the president as having borrowed elements of both the right and the left to develop some form of center policy amalgam.

2004, Stanley A[llen] Renshon, “The Politics of Transformation”, in In His Father’s Shadow: The Transformations of George W. Bush, New York, N.Y.: Palgrave Macmillan, →ISBN; paperback edition, New York, N.Y., Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan, November 2005, →ISBN, section V (A Transforming President in Perspective), page 197:

Increased security for women's health clinics was part of [Bill] Clinton's "third way," a politics of triangulation that moved the Democratic Party closer to the right and embraced neoliberal economic policies while offering comparatively moderate social positions.

2015, Tamar W. Carroll, “It Saved My Life: Creating Queer Politics”, in Mobilizing New York: AIDS, Antipoverty, and Feminist Activism, Chapel Hill, N.C.: University of North Carolina Press, →ISBN, page 181:

(uncountable, politics) The practice of repositioning one's group or oneself on the political spectrum in an attempt to capture the centre.


escadrille

Borrowed from French escadrille, from Middle French, from Spanish escuadrilla, from Latin exquadrare (“to square off”).

(historical, military) A unit of (usually) ten or more aircraft in World War I France.


SOC

en-noun

SOC (countable and uncountable, plural SOCs)

special operations command
w:Special Operations Command

(military) Initialism of special operations command.


SOC

(Singapore, military) Initialism of standard obstacle course.


defilade

en-verb

defilade (third-person singular simple present defilades, present participle defilading, simple past and past participle defiladed)

defilades (present singular third-person)
defilading (participle present)
defiladed (participle past)
defiladed (past)

(transitive, military) To fortify (something) as a protection from enfilading fire.


aerial ladder

(firefighting) A mechanically-extendable ladder mounted to a fire engine.


FDR

F.D.R. (alternative)
F. D. R. (alternative)

Though FDR had a different message in mind, he unknowingly hit on something else: Phobias run the gamut of life and include everything from spiders to outer space.

2004 July 26, Heather Hatfield, “The Fear Factor: Phobias”, in WebMD:

Over the course of his [Eisenhower's] two terms in office, his administration's expenditures on public works actually exceeded those of FDR and Truman.

2022, Gary Gerstle, chapter 1, in The Rise and Fall of the Neoliberal Order […] , New York: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, Part I. The New Deal Order, 1930–1980:

Franklin Delano Roosevelt
w:Franklin D. Roosevelt

(US politics) Initialism of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32ⁿᵈ US president.


FDR

en-noun

FDR (countable and uncountable, plural FDRs)

FDRs (plural)
F.D.R. (alternative)
F. D. R. (alternative)

(politics) Initialism of federal democratic republic.


PCI

(military) Initialism of precombat inspection.


anklelock

(wrestling) A hold in professional wrestling, a leglock applied to any of the joints in the ankle.


thunderbolt

(heraldry) A charge in the form of two joined bundles with four rays of lightning emerging from them, resembling the thunderbolt of Jupiter.


stadia

(firearms) Hash marks or other reticle etchings on a riflescope's lens which are used for stadiametric rangefinding; lines or curves for estimating the range of a target of known height, such as an enemy soldier or a game animal.

(military) (historically) A graduated brass triangle used to measure the distance of a target by comparison of the graduations with the heights of soldiers or horses.


environmentalism

environmentalism (countable and uncountable, plural environmentalisms)

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

The need for environmentalisms engaged with the commons rather than relegated to the individual consumer or tied to the middle-class principles of private property.

2018, Nicole Seymour, Bad Environmentalism, page 196:

(politics) A political and social ideology that seeks to prevent the environment from degradation by human activity.

環境保護主義 /环境保护主义

ideology seeking to prevent the degradation of environment


semper fi

(US military) Abbreviation of semper fidelis.


rocker

From Middle English rokker, rockere, rokkere, equivalent to rock + -er.

Cadet Sergeant First Class: 3 Chevrons and 2 rockers. Cadet Master Sergeant: 3 Chevrons and 3 rockers. Cadet First Sergeant: 3 Chevrons, 3 rockers with a diamond inset.

2000, Mark Collantes, The Academy, page 66:

(military) A curved line accompanying the chevrons that denote rank, qualifying the rank with a grade.


CAB

Combat Action Badge
w:Combat Action Badge

(military, US) Initialism of Combat Action Badge.


scarpe

[…] Argent, three bendlets engrailed sable; over all a scarpe gules - BLAGE, Kent.

1894, Henry Gough, James Parker, A Glossary of Terms Used in Heraldry, page 55:

Bonfiglioli : Bendy sinister of eight or and gules. Later on this is surmounted of a bend of France ancient, an augmentation, no doubt. Another representation gives : Or, three scarps gules, with the same bend of France ancient surmounting.

1901, Howel Wills, Florentine Heraldry: A Supplement to the Guide-books, page 130:

[…] in bend an arrow, its shaft debruised by two scarpes couped Or; […]

1992, Donald R. Mandich, Joseph Anthony Placek, Russian Heraldry and Nobility, Dramco Pub:

(heraldry) Alternative form of scrape (“diminutive bend”).


riposte

From French riposte, taken from Italian risposta, a derivative of the verb rispondere (“to respond”).

(fencing) A thrust given in return after parrying an attack.


riposte

en-verb

riposte (third-person singular simple present ripostes, present participle riposting, simple past and past participle riposted)

ripostes (present singular third-person)
riposting (participle present)
riposted (participle past)
riposted (past)
ripost (alternative)

(fencing) To attempt to hit an opponent after parrying an attack.

ripostera

fencing: to attempt to hit an opponent after parrying an attack


ripost

(fencing) A thrust given in return after parrying a lunge.


Old Bill

(British, slang, law enforcement) A police officer.


naval mine

The ship hit a naval mine and sank with all hands.

(military) An explosive device placed in the water and intended to destroy or deter vessels.


BCG

birth control glasses
birth control glasses#English

(US, military slang) Initialism of birth control glasses, US military or prison issued eyeglasses, often regarded as ugly.


ARA

(nautical, military) the Argentine Navy (Armada de la República Argentina)


ARA

(nautical, military, initialism) ship's prefix for warships of the Argentinian navy.


second-rate

(UK, military, nautical, historical) Of a Royal Navy ship of the line in the Napoleonic Era: having 80–98 guns across three gun decks, a complement of 700–750, and weighing approximately 2,200 tons burthen.


second-rate

second-rates (plural)
second rate (alternative)

(UK, military, nautical, historical) A second-rate ship of the line.


BD

en-noun

BD (countable and uncountable, plural BDs)


CBD

CBD (countable and uncountable, plural CBDs or CBD's)

chemical and biological defence
chemical and biological defence#English

(military) Initialism of chemical and biological defence.


arquebusier

From Middle French hacquebousier, arquebusier, corresponding to arquebus + -ier.

This included the head-piece and gorgett, the back and breast, with skirts of iron called tasses or tassets covering the thighs, as may be seen in the figures, representing the exercise of the pike, published anno 1622, by the title of the Military Art of Training; the same kind of armour was worn by the harquebusiers.

1786, Francis Grose, A Treatise on Ancient Armour and Weapons, page 21:

(military, now historical) A soldier armed with an arquebus.


harrow

From Middle English harwe, harow, from Old English *hearwa (perhaps ultimately cognate with harvest), or from Old Norse harfr/herfi; compare Danish harve (“harrow”), Dutch hark (“rake”). Akin to Latin carpere. According to the OED, the verb senses are partly derived from the noun sense, partly from a by-form of the verb harry, itself from Old English hergian.

(military) An obstacle formed by turning an ordinary harrow upside down, the frame being buried.


hit and run

hit and run (countable and uncountable, plural hit and runs)

hit and runs (plural)
hit-and-run (alternative)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-hit and run.wav

It used it as a launching pad of its hit and run attacks against Yugoslavia with the full—though clandestine—support of the Bulgarian Ministry of War and Fascist Italy.

2002, Samuel Vaknin, Terrorists and Freedom Fighters:

In the city centre far from the stadium, what the mayor, Femke Halsema, has described as violent “hit and run” attacks on Israeli supporters by groups of local people took place.

2024 November 16, Dave Rich, “The violence in Amsterdam showed just how polarising – and radicalising – the Middle East conflict has been”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

(military) The tactic of attacking one place and then quickly moving to another before defenders can react.


compo

compo (countable and uncountable, plural compos)

Sometimes supplies of food might be a little short in certain areas but attempts were made to ensure that all men had some rations, compo and fresh, available to them.

1992, Martin Walker, Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery 1991: Public Eating:

(military, slang, historical, attributive) Compo ration.

Abbreviation of composition.
Compo ration.


air support

(military) The act of using aircraft to attack an enemy to assist ground military forces.


bipartisan

a bipartisan bill

The derision for this bipartisan bill is—sigh—bipartisan. Hugh Hewitt scoffs at the idea that employers will respond to a $1000 gimmick.

2010 February 11, Derek Thompson, “Bipartisan Jobs Bill Receives Bipartisan Boos”, in The Atlantic, retrieved 2023-02-17:

As a city with over two centuries of rail expertise and home to the country's largest train factory, this announcement received bipartisan support.

2023 May 31, Tammy Samuel, Fergus McLaverty, “The political picture: what lies ahead for Britain's railways?”, in RAIL, number 984, page 30:

(politics) Relating to, or supported by two groups, especially by two political parties.

kaksipuolueinen

relating to, or supported by two groups, especially by two political parties


tweener

Undoubtedly, his record versus welterweights (147 pounds) is better than against full-blown middleweights (160 pounds). Being a tweener, Graziano probably would have campaigned as a junior middleweight (154 pounds) if he fought today.

2023, Rod Honecker, Brick City Grudge Match: Tony Zale and Rocky Graziano Battle in Newark, 1948, Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, →ISBN, page 146:

(informal) A person or thing that is between two categories, classes or age groups.

(boxing) A boxer in various newcomer weight classes whose names often contain super, light or junior.

There are old-school wrestlers, submission wrestlers, hardcore wrestlers, hillbilly wrestlers, masked Mexican lucha libre wrestlers, shoot wrestlers, and wrestlers who just talk a lot and never actually wrestle. There are babyfaces (good guys), heels (bad guys), ’tweeners, and crossovers.

2006, Thomas Hackett, Slaphappy: Pride, Prejudice, and Professional Wrestling, New York, NY: HarperCollins, →ISBN, page 21:

When Crockett hit TBS, [Ric] Flair was a babyface within its territory, but a heel in the areas he visited as champion, so it compromised, and on TBS, he became a “tweener” who took on all comers.

2015 May, David Bixenspan, “The Real World Champion”, in Fighting Spirit Magazine, number 118, Bournemouth: Uncooked Media Ltd, →ISSN, page 53:

professional wrestler
professional wrestler

(professional wrestling, slang) A professional wrestler who is neutral or morally ambiguous; neither a face nor a heel, or showing no favoritism to either allegiance.


braced

three chevronels braced in base

(heraldry, of multiple figures of the same form) Interlaced.


cauliflower ear

cauliflower ear (plural cauliflower ears)

A huge man with a notable cauliflower ear was peering into the car, a scowl of suspicion upon his face.

1928 February 25 – March 3, Arthur Conan Doyle, “When the World Screamed”, in The Professor Challenger Stories […], London: John Murray, […], published [1952], →OCLC, page 560:

Having gone in a lot for boxing from his earliest years, he had the cauliflower ear of which I had spoken to Aunt Dahlia and in addition to this a nose which some hidden hand had knocked slightly out of the straight.

1960, P[elham] G[renville] Wodehouse, chapter III, in Jeeves in the Offing, London: Herbert Jenkins, →OCLC:

(boxing, wrestling, sports, pathology) An ear swollen and deformed by repeated blows, common among boxers and rugby players.


rendezvous

rendezvous (plural rendezvous or (rare) rendezvouses)

rendezvous (plural)
rendezvouses (plural rare)
randezvous (alternative archaic)
rendez-vous (alternative)

→ Welsh: rondefŵ

→ Welsh: randibŵ

/ˈɹɒndɪˌvuː/

/ˈɹɒndeɪ̯ˌvuː/

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

Borrowed from French rendez-vous (“appointment”), noun derived from second person plural imperative of se rendre (“to go to”), literally, “[you (imperative)] go to, get yourself to [a place]”.

m-g

􂀿you (imperative)􂁀 go to, get yourself to 􂀿a place􂁀

lit

The king appointed his whole army to be drawn together to a rendezvous at Marlborough.

1702–1704, Edward [Hyde, 1st] Earl of Clarendon, “(please specify |book=I to XVI)”, in The History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in England, Begun in the Year 1641. […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: Printed at the [Sheldonian] Theater, published 1707, →OCLC:

(military) The appointed place for troops, or for the ships of a fleet, to assemble; also, a place for enlistment.


popinjay

/ˈpɑpənˌd͡ʒeɪ/

From Middle English popinjay, popyngeay, popingay, popejay, from Anglo-Norman papegai, papejoie et al., (northern) Old French papejai (“parrot”), probably from Old Occitan papagay (compare Occitan papagai, Catalan papagai), ultimately from Arabic بَبْغَاء (babḡāʔ, “parrot”), of imitative origin.

(archery) A target to shoot at, typically stuffed with feathers or plumage.


floterial

(US, politics) Of an electoral district composed of two or more towns or precincts due to an inability of either town to produce a sufficient constituency for its own representation.


floterial

(US, politics) An electoral district of this kind.


brushfire

brushfires (plural)
brush fire (alternative)
brush-fire (alternative)

It may be a brushfire operation or an operation on the scale of the Korean war; it will certainly not involve the home territories of the United States and Soviet Russia as theaters of hostilities.

1958, United States. Congress. House. Committee on Ways and Means. Subcommittee on Foreign Trade Policy, Foreign Trade Policy: Hearings, Eighty-fifth Congress, page 651:

I grant you it may not be in the actual application of mechanical devices, but if you have the volume to have supremacy in a major war it is obvious you would have the volume to take care of a brushfire war.

1959, United States. Congress. House. Committee on Appropriations, Financial statements of field commanders, page 251:

If a brushfire conflict does threaten superpower interests, or the general peace, a superpower may intervene in an unusual way.

1963, Philip Van Slyck, Peace: the Control of National Power, page 14:

(politics, figurative, attributive) A war that arises suddenly and is limited in scope or area.


drip

en-verb

drip (third-person singular simple present drips, present participle dripping, simple past and past participle dripped)

drips (present singular third-person)
dripping (participle present)
dripped (participle past)
dripped (past)

From Middle English drippen, druppen, from Old English drypan, from Proto-Germanic *drupjaną (“to fall in drops, drip”), from Proto-Germanic *drupô (“drop”). Akin to West Frisian drippe (“to drip”),
Dutch druipen, druppelen (“to drip”), German Low German drüppen (“to drip”), German tropfen, tröpfeln (“to drip”), Norwegian Bokmål dryppe, Norwegian Nynorsk drypa (“to drip”).

inh

The Women's Royal Naval Service was integrated with the Royal Navy in November 1993. […] Men interviewed by Public Eye (April, 1994) said they should 'stop dripping about it' and that women should learn to 'take it like a man […]

1995, Sue Innes, Making it work: women, change and challenge in the 1990s, page 21:

The government had been slowly running down the Royal Navy Organisation to save money on various peoples' budgets, so now we had to sub-contract ships to go to war! So stop dripping and "make it so", all those admirals can't be wrong!

2012, I. H. Milburn, Falklands War - Get STUFT:

(UK, naval slang, intransitive) To whine or complain consistently; to grumble.


bucket shop

bucket shops (plural)
bucketshop (alternative)

(heraldry) A company that sells coats of arms associated with the customer's surname, regardless of whether the customer can claim any relation to the original armiger.


retread

From re- + tread (“grooves carved into the face of a tire”, noun).

affix

In Our War the Retreads usually slinked in over-aged, over-weight and overcautious in the face of a new generation.

1950, Air Force Association, United States Army, Air Force Magazine:

They were retreads and recruits under a small cadre of Regular Army officers and noncoms.

1971, Brian Garfield, The thousand-mile war: World War II in Alaska and the Aleutians:

We retreads upset everybody.

1976, James Jones, Art Weithas, WW II: a chronicle of soldiering:

As with the 100th Division, many of the replacements joining the 103d were "retreads" from the technical services or antiaircraft and aviation troops...

2006, Keith E Bonn, When the Odds Were Even:

(military, slang) A person who re-entered military service in World War II after serving in World War I.


Dorothy Dixer

Dorothy Dixers (plural)
Dorothy Dix (alternative)
dorothy dixer (alternative)

Named after US advice columnist Dorothy Dix (1870–1951), who reputedly invented some of the more interesting readers’ questions she answered, + -er.

Betraying not a sign of the general mayhem he had just created, he answered a Dorothy Dixer about television violence.

2002, Don Watson, Recollections of a Bleeding Heart: A Portrait of Paul Keating PM, page 273:

On both sides of the chamber, Question Time became highly programmed. This led on the Government side to questions, almost without exception, being Dorothy Dixers of the worst kind.[…]The total domination of this sort of Dorothy Dixer under the Keating Government reduced the use of Question Time considerably.

2006, Julian Disney, J. R. Nethercote, The House on Capital Hill: Parliament, Politics, and Power in the National Capital, page 226:

The real and nasty political attack came later, in question time, when every Labor minister who stood in response to a Dorothy Dixer did so in order to aim a new kick at the cods of the Opposition leader, from a different direction.

2010, Annabel Crabb, Rise of the Ruddbot: Observations from the Gallery, page 244:

(Australian politics) A question asked of a minister by a member of their own party, to give the minister the opportunity to promote the government's work, criticise the opposition, etc.


roll call

roll calls (plural)
rollcall (alternative)
roll-call (alternative)

تَفَقُّدٌ

reading of a list of names and responses

The reading aloud of a list of names, and subsequent responses, in order to determine who is present or absent.

(politics) Such an event in a legislative body in order to determine if a quorum exists.


summons

→ Bengali: সমন (śomon)

→ Cebuano: sumon

→ Malay: saman

→ English: saman

→ English: summon

From Middle English somouns (“order or command to do something”), borrowed from Old French sumunce (modern French semonce), from Vulgar Latin *summonsa, a noun use of the feminine past participle of summoneō, summonēre (“to summon”).


dormant

From Middle English, from Old French, from Latin dormiēns, present participle of dormiō (“I sleep”).

dormaunt (alternative)
dormient (alternative)

a lion dormant

(heraldry) In a sleeping posture; distinguished from couchant.


reconnoiter

en-verb

reconnoiter (third-person singular simple present reconnoiters, present participle reconnoitering, simple past and past participle reconnoitered)

reconnoiters (present singular third-person)
reconnoitering (participle present)
reconnoitered (participle past)
reconnoitered (past)
reconnoitre (alternative)

/ˌɹɛkəˈnɔɪtə/

[ˌɹʷɛkəˈnɔɪ̯tʰə]

/ˌɹɛkəˈnɔɪtɚ/

[ˌɹˠɛkəˈnɔɪ̯ɾɚ]

From French reconnoître (obsolete spelling of reconnaître), from Latin recognoscere (“to recognize”). Contrarily, there is also an obsolete 19th-century British English spelling reconnaitre (now reconnoitre).

Our scout will reconnoiter the path ahead of our troops.

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

разузнавам

perform a reconnaissance — see also scout


garter

From Middle English garter, from Old Northern French gartier, from Old French garet (compare Old French jartier, from jaret), from Gaulish *garrā, from Proto-Celtic *garros (“calf, shank”) (compare Cornish gar, Cornish gar,Middle Welsh garr, Old Irish gairr). Cognate with French jarretière.


militant

From Middle French militant, from Latin mīlitāns, present participle of mīlitāre (“to serve as a soldier”).

(specifically, communism) someone who supports the Trotskyist political view expressed in the newspaper Militant.

троцкист

one who supports a Trotskyite political view


third party

third parties (plural)
3rd party (alternative)
3d party (alternative)

Those who belong to the Libertarian Party serve a much larger pro-liberty community and have the specific mission of electing libertarians to public office. They traditionally billed themselves as 'America's largest third party'.

2010, Duncan Watts, Dictionary of American Government and Politics, →ISBN, page 177:

(politics, chiefly US) A political party in opposition to the main parties in a two-party system.


third-rate

(UK, military, nautical, historical) Of a Royal Navy ship of the line in the Napoleonic Era: having 64–80 guns across two gun decks, a complement of 500–650, and weighing approximately 1,750 tons burthen.


third-rate

third-rates (plural)
third rate (alternative)

(UK, military, nautical, historical) A third-rate ship of the line.


thistle

From Middle English thistel, from Old English þistel, from Proto-West Germanic *þistil, from Proto-Germanic *þistilaz. *þīh- from *teyg-, which is a variant of Proto-Indo-European *(s)teyg- (“to prick”); from this same Proto-Indo-European root comes English stick.
Cognates include Scots thrissel, German Distel, Dutch distel, and Old Norse and Icelandic þistill.

der

(heraldry) An image of this plant used as a charge.

𐍅𐌹𐌲𐌰𐌳𐌴𐌹𐌽𐍉𐌼 f (wigadeinōm) (dative plural; lemma uncertain)


kisser

(archery) A button on a bowstring that indicates consistent height when drawing a bow, for example by being placed against the archer's mouth .


marker

en-noun

marker (countable and uncountable, plural markers)

marker interface → marker interface pattern

Someone or something used to mark a position or amount, particularly

(military) The soldier who forms the pilot of a wheeling column or marks the direction of an alignment.


emblem

From Old French embleme, from Latin emblema (“raised ornaments on vessels, tessellated work, mosaic”), from Ancient Greek ἔμβλημα (émblēma, “an insertion”), from ἐμβάλλειν (embállein, “to put in, to lay on”). Doublet of emblema.

der

Near-synonym: charge

(heraldry) A picture placed on the field of the escutcheon.


lodged

(heraldry) Lying down, with head raised; used of beasts of the chase (deer, etc), as couchant is used of beasts of prey (lions, etc).


civvy street

From civvy (“(informal) civilian”, adjective and noun) + street.

You might have been in Civvy Street / Instead of in the fight; / But it serves you right, / You shouldn't have joined [the navy], / It jolly well serves you right.

1943 November, Desmond Cox, Harold Elton Box, “It Serves You Right (You Shouldn’t Have Joined)”, in Bell-Bottom George (released 7 February 1944; soundtrack), performed by George Formby:

In civvy street he had been a bus cleaner.

2002, Sam Smith, Vera and Eddy’s War, Nibley, South Gloucestershire: BeWrite Books, →ISBN:

(chiefly British, military slang) The condition or status of a civilian; civilian life.


DTA

double tax agreement
double tax agreement#English

(taxation) Initialism of double tax agreement.


rear admiral

(military, nautical) A naval officer below the rank of vice admiral, originally in charge of a fleet's rear formation.


white horse

en-noun

white horse (countable and uncountable, plural white horses)

(Singapore, military) A soldier who is the child of a minister, high-ranking civil servant or officer, or comes from a highly influential family; these soldiers are sometimes subject to preferential treatment in camp.


top line

(military) A flag on the edge of a minefield.


staff officer

Holonym: general staff

(military) An officer who fulfills a non-combat support function, often in a headquarters or planning office.

參謀 /参谋

an officer who fulfills a non-combat support function


kesho-mawashi

Borrowed from Japanese 化粧廻し (“ornamental belt”).

(sumo) A decorative mawashi worn by a sekitori during the ring-entering ceremony.


yokozuna

From Japanese 横綱(よこづな) (yokozuna, “wide rope”), the symbol of their rank worn about the waist.

A yokozuna is the very highest rank in sumo – “just like Mameha's position in Gion,” as Nobu explained it to me. I had no reason to doubt him; but if Mameha ever took half as much time entering a party as these yokozuna took entering the ring, she'd certainly never be invited back.

1997, Arthur Golden, Memoirs of a Geisha, Vintage, page 202:

(sumo) The highest rank of sumo wrestler, above ozeki; grand champion.

What mattered most was that, from the very top of the Nihon Sumo Kyōkai, Yokozuna Akebono had been shown respect.

2006, Mark Panek, Gaijin Yokozuna: A Biography of Chad Rowan, page 265:

(sumo) A person holding the rank, either competing at the rank or retired after having achieved it.


ozeki

ozekis (plural)
ozeki (plural)
ōzeki (alternative)

Borrowed from Japanese 大関(おおぜき) (ōzeki).

Terunofuji is the first in 64 years to be promoted to ozeki after spending two tournaments as a komusubi or sekiwake and the first since the season went to six meets in 1958.

2015 May 27, “Terunofuji promoted to ozeki after victory”, in Japan Times, archived from the original on 2018-05-09:

Former ozeki Hokutenyu, who held sumo’s second-highest rank for 44 tournaments […] died of kidney cancer at a Tokyo hospital on Friday at the age of 45.

2006 June 25, “Former ozeki Hokutenyu dies at 45”, in Japan Times:

(sumo) A sumo wrestler ranking below yokozuna and above sekiwake; champion.


sekiwake

The highest rank attainable is yokozuna, or grand champion. […] After him in standing come the ozekis, or champions; the sekiwakes, or junior champions; […]

1965, Myra Waldo, “Japan”, in Travel Guide to the Orient and the Pacific, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Collier-Macmillan Limited, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 157:

Are there special standards for promotion to sekiwake or komusubi? No. The same standards apply as for promotion within the maegashira ranks.

2018, “Standards for Sumo ranking chart”, in Ozumo.com, archived from the original on 2018-04-17:

Sekiwake Tochinoshin (3-2) picked up a much-needed win against komusubi Chiyotairyu (1-4) after suffering his second loss the previous day.

2018 March 15, “Kakuryu makes most of second opportunity against Takarafuji”, in Japan Times, archived from the original on 2018-04-21:

(sumo) A sumo wrestler ranked below ozeki and above komusubi.


komusubi

[…] Kitani and Go were still only like the komusubi juniors in sumo program rankings. […] In fact, their first ten-game match was described merely as the battle of the komusubis.

2009, John Fairbairn, “Prelude to the Match”, in Kamakura, 2nd edition (2011), Richmond, Va.: Slate & Shell, →ISBN, page 25, column 2:

(sumo) A sumo wrestler of the lowest sanyaku rank, below sekiwake and above maegashira.


maegashira

maegashira (plural maegashira or maegashiras)

maegashira (plural)
maegashiras (plural)

Several weeks before each grand tournament, the list of wrestlers is announced. They are divided into two sides - east and west. For each side there are 13 maegashiras, the lowest rank in the tournament.

1988 January 19, Hirotaka Yamashiro, “From sumo wrestling to women’s basketball Japan’s dedication and discipline are hard to beat”, in Tim Currie, Margie Philp, editors, Queen’s Journal, volume 115, number 26, Kingston, Ont.: Alma Mater Society of Queen’s University Inc., →OCLC, page 18, column 3:

“It wasn’t the kind of sumo I was aiming for, but it is a maegashira’s job to try and beat ozeki so in that sense I have got the job done,” said Okinoumi.

2016 March 17, “Okinoumi ends Kotoshogiku’s unbeaten start at Spring Basho”, in Japan Times, archived from the original on 2019-01-07:

(sumo) The highest salaried rank of sumo wrestler, below komusubi and above juryo; the lowest rank in the makuuchi division.


juryo

juryo (plural)
juryos (plural)
jūryō (alternative)

Borrowed from Japanese 十両(じゅうりょう) (jūryō, “ten ryō”), from Middle Chinese 十 (dʒip, “ten”) + 兩 (ljáng, “tael”).

ja-r

十両(じゅうりょう) (jūryō, “ten ryō”)

(sumo) The second highest division in sumo wrestling, below makuuchi and above makushita; rikishi at this point receive a salary.

Jesse won promotion into what is called the juryo division of sumo and to the title of “sekitori” on the basis of his showing at the New Year’s Sumo Tournament in Tokyo, where he compiled a respectable 5-2 showing, including wins over two former juryos.

1967 June, “Jesse Wins His Girdle”, in Black Belt, volume V, number 6, Los Angeles, Calif.: Black Belt, Inc., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 12:

The monthly pay for a yokozuna in the mid-1970s was only ¥373,000, while an ozeki received ¥294,700; a sekiwake or komusubi, ¥200,300; a maegashira, ¥137, 600; and a juryo, ¥114,500.

1979, P[atricia] L. Cuyler, “Wages”, in Sumo: From Rite to Sport, New York, N.Y.; Tokyo: John Weatherhill, Inc., →ISBN, “Sumo Today” section, chapter 5 (Wrestlers and Stables), page 157:

Yokozuna fight each other at the end of the tournament. Lower-division wrestlers fight a total of seven matches per tournament; juryo and makuuchi fight fifteen.

1997, Mina Hall, “Honbasho: Tournaments”, in The Big Book of Sumo: History, Practice, Ritual, Fight, Berkeley, Calif.: Stone Bridge Press, →ISBN, page 53:


makuuchi

Japanese 幕内 (maku-uchi まくうち, "inside the curtain"), from Middle Chinese 幕 (mak "curtain", "covering") + Japanese うち (uchi "inside").

(sumo) The highest division of sumo wrestling, above juryo, comprising the yokozuna, ozeki, sekiwake, komusubi and maegashira ranks.


sanyaku

Borrowed from Japanese 三役, literally "three ranks".

(sumo) Any of the three highest ranks of sumo wrestler: komusubi, sekiwake and ozeki, together with the honorary title of yokozuna.


makushita

(sumo) The third highest division of professional sumo wrestling, below juryo; the lowest division at which a salary is paid.


dohyo

dohyo (plural)
dohyos (plural)
dohyō (alternative)

Borrowed from Japanese 土(ど)俵(ひょう) (dohyō).

Sumo ’bots also tend to have very low ground clearance since they operate on dohyos, which have a very smooth rubberized running surface; […]

2000 June, Robert Nansel, “Amateur Robotics Notebook: Robot City, USA”, in Nuts & Volts, volume 21, number 6, Corona, Calif.: T & L Publications, Inc., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 53, column 1:

(sumo) The ring, made of compacted clay, in which a sumo wrestling match is held.


dohyo-iri

(sumo) a ring-entering ceremony performed by rikishi, in the juryo and higher divisions, upon entering the dohyo


rikishi

From Japanese 力士(りきし) (rikishi), from Middle Chinese 力士 (lik-dʐí), from Old Chinese 力士 (*k.rək m-s-rəʔ, “man of great strength”), from 力 (*rɯɡ, “strength”) + 士 (*zrɯʔ, “man; soldier”).


dohyo matsuri

(sumo) A Shinto ceremony in which the dohyo is purified and blessed prior to each basho.


basho

From Japanese 場所(ばしょ) (basho), short form of 本場所(ほんばしょ) (honbasho, “honbasho”).

Two basho later, I was at sekiwake, the third-highest rank in sumo.

1998, Matsumoto Toshimichi, editor, Japan Quarterly, volume 45, Asahi Shimbun Publishing Co., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 25:


honbasho

Although there are six two-week top-tier tournaments, or honbasho, every year, Kotoshogiku’s victory was the first for a Japanese wrestler in 10 years.

2016 January 27, Victor Mather, “Japanese End Drought in Sumo Wrestling, Their National Sport”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2016-01-27:

(sumo) Any of the six official sumo tournaments.


depot

depots (plural)
dépôt (alternative rare)

→ Malay: depoh

From French dépôt, from Old French depost, from Medieval Latin dēpositum, from Latin, participle of dēpōnō, dēpōnere. Doublet of deposit.

(military) A place where recruits are assembled before being sent to active units.

kutsuntapaikka

military: place where recruits are assembled

(military) A place for the storage, servicing, or upgrade of military hardware.

(military) The portion of a regiment that remains at home when the rest go on foreign service.


displayed

en-adj

displayed (comparative more displayed, superlative most displayed)

more displayed (comparative)
most displayed (superlative)


akeni

(sumo) A box used by sekitori to store their personal items.


sekitori

Sekitoris wrestle every one of the 15 days of a basho.

1977, Larry Winderbaum, “Sekitori”, in The Martial Arts Encyclopedia, Washington, D.C.: INSCAPE, →ISBN, page 143, column 1:

(sumo) A rikishi, of rank juryo and above, who draws a salary.


amasumo

From Japanese アマ相撲 (ama-sumō); ama is a shortening of English amateur.


ani-deshi

(sumo) The senior rikishi in a particular heya.


oyakata

For a foreigner like Jesse, becoming an oyakata to pave the way to open a heya had its obstacles.

1992, Philbert Ono, “A Visit to Azumazeki-beya (Part 1)”, in Eye-Ai, Tokyo: Riverfield, Inc., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 4:

(sumo) A retired rikishi who has reached a certain standing and either becomes a shisho or helps train in others' heya.


banzuke

(sumo) the document, published six times a year, before each basho, showing the official rankings of all rikishi


jungyo

Borrowed from Japanese 巡業 (じゅんぎょう, jungyō), from Middle Chinese 巡 (zwin, “to make rounds, tour”) + 業 (ngjæp, “work”).

ja-l/helper

巡業 (じゅんぎょう, jungyō)

ja-l

巡業 (じゅんぎょう, jungyō)

der

(sumo) A regional tour, undertaken between honbashos, during which the rikishi give exhibition matches.


jun-yusho

(sumo) The second-place position, behind yusho, at the end of a basho; often shared by more than one rikishi.


yusho

From Japanese 優勝 (“victory, championship”).

(sumo) The top-ranking position at the end of a basho; the championship.


bintsuke

(sumo) A wax, derived from soy, used in cosmetics, and to groom the topknot of a sekitori.


chankonabe

Borrowed from Japanese ちゃんこ鍋 (chankonabe).

(sumo) The staple diet of rikishi: a stew of meat, seafood and vegetables.


chikara gami

From Japanese 力紙 (chikara-gami, “strength paper”).

bor

(sumo) Sheets of paper used by rikishi to wipe their lips after the ritual cleansing with chikara mizu.


chikara mizu

From Japanese 力水 (chikara mizu, “strength water”).

(sumo) Water used by rikishi to ritually cleanse the mouth before a match.


daigappei

(sumo) a jungyo tour that features all the rikishi of jonidan rank or higher


jonidan

(sumo) The division of sumo wrestlers above jonokuchi and below sandanme, containing the highest number of rikishi.


jonokuchi

(sumo) A member of the lowest division of sumo wrestlers (below jonidan) to which new recruits are promoted after their first tournament.


sandanme

(sumo) the division of sumo wrestlers above jonidan and below makushita


danpatsushiki

Borrowed from Japanese 断髪式 (danpatsushiki).

(sumo) The ceremony in which the topknot of a retiring rikishi is cut off.


intai-zumo

From Japanese 引退相撲 (intai-zumō, literally “retirement sumo”).

(sumo) A one-day exhibition tournament to commemorate the retirement of a salaried rikishi.


degeiko

(sumo) A practice session between rikishi of competing heya.


deshi

Borrowed from Japanese 弟子 (deshi, “disciple, pupil”).

(sumo) a member of a heya ("stable"); trained by its shisho


eboshi

(sumo) the hat of black lacquer worn by the gyoji presiding over a sumo match