bedder
n.— «More on Bedder 6, the unlikely name given to Jeremy Clarkson and his Top Gear executive producer Andy Wilman’s production company. Monkey’s mind may be even more puerile than Clarkson’s. Last week we speculated it might be a lame play on words—Bedder 6, better sex, that sort of thing—but now it appears it might be a reference to their alma mater, Repton School in Derbyshire, where the slang for dormitory was “bedder.” See? “Both were borders at the Priory boarding house,” reports former staffer James McLaren.» —“Media Monkey’s Diary” Guardian (United Kingdom) Aug. 18, 2008. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
A listener who grew up in Newfoundland remembers her grandfather declaring the fog was thick as burgoo. Turns out burgoo was sailors’ slang for a gray, gelatinous oatmeal—exactly the right image for an impenetrable Newfoundland fog. The word appears...
Advice about college essays from the winner of a top prize for children’s literature: Kelly Barnhill encourages teens to write about experiences that are uniquely their own, from a point of view that is theirs and no one else’s. Plus, why do we say...