belay slave
n.— «The technical term for the climber who goes first is the “leader”; that’s the climber on the “sharp” end of the rope—the end you can hurt yourself on. The term for the climber who holds the rope and follows the route is “belay slave.”» —“A Match Made in Canada” by Michael J. Ybarra Wall Street Journal Nov. 12, 2008. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Melissa in Greensboro, North Carolina, has been sparring with the Gen Z members of her family over the shifting meanings of words. Her kids use aesthetic as an adjective to mean “aesthetically pleasing,” as in That’s so aesthetic. They also refer to...
A listener remembers her grandmother’s colorful comment when someone arrived late after getting lost: You went around your elbow to get to your thumb. Lots of similar sayings in English suggest roundabout routes or overcomplicated tasks, including...