bikes
n.pl.— «The grinding pedestal -known as the “bikes” (although some occasionally referred to it as something quite unprintable)—was manned by local West Indian Woody who looked as though he could grind non stop all day without breaking sweat.…The knowledge that a cardio-vascular surgeon and one of the world’s leading heart transplant anaesthetists were among our number certainly made those detailed to “the bikes’ feel a little less apprehensive.» —“In the Pink” by David Glenn Yachting World May 1, 2006. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
In the 15th century, the word respair meant “to have hope again.” Although this word fell out of use, it’s among dozens collected in a new book of soothing vocabulary for troubled times. Plus, baseball slang: If a batter...
One secret to writing well is … there is no secret! There’s no substitute for simply sitting down day after day to practice the craft and learn from your mistakes. Plus, childhood mixups around word definitions can lead to some funny stories...