booya
interj.— «Awaiting trial on grand theft charges, Thomas allegedly flashed a gang hand sign at the deputy and said, “It’s the last thing you’ll see in the back window of your car before you hear ‘booya, booya.’” “Booya” is gang slang for gunfire.» —“2 Charged Under New Terrorist Threat Law” by Howard Blume Los Angeles Times Jan. 6, 1989. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
A magnificent new book celebrates the richness and diversity of 450 years of written and spoken English in what is now the United States. It’s called The People’s Tongue, and it’s a sumptuous collection of essays, letters, poems...
A ballicater is a jagged wall of ice that forms on a frigid shore when pans of ice catch on rocks and slush freezes over them. A Canadian woman who grew up in Newfoundland says she’s warned never to go near one. Ballicater, spelled several ways...