box office n. jocularly, the cockpit of an airplane piloted by a woman. Editorial Note: The joke quoted in the second 2002 citation is widespread and has been recycled by a number of people who have claimed it for their own or published it in joke books. Etymological Note: “Box office” mirrors “cockpit,” since “box” is slang for “vagina” and “cock” is slang for “penis,” although the “cock” in cockpit is etymologically related to “rooster.” (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...
Asthenosphere, a geologist’s term for the molten layer beneath the earth’s crust, sparks a journey that stretches all the way from ancient Greece to the author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Plus: What the heck is a dogberg? It’s when...