bright work
n.— «Hill’s job on this piece of aviation history was a tricky procedure called “bright work,” shining the naked aluminum on the underside of Air Force One’s fuselage. “We polished it. Then we put a coat of wax on the top of the plane to protect it from the elements,” he said.» —“Auto detailer has chance to spruce up Air Force One” by Tony Baughman Aiken Standard (South Carolina) Oct. 22, 2007. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
A psychiatric home health worker is curious about the use of nuthouse to mean “a mental health facility.” This term goes back to the turn of the 20th century. The word nuts itself once had an extremely positive connotation, referring to...
Twice a day the River Thames recedes, revealing a muddy shoreline. Hobbyists known as mudlarks stroll the surface searching for objects that have found their way into the river over the centuries, everything from ancient Roman jewelry to modern...