bring up the old man
v. phr.— «Bring up the old man—request to a new worker in fun. He sometimes comes back up with the janitor. An “old man” is the “backstop for a mechanical drill.”» —“Jargon from International Union of Elevator Constructors, Local No. 1, 208 East 54th St.” by Hatch in New York City Lexicon of Trade Jargon , 1938-39. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
The word filibuster has a long and colorful history, going back to the days when pirates roamed the high seas. Today it refers to hijacking a piece of legislation. Plus, the language of yoga teachers: When doing a guided meditation, you may hear...
After our conversation about towns with extremely short names, many listeners wrote to tell us about Why, Arizona. Others pointed out that there are towns called Ely in Iowa, Minnesota, and Nevada. Other super-short appellations include Rye, New...