bug
n.— «Rode five winners on a December 1981 afternoon at New York’s Aqueduct as an apprentice, something not even “The Kid,”” Steve Cauthen—famous and fresh off his Triple Crown triumph aboard Affirmed three years earlier—had managed to accomplish as a “bug,”” the term for inexperienced riders because of the insect-like asterisk next to their names on track programs.» —“Nearly 20 years later, jockey rides again” by Clark Spencer Olympian (Olympia, Washington) Sept. 1, 2007. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Ever wonder what medieval England looked and sounded like? In Old English, the word hord meant “treasure” and your wordhord was the treasure of words locked up inside you. A delightful new book uses the language of that period to create...
Sure, there’s winter, spring, summer, and fall. But the seasons in between have even more poetic names. In Alaska, greenup describes a sudden, dramatic burst of green after a long, dark winter. And there are many, many terms for a cold snap...