bugaboo word
n.— «I hope he will be defeated so badly that the bugaboo word Imperialism will never be heard again.» —“What Republicanism Has Done in Wyoming” by Francis R. Warren Fort Wayne News (Indiana) Oct. 12, 1900. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Terry from Franklin, Indiana, recalls a moment of confusion when she was working on a horse farm in south-central Pennsylvania. She asked a co-worker, “Are we going to let the stallions out today?” The co-worker responded, “No...
In 1968, students at Cheyenne High School in Cheyenne, Wyoming, compiled a collection of their own slang, including the word Clyde, used to refer to one’s head, as in Use your Clyde! This is part of a complete episode.
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