bullet catcher
n.— «We don’t like to use the term “bodyguard.”…t’s an antiquated term and you have a picture of a muscle-bound guy in an ill-fitting suit who is sort of lumbering in the background. We have a term for those types: We call them “bullet catchers.” They’re just there to look intimidating. We’re trying to dispel that myth. Our guys blend in.» —“Standing guard for rich and famous” by Billy Baker Boston Globe (Massachusetts) Feb. 25, 2007. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
In this bonus A Way with Words minicast, Martha and Grant step into the historic streets of Marblehead, Massachusetts, where the simple cry of “Down bucket!” could serve as a kind of local password. After they ponder that and other...
Since the 13th century, the adjective wicked has meant “bad” or “evil.” So why do people in New England use wicked as an intensifying adverb to mean “very” or “extremely”? This is part of a complete...