Cabbage Night
n.— «Ah, the joys of the annual ritual of mischief known throughout Vermont as Cabbage Night. It’s the night many home- and business-owners have come to dread as youths harness all their collective naughtiness into one evening of mayhem, albeit with eggs, toilet paper, shaving cream and tomatoes.» —“Homeowners, businesses brace for Cabbage Night” by Lauren Ober Burlington Free Press (Vermont) Oct. 31, 2007. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
What’s up with ketchup? The shifting history and spelling of the name of this condiment. For centuries, ketchup was a fishy sauce originating in Asia—the tomatoes came only later! Plus, a new book shows what’s lost when a language dies: when there...
Lisa from Tabernacle, New Jersey, grew up using the term cabbage night to refer to the night before Halloween when all manner of mischief takes place. The term itself goes back to the 1860s, while the custom of pranks on October 30 is older. The...