Chechen ambush
n.— «The insurgents had hoped to spring what is called a Chechen ambush. The strategy, Marines determined later, was to wound Marines attempting to enter the building. When other Marines came to help, an insurgent sniper down an alleyway was to pick off corpsmen, radio operators and officers. And when enough Marines or vehicles were gathered, the insurgents planned to fire rocket-propelled grenades.» —“In heat of battle, a hero emerges” by Tony Perry in Albuquerque, New Mexico SouthCoastToday.com (Massachusetts) Oct. 3, 2006. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
In the 15th century, the word respair meant “to have hope again.” Although this word fell out of use, it’s among dozens collected in a new book of soothing vocabulary for troubled times. Plus, baseball slang: If a batter...
The term skycap for workers who help with luggage at an airport was coined by analogy with redcap, a term for porters on trains who wore red caps. Skycap was the winning entry in a contest. Another contest, held in 1923, gave us the word scofflaw, a...