chuggle
n.— «My ’01 Impala with the 3800 engine has 122,000 miles. For the last two months, it has began to surge rhythmically at about one-second intervals when accelerating from a stop sign or to maintain speed.…A sticky or partially clogged fuel injector could well be the cause for this hesitation, or “chuggle,” as it’s often called. With an rpm change of 300 or 400, it could also be the torque converter clutch locking and unlocking for some reason.» —“Clogged injector could cause rpm surge, but other suspects exist” by Paul Brand Star Tribune (Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota) Mar. 26, 2008. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Colin from Los Angeles, California, is pondering the expression make no bones about it, which suggests the speaker is talking or acting with no hesitation whatsoever. The saying is inspired by the idea of literally finding bones in one’s food, since...
Twelve-year-old Gagnon from Newport, Oregon, wonders: What’s the difference between a motor and an engine? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Motor v. Engine” Hello, you have A Way with Words. Hi, this is Ganyan, and I’m calling from...