cross-decking
n.— «Cooperation was evident at sea during the excercise both in simulated air strikes and anti-submarine warfare. The Kennedy and Ark Royal participated as a team with their planes “cross-decking”—landing and refueling on each other’s flight decks.» —“NATO War Games End in ‘Victory,’ But Norway Defense Problem Stays” by Drew Middleton New York Times Sept. 23, 1972. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Sigrin writes from Albany, New York, that she misheard our earlier conversation about the expression shaving yak hair meaning “performing a monotonous, tedious task.” At first she thought we said shaving gnat hair, which she figures is...
A flashlight doesn’t flash. It provides a steady beam of light. So why is it called a flashlight? The earliest versions lit up only briefly before the batteries gave out and required a recharge, so they were literally “flash lights...