deadman
n.— Note: This term is covered in many mainstream dictionaries. «The church purchased an old school building, and member Gordon Ethridge moved it to the site on logs—with a little help from a “deadman,” Gatliff said. Another log, commonly called a deadman, was buried out ahead of the building and used as an anchor during the moving process. “They would pull it down to the deadman, then they would rebury it,” Gatliff explained.» —“Elam Baptist marks two centuries with book, celebration” by Rodney Manley Telegraph (Macon, Georgia) Aug. 2, 2008. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
A resident of Michigan’s scenic Beaver Island shares the term, boodling, which the locals use to denote the social activity of leisurely wandering the island, often with cold fermented beverages. There have been various proposed etymologies...
Patrick in New York City is curious about the term ride or die, which describes a friend, fan, or romantic partner who is devoted to the end. The expression shows up in the mid-1990s in hip hop and the work of Tupac Shakur and The Lox, and often...