deve n. a coerced payment; “protection” money. Editorial Note: Jocular reference to actual levies made by the government for growth and development. Etymological Note: development levy. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Joe from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, asks about pony, the term he and his fellow maritime academy students used to mean “a practice test” or “a copy of a previous test” to help them crib for an exam. Among 19th-century British students, the slang term...
You know the expression fly in the ointment: It’s that glaring typo on an impressive resume or that first scratch on a brand-new car—the one little flaw that spoils it all. This phrase goes all the way back to the biblical Book of Ecclesiastes! And...