dinner bell
v.— «Some fishermen call the explosive seal bombs “dinner bells” because after repeated use, the sea lions learn to associate them with food.» —“Frustrated fishermen shoot sea lions” by Meghan Gilliss Point Reyes Light (California) Oct. 23, 2006. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
To joner means to “bring bad luck to” or “jinx.” This term is a corruption of the name Jonah, the biblical figure who initially resisted a divine command. His presence on board a ship supposedly caused a great storm at sea...
The autocomplete function on your phone comes in handy, of course. But is it changing the way we write and how linguists study language? Also, suppose you could invite any two authors, living or dead, to dinner. Who’s on your guest list and...