donkey

donkey
 n.— «Contrary to myth, a helicopter doesn’t necessarily fall out of the sky when the engine, affectionately known among pilots as the “donkey,” stops. The machine can glide to a survivable landing (albeit a brick-like one), much as a sycamore seed rotates to the ground, but only if the pilot makes the right moves, and quickly.» —“Get your rotors running: learn to fly a helicopter” by Tony Newton Belfast Telegraph (Ireland) June 5, 2006. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Further reading

Primary Colors (episode #1590)

Centuries ago, monks who took a vow of silence developed their own hand signs, with hundreds of gestures, that are still in use today. Plus, how do speakers of different languages distinguish similar shades and tints of colors such as red, yellow...

East Overshoe (episode #1588)

Some people work hard to lose their accent in order to fit in. Others may be homesick for the voices they grew up with and try to reclaim them. How can you regain your old accent? Also, a compelling book about scientific taxonomy shows how humans...