firsty
n.— «This is the semester for Branch Night, when firsties—West Point parlance for seniors—choose the area of the army they will join the day after graduation as commissioned officers.» —“Life at Army requires diligence” by John Whisler in West Point, New York Express-News (San Antonio, Texas) Sept. 14, 2006. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Asthenosphere, a geologist’s term for the molten layer beneath the earth’s crust, sparks a journey that stretches all the way from ancient Greece to the author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Plus: What the heck is a dogberg? It’s when...
A young caller from the Hudson Valley of New York wonders about his grandmother’s use of stemwinder to praise a speech she thought was excellent. In the early 1800s, people used pocket watches that had to be wound with a tiny key. Once someone...