gombo
n.— «In accepting bribes and payoffs, journalists themselves perpetuate corruption, and they have a term for it: gombo. The word is French for okra, a slippery plant substance that sticks to your fingers.» —“Cameroonian Journal: Greasing Wheels and Palms” by Marilyn Greene International Journalists’ Network Apr. 3, 2006. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Rich in Jackson, Wyoming, is searching for a word for using natural objects such as a rocks, driftwood, or antlers, as decoration. He considered the German Natur, “nature,” and Kunst, “art,” but it didn’t quite fit...
Emily in Halifax, Nova Scotia, is married to a native Dutch speaker, who points out that they buy groceries in a store, so why doesn’t grocery denote just one of those items and not the store where they’re sold? Originally, the French...