green air
n.— «It’s a surreal view of the world, flying with night-vision goggles, and some pilots and crewmen refer to it as taking off into “the green air.” In fact, Cantu and his fellow B Company, “Hill Climbers” see more green air than they do daylight.» —“Chinook pilots, crewmen spend their nights flying in ‘the green air’” by Monte Morin Stars and Stripes Nov. 25, 2006. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Onomastics is the study of the origin and history of proper names. Many family names, such as Smith and Cook derive from occupations. That poses a conundrum for Marina Abbott from Sonoma, California: If abbots traditionally took a vow of celibacy...
Caroline calls from Clinch Mountain, Tennessee, to ask about two puzzling uses of the word fell, and not as in the past tense of fall. In books by J.R.R. Tolkien, she’s seen fell used as an adjective meaning “dreadful” or “evil.” It’s the same fell...