grey-back
n.— «This wasn’t some callow youth adjusting to the exigencies of cruel Fate that saw a father die before his time and mother grappling, appropriately or inappropriately, with that loss; he was an adult—“grey-back,” in our Jamaican parlance—capable of, at this point of his development, understanding how the world worked, how women worked.» —“New year. Same dumb old stereotypes” by Sharon Leach Jamaica Observer (Kingston) Jan. 15, 2006. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
In the 15th century, the word respair meant “to have hope again.” Although this word fell out of use, it’s among dozens collected in a new book of soothing vocabulary for troubled times. Plus, baseball slang: If a batter...
In 1971, when a new public library opened in Troy, Michigan, famous authors and artists were invited to write letters to the city’s youngest readers, extolling the many benefits of libraries. One of the loveliest was from E.B. White, author of...