haji
n.— «There was little left in the bomb crater. The explosive had been placed inside a tiny roadside market—a “haji stand” in GI parlance—which was closed when the bomb went off.» —“Trolling for bombs” by John Koopman in Ramadi, Iraq San Francisco Chronicle (California) July 9, 2004. (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...
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...