haji
n.— «Patrols wearing NODs will watch our perimeter all night; they chamber cartridges as they move out. If nature calls, don’t go out far or you could be mistaken for a haji.» —“Dust and stars: An Iraq war journal” in Tallil Air Base, South-Central Iraq American Enterprise June 1, 2003. (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...