IRAB

IRAB
 n.— «While the canvassing board did its job on the challenges, the Supreme Court was being asked to rule on another grouping of ballots—what we lovingly call the IRABs, or improperly rejected absentee ballots. This is a pool of uncounted ballots, mostly mailed in by voters who couldn’t appear at the polls, that were mistakenly rejected by local election officials.» —“Wait a minute—who decides who counts?” TwinCities.com (St. Paul, Minnesota) Dec. 20, 2008. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Further reading

By a Long Shot (episode #1572)

Imagine telling someone how to get to your home, but without using the name of your street, or any other street within ten miles. Could you do it? We take street names for granted, but these words are useful for far more, like applying for a job or...

Saying Oh for Zero

Mary Beth in Greenville, South Carolina, wonders: Why do we say four-oh-nine for the number 409 instead of four-zero-nine or four-aught-nine? What are the rules for saying either zero or oh or aught or ought to indicate that arithmetical symbol...