limón verde
n. — «Border Patrol agents routinely monitor the main roads near her house on the outskirts of this sprawling city in south-central Texas, so Verónica and her friends and relatives have informal alert networks in place. “My husband just called to tell me he saw them right now on the street,” she said, clicking shut her cellphone, before leaving the house. Spanish-language radio also does its part; “limones verdes”—or green limes—“are sprouting” near the highway, an announcer warns over the radio, using shorthand for the agents’ green uniforms.» —“Fear and Hope in Immigrant’s Furtive Existence” by Lizette Alvarez in San Antonio, Texas New York Times Dec. 20, 2006. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
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Sean in Oneonta, New York, says that when he was growing up in New Jersey, his family would pile in the car and set off on a surprise adventure, whether a short distance or long, and the kids would be told only that they were going on Buxtehude...