MacGyver bomb
n.— «What officers found were several detonated MacGyver bombs inside the trash bin along with one that was unexploded. Police called a bomb squad member to the scene who disabled the device without incident.…What authorities these days refer to as a MacGyver bomb is usually a mixture of common household chemicals sealed inside a bottle. The chemicals react and eventually explode, and the shards of the plastic or glass bottle become dangerous shrapnel. The bottles have no fuse, so the timing of the explosion is unpredictable.» —“Bomb squad dismantles ‘MacGyver bomb’” Press-Citizen (Iowa City, Iowa) Mar. 14, 2006. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Debbie from Keokuk, Iowa, shares a funny story about her family’s tradition of speed-cleaning the house if guests were coming over. Her mother would declare, “Quick, guys! Whited sepulchre approach!” Her use of the term whited...
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...