mach diamond
n.— «Nerves jangling, he awaits the moment when Carpe Diem, his homemade 18-foot-long rocket, hurls itself heavenward with 737 pounds of thrust, shockwaves—or “mach diamonds”—surging from its supersonic exhaust.» —“A Cult of Backyard Rocketeers Keeps the Solid Fuel Burning” by Patricia Leigh Brown in Gerlach, Nevada New York Times Oct. 14, 2006. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Nancy Gabriel from Ithaca, New York, recalls her father’s no-nonsense responses to minor injuries when she was a child: After making sure she was really all right, he’d say, It’s far enough from your heart; it won’t kill you. Other times he...
A listener in Unadilla, New York, says her husband, whose family is French-Canadian, uses the phrase That burns my onions when something irritates him. There are several kitchen-related metaphors used to express anger, including that steams my...