la migra
n.— «Alerts, often false, about “la migra” checkpoints (Spanish slang for immigration officials) have become as common as traffic reports on Spanish-language radio.» —“Border Patrol Makes In-Country Sweep” by Ben Fox, Michelle Morgante in Ontario, Calif. Kansas City Star (Mo.) June 18, 2004. (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...