monkey board
n.— «The eager, quick-eyed, ragged-headed sprite, who, with the agility of a monkey or a London sparrow, skips about stand-still omnibuses, this side, that side, and hopping on and off the step behind, ever in danger of a kick from the conductor on his monkey board.» —“The London Street Boys” by James Greenwood New York Times Jan. 29, 1871. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
The word filibuster has a long and colorful history, going back to the days when pirates roamed the high seas. Today it refers to hijacking a piece of legislation. Plus, the language of yoga teachers: When doing a guided meditation, you may hear...
After our conversation about towns with extremely short names, many listeners wrote to tell us about Why, Arizona. Others pointed out that there are towns called Ely in Iowa, Minnesota, and Nevada. Other super-short appellations include Rye, New...