NOC
n.— «Barnes is a neophyte agent, an ex-doctoral candidate in Ottoman history, trained as a case officer under nonofficial cover, “known in the secret language of the club as NOC. As in: knock on wood.” Naive and idealistic, she was “afflicted with the disease, common and occasionally fatal among intelligence officers, of wanting to make the world better.”» —“Fictional Foreign Intrigue” by Alix Madrigal San Francisco Chronicle (California) Apr. 28, 1991. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Lisa from Paris, Kentucky, grew up eating a German Christmas cookie at a friend’s house in Miami, Florida. This deep-fried, bow-tie-shaped pastry was made with butter, lemon, and rum, and dusted with powdered sugar. The family called them...
A Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, listener has been pondering the saying It’s an ill wind that blows nobody good, and specifically whether she uses it correctly. The expression usually appears as It’s an ill wind that blows nobody any good...