pack up
v. phr.— «Some dogs got free on their own and have started to “pack up,” in the military’s terminology. The dog packs look cute at first, spaniels and poodles and dobermans all running together—until they rush at you.» —“Dogged rescuers” by Helen Kennedy New York Daily News Sept. 19, 2005. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
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...
A young caller from the Hudson Valley of New York wonders about his grandmother’s use of stemwinder to praise a speech she thought was excellent. In the early 1800s, people used pocket watches that had to be wound with a tiny key. Once someone...