pail of steam
other.— «“Pail of Steam”—This is another joke direction to a greenhorn worker, to take a pail and go get it full of steam.» —“Trade Jargon—Carpet Industry” by Ellis H. Custer in Westchester and Yonkers, N.Y. Lexicon of Trade Jargon Mar. 23, 1938. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Eels, orts, and Wordle! Sweden awarded its most prestigious literary award to a book about…eels. The Book of Eels reveals the mysterious life cycle of this sea creature and its significance for famous figures from Aristotle to Sigmund Freud. Plus...
Need a slang term that can replace just about any noun? Try chumpie. If you’re from Philadelphia, you may already know this handy placeholder word. And there’s Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island, Manhattan, and … The Bronx — why do we add...