pinkie
n.— «With ferrets, appropriate diet is a must. The ferret is a true obligate carnivore, “and we need to really start thinking in terms of high fat, high protein, no carbohydrates and no fiber,” Cottrell says. “Anything less than 6 percent carbs is good, while most dry foods are in the 30 percent category.”…Those with strong stomachs might consider “whole prey,” a euphemism for live mice and rats. “Start with pinkies,” Purcell advises, referring to juveniles, not fingers, “and work your way up.”» —“Animal House: Ferreting out the safest vaccine for little clowns” by Denise Flaim Newsday (Long Island, New York) Jan. 17, 2008. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Some college students are using the word loyalty as a synonym for monogamy. Are the meanings of these words now shifting? Plus, a biologist discovers a new species of bat, then names it after a poet he admires. Also, warm memories of how a childhood...
Chris in Omaha, Nebraska, asks about the use of the adjective husky to describe the boys’ clothing section in a department store. This coded term refers to clothes made for heavier fellows. Husky was originally a positive term connoting the...