polar bear
n.— «“Whats a “Polar Bear”? My first guesses were a bear in a “plain white wrapper” (eg. white unmarked patrol car).”…“A solid white patrol car. As an example in CA the CHP has most of it’s units in the traditional black and white, but a few of their units are solid white except for the markings and insignia.”» —“Re: Slang question” by Roger Shoaf Usenet: misc.transport.trucking June 19, 2007. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
A listener who grew up in Newfoundland remembers her grandfather declaring the fog was thick as burgoo. Turns out burgoo was sailors’ slang for a gray, gelatinous oatmeal—exactly the right image for an impenetrable Newfoundland fog. The word appears...
Advice about college essays from the winner of a top prize for children’s literature: Kelly Barnhill encourages teens to write about experiences that are uniquely their own, from a point of view that is theirs and no one else’s. Plus, why do we say...