protest room
n.— «Unfortunately, protests are an integral part of racing, and this scene is all too common, especially at Key West Race Week where 260 highly competitive boats push hard to win races. The sailing is usually aggressive; collisions, close encounters. Bruised feelings are an unfortunate byproduct, as are trips to the protest room.…It’s clear that avoiding the protest process is the preferred course of action. Nevertheless, sailors do end up in protests for legitimate reasons. To understand what goes on in the protest room at Key West I audited several of the 35 hearings.» —“It’s Never a Pretty Scene in the Protest Room” by Gary Jobson Sailing World July 25, 2007. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Quiz Guy John Chaneski was inspired by his college-age son’s remote classes, which he could hear but not quite make out through the wall. For this week’s puzzle, he offers a similarly garbled description of a college course. For example, which...
Mark in Bismarck, North Dakota, spent years as a sailor, and wonders about the term sea painter, meaning “a rope attached to a lifeboat.” Why painter? The word may derive from Middle French pendeur meaning “a kind of rope that hangs,” literally...