puffer
n.— «Police Chief Gerry Whitman said officers also will be on the lookout for “puffers”—unattended cars puffing exhaust while warming up. The cars often are stolen for joy rides or wind up being used in crimes. Anyone who leaves a car running unattended faces a traffic citation and a fine. Ironically, on the same day Denver police issued the puffer warning to motorists, an unmarked police car was stolen while warming up.» —“Commuters contend with storm’s icy aftermath” by Sean Kelly, Ann Schrader Denver Post (Colo.) Nov. 30, 2004. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Martha recently found a 1938 letter that her grandfather sent to the local police chief in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. It concerns a suspected thief who her grandfather thought might be persuaded to confess because, he wrote,, the young man surely...
If you take up texting and social media late in life, there’s a lot to learn! A twenty-something wants advice getting her dad up to speed on memes, Instagram, and animated images. Plus, when you’re on a long road trip, what do you call...