purple
adj.— «Behind his desk at U.S. Strategic Command, Rear Adm. Ralph Tindal keeps a purple military hat. On the front of the hat is a patch of Velcro, where the service emblem normally would be. Tindal has Navy and Air Force emblems, and he can attach one or both. In the past, purple was bad news to military people. It represented a blending of the four services and the loss of identity for each.» —“Navy, Air Force Set Aside Rivalry to Run StratCom” by Jeff Gauger Omaha World-Herald June 9, 1993. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
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...
John in Omaha, Nebraska, wonders about a phrase that encourages someone to attend an event or risk being left out or feeling uncool: be there or be square. Don’t fall for the fake etymology about people wearing boxes on their heads! Ditto for...