Home » Dictionary » putt-putt

putt-putt

putt-putt
 n.— «The Owen Sound lawyer shelved his legal briefs for a few days to navigate the Canadian Shield in a track motorcar—an odd and colourful contraption used by railroads to inspect lines and transport work crews until the machines were gradually phased out by the 1980s.…The cars are affectionately known as poppers and putt-putts for the sound of the older engines that have an ignition sparked by a hand crank, much like a Ford Model T. And they’re called speeders because, at about 50 kilometres per hour, the mechanized machines raced past the old hand cars they replaced.» —“Pleasure in a putt-putt; Tourists travel by rail on track motorcars” by Maria Calabrese Nugget (North Bay, Ontario, Canada) July 20, 2007. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Further reading

Love Bites (episode #1569)

The word filibuster has a long and colorful history, going back to the days when pirates roamed the high seas. Today it refers to hijacking a piece of legislation. Plus, the language of yoga teachers: When doing a guided meditation, you may hear...

Lasagna Hog (episode #1568)

Understanding the varieties of conversational styles can mean the difference between feeling you’re understood and being insulted. “High-involvement” speakers interrupt or talk along with someone else to signal their enthusiasm...