radix
n.— «In his letters home to his younger brother, he talks about “radix,” slang for the authorities or police, and about the “bull boy” guards “giving it large,” a reference to threats and the use of violence.» —“‘Coded Letters’ Reveal Briton’s Suffering In Guantanamo” in Cairo IslamOnline.net (Doha, Qatar) Aug. 8, 2004. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
In the 15th century, the word respair meant “to have hope again.” Although this word fell out of use, it’s among dozens collected in a new book of soothing vocabulary for troubled times. Plus, baseball slang: If a batter...
Penny in Savannah, Georgia, recalls that her father, a Navy veteran who served in the South Pacific, would say of someone who was clueless or didn’t know what he was talking about: That person doesn’t know if he’s punched, bored...