rat
n.— «My face was quite round and my ears stuck out—and the beehive just accentuated that. I was, however, persuaded to wear it a few times for photoshoots and recall they used something called a “rat” to wrap the hair around. This was a piece of wire-wool the length of a hand and it kept everything in place.» —“Ooh beehive!” by Diana Appleyard, Stephanie Clarkson Daily Mail (United Kingdom) Oct. 4, 2006. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
A flashlight emits a steady beam of light. So what’s the flash part of that word about? Also, if you’re a nervous Nellie, you’re skittish and indecisive—both characteristics of an American politician who earned that nickname in the...
Sigrin writes from Albany, New York, that she misheard our earlier conversation about the expression shaving yak hair meaning “performing a monotonous, tedious task.” At first she thought we said shaving gnat hair, which she figures is...