reef
v.— «I failed to understand it a bit later, when I hooked the bottom of the lake. To me, reefing and reefing and reefing on my Very Expensive graphite rod was fairly serious business. To her, it was a good belly laugh. Especially when I reefed so hard that the rod snapped.» —“Trip’s Humor Lost With Reporter’s Cherished Rod” by Ron Judd Seattle Times (Washington) Oct. 28, 1993. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
The words cushy, cheeky, and non-starter all began as Britishisms, then hopped across the pond to the United States. A new book examines what happens when British words and phrases migrate into American English. Also, if you speak a language besides...
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...