ricket
n.— Note: The Oxford English Dictionary has one cite for this word from 1958, defining it as criminals’ slang meaning “a blunder, mistake.” «Hearn is still involved in snooker, supplying Sky with the premier league tournament. However, he made a ricket, in Dagenham parlance, with the sport. “I make a lot of mistakes,” he says, “and usually I keep them quiet. I got a bit complacent with snooker and I gave it back to the governing body.”» —“Bowls? It’s just Hearn’s cup of tea” by Hugh MacDonald The Herald (Glasgow, Scotland) Feb. 27, 2008. (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...
Asthenosphere, a geologist’s term for the molten layer beneath the earth’s crust, sparks a journey that stretches all the way from ancient Greece to the author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Plus: What the heck is a dogberg? It’s when...