river rash
n.— «“It’s like I told the U.P.S. man the other day, it’s the challenge,” said Mr. Ramsey, who has a tattoo of a catfish on one shoulder and whose forearms are cross-hatched with battle scars, known in noodling circles as “river rash.” “Anybody can throw a trout line in the river and hang a perch on it. But very few people are going get in the river, and wade around and look for a hole in the bank, stick your hand in there, and hope it’s a catfish.”» —“The Catfish Are Biting (and It Hurts)” by Malcolm Gay in Cowden, Illinois New York Times July 28, 2007. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
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Centuries ago, monks who took a vow of silence developed their own hand signs, with hundreds of gestures, that are still in use today. Plus, how do speakers of different languages distinguish similar shades and tints of colors such as red, yellow...