sally-port
n.— «Directly facing the arena, a pair of massive sanitation trucks and an intricate blockade of barriers line the 33rd Street vehicle checkpoint. They are the type in use at embassies around the world. Their goal is two-fold: to protect the venue from charging vehicles intent on doing damage and to provide a secure holding location to search vehicles authorized for entry into the building. When asked to explain what the large, half-block-long vehicle checkpoint contraption was called, one of New York’s finest replied that he refers to it as a sally-port. “But don’t ask me who Sally is. I never met the person,” he laughed.» —“Security high as event begins” by Thomas Dimopoulos Saratogian (Saratoga, N.Y.) Aug. 31, 2004. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Imagine telling someone how to get to your home, but without using the name of your street, or any other street within ten miles. Could you do it? We take street names for granted, but these words are useful for far more, like applying for a job or...
