Home » Dictionary » scarlet letter

scarlet letter

scarlet letter
 n.— «Two senators unveiled a measure Thursday that would require drivers convicted of three drunken-driving offenses in a five-year period, or four within 10 years, to purchase license plates with a number code that police could use to identify them as convicted drunken drivers.…In Ohio, the plates are known as “scarlet letters.”» —“DWI plates would ID offenders” by Amanda Erickson in Albany, N.Y. Press & Sun-Bulletin (Binghamton, N.Y. ) June 17, 2005. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Further reading

Good Vibrations (episode #1556)

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...

Cabin Fever (episode #1547)

The adjectives canine and feline refer to dogs and cats. But how does English address other groups of animals? Plus, cabin fever has been around much longer than the current pandemic. That restless, antsy, stir-crazy feeling goes back to the days...

Recent posts