scarlet letter

scarlet letter
 n.— «The court became the first in Ohio to immobilize the vehicles of repeat OMVI offenders. Adkins also began ordering repeat offenders to put yellow license tags on their automobiles as “scarlet letters,” he said.» —“Court of Appeal; Fun-Loving Yet Serious Circleville Judge Makes An Impression” by Jim Massie in Circleville, Ohio Columbus Dispatch (Ohio) Sept. 2, 1993. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)

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Further reading

Blessing Box (episode #1613)

Is there such a thing as a “neutral” accent, and if so what does it sound like? And that quirk in the way southern Californians talk about freeways. They’ll say things like take the 405 and get on the 8. Why the definite article...