Sierra cement
n.— «The only vehicles allowed were gravel trucks and graders working to remove what is known as “Sierra cement,” the type of thick, clumpy snow that can play havoc with tire treads and drivers’ nerves.» —“Many Without Power Amid California Storm” by Jesse McKinley in San Francisco, California New York Times Jan. 6, 2008. (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...
Samantha Harvey’s novel Orbital is a sensuous, exhilarating meditation about the strangeness of life on a space station, with its mix of tedious tasks and jaw-dropping views. And: a musician who rode the rails in his youth shares the slang he...