skeempers

skeempers
 n.— «My father had a favorite term he used to describe anything that pinched or clasped. Consequently, the kitchen tongs and the snaps on my pajamas came to be called skeempers. The Oxford English Dictionary, Merriam Webster, spell-check and Google have never heard of it, but all of his children and grandchildren use it regularly: “Hand me the skeempers, honey. The hot dogs are done!’» —“In the realm of the coined” St. Paul Pioneer-Press (Minn.) Aug. 14, 2004. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)

Leave a comment

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

Further reading

By a Long Shot (episode #1572)

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...

Lasagna Hog (episode #1568)

Understanding the varieties of conversational styles can mean the difference between feeling you’re understood and being insulted. “High-involvement” speakers interrupt or talk along with someone else to signal their enthusiasm...