Slocum
n.— «Sea gliders were conceived in the 1980s by Douglas Webb, a former researcher at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Only in recent years, though, have they become fully operational and more capable. Some are called “Slocums,” after Joshua Slocum, who in 1898 was the first person to sail single-handedly around the world.…It is a Slocum that has been modified to harvest the energy that it needs to operate its buoyancy-propulsion system from the sea itself. In theory, this sea glider could travel for thousands of kilometres on voyages that could last for years.» —“Run silent, run green” Economist (United Kingdom) Feb. 28, 2008. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
A listener adds to our collection of slang used by RV enthusiasts. When she’s not in her sticks and bricks–that is, her brick-and-mortar home in Michigan–she’s driving around in her motor home chasing 70, which in the RV community means “trying to...
A Navy veteran recalls hearing the Southern expression fat lighter from his wife’s family in Troy, Alabama. It denotes an old, resin-rich pine wood that becomes highly flammable as it ages. Fat lighter is prized as kindling and often called fat...