snowflake
n.— «For the first time in my life, I was the minority. The neighbors noticed, too. As I walked down the street, I would hear comments like, “Hey there, pretty snowflake (a term used to describe Caucasian women)” on a daily basis.» —“It’s a long journey from La Crosse to the Bronx” by Jeni Kimmet La Crosse Tribune (Wisconsin) Sept. 9, 2007. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Michelle in Williamsburg, Virginia, wonders about the origin of alley-oop!, which she says when hoisting her toddler. It’s from French allez, the imperative of aller meaning “to go” and houp or hop, an onomatopoeic utterance made...
Aubrey in Waco, Texas, says her mother used to warn the kids against contracting honkus of the bonkus, a fanciful name for a contagious disease. This colloquial term probably comes from the words bonk and konk, meaning “to hit” or...