spinning reserve n.— «“Sunday morning has to be one of the lowest points in the week for electricity demand on O’ahu,” said Conklin, a retired engineer. “At this particular time, the system should have had plenty of what’s...
infartillery n.— «The Evans Group (a.k.a. “Infartillery”) consisted of and 11th Marines detachment and and detachments of the 3d 15mm Howitzer and 8th 155mm Gun battalions. Both groups were reinforced with engineer, amtrac...
plumber n.— «I was a flight engineer for two carriers while I waited for a flying position, and wore three stripes at both airlines. The slang aviation term “plumber” refers to a flight engineer.» —“Scrambled eggs on my...
alligator n.— «In the summer, there are lots of retreads.…We refer to them as alligators because they’re heavy and have steel in the treads so they can bite you.» —“Retired engineer now a highway angel” by Sarah...
coffin car n.— «The reason the Glendale tragedy was so severe is that train 100—like many commuter trains across the country—was being operated without a locomotive up front. The train was in what’s called “push/pull mode.” A...
talk out (the side of) one’s neck v. phr.— «Fuhrman is a creature who seems invented to indict the Juice and engineer his acquittal. He’s a two-headed-talking-out-the-side-of-his-neck beast of the apocalypse, who brought new formations of...