blower door n.— «Before any work is done, an assessor is sent to each home to conduct a detailed examination using an infrared camera and what is known as a “blower door”—essentially an airtight door with an inset fan—to...
skylock n.— «After a cursory examination, the chief of the contractor’s crew, which had been repairing the building’s facade, said that a “skylock”—the brake on one of the scaffold’s twin motors—had apparently failed, leading to the one...
leverite n. (also leaverite) a worthless stone or rock, especially one mistaken as being valuable. Editorial Note: Paul Dickson writes in Family Words (1998, p. 79), “Heaverite, according to Raymond J. Nelson of Cody, Wyoming, is a rock that...
Tingle table n.— «Returns go to the Extracting Unit where a finer sort is made. As many as 300 clerks at “Tingle Tables” separate returns with checks from those without checks.…After being “Tingled,” returns...
expo n.— «Another problem is the over-reliance of some students on what is called expo- by which is meant possibility of having access to the examination scripts before the date of examination, which does not always happen.» —“SSCE...
unk-unk n.— «Many unknowns are evident at the beginning, and may be called “known unknowns.” These are identified early as potential problem areas and are therefore singled out for examination and resolution.…However...