Janice from Jericho, Vermont, remembers hearing jackpot used to mean trouble in the world of horse racing. That “trouble” sense has been part of the word from the beginning. In early poker, a player needed a pair of jacks to open the betting, so the...
A Zionsville, Indiana, man recalls that when his mother issued a warning to her kids, she would add for emphasis: “And that’s the word with the bark on it.” The bark in this case refers to rough-hewn wood that still has bark on...
Do you refer to complimentary tickets to an event as Annie Oakleys? Or deadwoods, perhaps? The term Annie Oakley supposedly comes from a punched ticket’s resemblance to bullet-riddled cards from the sharpshooter’s Wild West shows...
pinner fire n.— «The June 23 blaze consumed a mere five acres and burned for just more than an hour—a small-scale spark and burn that California Department of Forestry (CDF) officials often refer to as a “crackerjack” or “pinner” fire...
crackerjack fire n.— «The June 23 blaze consumed a mere five acres and burned for just more than an hour—a small-scale spark and burn that California Department of Forestry (CDF) officials often refer to as a “crackerjack” or “pinner”...
sheerblading n.— «Division of Forestry prefers a method called sheerblading: A bulldozer outfitted with a blade cuts down the trees, which are then pushed into windrows and burned.» —“Borough targets black spruce” by Diana...
