headache ball n.— «Headache ball: The large, round, steel ball weighing 500 to 1,000 pounds that hangs from the end of a construction crane’s cable. It has a hook on the bottom and is used to keep the cable from rolling back up on itself...
reef (on something) v.— «When the fish hit, his mind went blank. I am urging him to “reef on it” to set the hook which he finally did and struggled the rod out of the holder.» —“Willamette River (Or.) Chinook...
right hook n.— «Transportation Alternatives’ Graham Beck was on the scene and he said the crash looked like a “classic right hook.” The drivers of these big tucks have a big blind-spot along the right side of their vehicle...
milkshake v.— «“Hook me up to a lie detector, I swear to God, no one in this barn or me milkshaked that 50-1 shot who ran last,” O’Neill said, referring to the term for an illegal mixture said to reduce fatigue in horses...
bitch hook n. a curved metal device used with a chain to hold or secure lumber or other things, or to brake a sled on descents. Also bitch link. Editorial Note: The unpublished manuscript for the Lexicon of Trade Jargon (circa 1938-39, now at the...
bitch hook n.— «When I get 15 to 20 people on the bob-sled, it really tends to push them downhill. I did hear about a chain you throw under the runners (with a bitch hook?).» —“Bob-sled brakes” by Ted Rural...

