slabbing n.— «Dry cleaning used to be a skill. It worked because it allowed you to suspend 30 per cent of water inside a solvent “jacket” using an emulsifier called a “soap.” This technique, called “slabbing down,” has now been banned on health and...
prawn sandwich brigade n.— «At 2:55 p.m., I was sitting in the directors’ box with what is known as the “Prawn sandwich brigade,” a derogatory term for the club’s VIPs. And as the tension grew in the stands, I felt a little silly sitting there in...
jacket n.—Gloss: Richard Allsopp’s Dictionary of Caribbean English Usage defines this as “the child of a married woman and a man who is not her hustband” or “any child whose paternity is denied.” Note: The term is used in Jamaica and Belize...
turtle back n.— «I have seen books labeled field guides that are too big or heavy to be comfortably carried on a hike. The guideline is that the book be less than 5 inches wide, 8 inches high and about 1 inch thick so it will fit in a jacket or...
merchy adj.— «The publisher—Farrar, Straus and Giroux—is selling it as a “brilliant gem” and a “work of unsurpassed originality,” in the words of the book jacket. But it feels a tad “merchy,” as they say in publishing. It would not look out of...
sleeper wave n.— «A massive wave—known to locals as a sleeper wave—crashed onto shore, taking Mikayla. Pettenger reached the girl first, grabbing her fleece pullover jacket. She lost her grip, but grabbed Mikayla again.» —“Waves claim two at...
