public service murder n.— «A Prince William County jury says Justin Michael Wolfe, the 20-year-old drug dealer who hired his high school buddy to assassinate his marijuana distributor, should die for his crime. The judge has not yet ruled...
plunking n.— «Another potential influence on the outcome may have been what’s known in election parlance as “plunking,” in which votes are not cast in a particular race. Though 20,941 voters went to the polls in Somerset County and...
break off v. phr.— «“I told them I just reached down and picked up some of the money sitting there on the floor of the van and said, ‘Break me off.’…What’s wrong with that? Wouldn’t you want to break off some of the money for...
pseunonymous adj.— «Known only by the false name of Mark Brown, he became a “pseunonymous” witness—a phrase coined at the start of the trial. The jury, barristers and the judge all heard his real voice from the witness stand...
bang v. in baseball, to call off a game because of inclement weather. Editorial Note: This verb is usually transitive: bang a game. Etymological Note: Perhaps from the notion of a judge banging a gavel, an act of finality comparable to a referee...
greenies n.pl.— «There’s an old joke in baseball that players hate rain delays even more than fans do because postponing the first-pitch time makes it hard for them to judge exactly when to take their “beans.” Also known as...