Since the early 19th century, to soft-soap someone is to flatter them or give them excessively deferential treatment. The idea is that soft soap is unctuous and if you pour soft soap down someone’s back or pour soft soap into someone’s ear, it’s...
Knoxvegas n.— «The city, the third largest in Tennessee behind Nashville and Memphis, is also referred to as Knoxpatch, Knoxvegas and for those prone to irony and finger pistols, K-town, baby.» —“36 Hours in Knoxville” by Allison Glock in...
code pink n.— «Key cards get authorized personnel access to where they need to be. All of the nursery staff have a little bear on their ID so you know they’re legitimate. As a last resort, there’s something called “Code Pink,” an alarm system at...
barmuda triangle n.— «Free Internet access has been made available locally at Macleod’s and Preservation Pub on Market Square and, most recently, the Downtown Grill and Brewery on Gay Street, installations locals refer to as the “barmuda triangle...
who laid the rail adv. phr.— «He was selling very cheap to Wm. Larew, the grocer, when the capture was made, and “lit out for who laid the rail,” but the marshal was a little too spry for him.» —“Chicken Thief Caught” Knoxville...
snood n.— «“(Look at) the red coloration on the male turkey’s head,” explains the biologist. “He has an appendage of skin that sticks out right between it’s eyes. When it’s mating, that enlarges and droops down over its bill, and that’s called a...