picker n.— «Among the regulars, the sense of community is very real. By late afternoon each day, the prospectors gather—beers in hand—to compare notes on the day’s haul. They pull out glass vials full of glittering dust and show off their “pickers...
dead man’s pedal n.— «Hardly noticeable, under his right foot, is a small pedal—resembling the clutch pedal on your automobile. “That’s called ’dead man’s pedal’,” Charlie explains. “The weight of my foot holds it down. If for any reason my foot...
whoop-de-do n.— «They will race about 100 yards before funneling into a tight turn, followed by five jumps, a water hazard, mud pit, several sand traps and dozens of “whoop-de-do” cross-grain ruts.» —“45,000 To Watch Motocross In Coliseum...
whoop-de-doo
n.— «It has a whoop-dee-doo…much to the delight of the city’s young bicycle riders.» —“City’s Bike Motocross Course a Hit” by Robert J. Allan Los Angeles Times Jan. 13, 1974. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
sky weed n.— «Happy Valley had two other pluses: the absence of a homeowners association, “which adds another layer of bureaucracy and red tape,” and a dearth of palm trees (“sky weeds,” as Schroeder calls them), which tend to give away a...
hero house n.— «Schroeder narrowed his search to the cul-de-sac on Green Mill Avenue, which offered a large “elbow curb,” as the industry calls it, allowing for wide-angle shots of the three “hero houses,” the term for residences that appear...
