snag n.— «A bolt of lighting had struck a 70-foot-tall snag—a standing dead tree—in the Tin Cup Creek drainage of the Kalmiopsis Wilderness early that morning, and was burning in what looked like knee-high brush.» —“For Firefighters...
snag n.— «The burn had consumed four acres when Holmes and a few other team members approached a tree known in forestry parlance as a “snag”—dead or dying timber that poses a threat of falling.» —“Firefighter Crushed to...
pump head n.— «Clinton stands a good chance of fully rebounding from the bypass surgery, in which doctors replace clogged arteries to the heart with veins and arteries taken from elsewhere in the body. But many people who undergo the...
Hollywood no n.— «Confused because the production executive hot in pursuit of your screenplay last week isn’t returning your calls this week? Well, meet the Hollywood “no.”» —“Proper Etiquette—What a High Concept...
shut in
n.— «No. 16 flowed 10,000 barrels, which went to waste, before it could be “shut in.”» —“In The Oil Fields” Los Angeles Times July 24, 1899. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
punch list n.— «Shipper faxes it to New York along with a “punch list”—a checklist of news stories and other topics to be talked about during the four-hour show.» —“Gag Man Tosses Schtick by Fax” by David...