This week’s Slang This! contestant tries to guess the meaning of the terms beano (no, not the anti-gas treatment) and macing (no, not the stinging defensive spray). This is part of a complete episode.
Bop-lop-a-boom-bop lop-bam-boom. It's another issue of the A Way with Words newsletter! This past weekend we aired an episode in which a caller told us that she finds the word "moist" repugnant. She's not...
toke n.— «While raking in some of my misplaced chips, a craps dealer explained to me that on good nights a personable dealer can make $500 in tips, or “tokes,” as he called them.» —“What Happened in Vegas Stayed in Vegas His...
SO n.— «These men live in this house because, for better or for worse, they have been cast out by society. The nature of their crimes guarantees that they will be identified as sex offenders—or, as they sometimes call themselves, “S.O...
pull an avenue address over v. phr.— «“Pulling an avenue address over” is the topographical parlance for denying that your building’s real entrance is on, say, East Seventy-sixth Street.» —“On The Avenue” by Ben...
A and A n.— «The other two A and As—U.S. Army slang for Afghan army soldiers—hit the deck directly in front of the Humvee and quickly bring their rifles up to the prone position.» —“Next Stop Kandahar” by Mark...