A retired Air Force officer says he’s never wondered until recently why the button that pilots push to drop bombs is called the pickle button, and to “pickle off” the bomb means to drop it. This is part of a complete episode.
A police officer says that the prosecutor edits out the word “that” from the reports he submits, as in, “The subject stated that he met the co-defendant at a party.” Is the word “that” necessary here? Martha and...
A listener from Clifton Park, New York, says her grandfather was a police officer who used the term jakey bum to refer to undesirable characters. This is part of a complete episode.
A former naval flight officer wonders how the term cockpit ever came to mean the part of the aircraft where pilots sit. This is part of a complete episode.
cow-pooling n.— «If you prefer to keep the image of meat—say, a juicy hamburger—safely separated from the image of an actual animal—say, a 1,200-lb. castrated bull—then cow-pooling is not for you. Jean Edwards is clearly not squeamish...
ghost n.— «The two are known as “ghosts,” in police parlance, or undercover officers whose job is to keep an eye on and provide back-up to a third undercover officer who is doing the buy-and-bust work.» —“Man Shot Dead by Police on...