bitch hook n. a curved metal device used with a chain to hold or secure lumber or other things, or to brake a sled on descents. Also bitch link. Editorial Note: The unpublished manuscript for the Lexicon of Trade Jargon (circa 1938-39, now at the...
spokesweasel n. a spokesperson; a public relations agent. Editorial Note: Weasel, meaning “a treacherous person; a sneak,” dates to at least as early as 1833. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, to weasel, meaning “to...
fladry n.pl. a string of flags used to contain or exclude wild animals. Also attributively: fladry line, fladry barrier. Editorial Note: In English fladry tends to be used in the plural only, meaning you can have “some fladry,” very...
Granny Smith n.— «When funeral director Roger Barker missed his appointment at a crematorium to collect a client’s remains, he dipped into an urn of “spare ashes” kept in the funeral parlour for just such emergencies. But the...
huck v. to throw, to toss, to short-arm; in disc-based sports, to throw for distance; in cycling, kayaking, snowboarding, and similar sports, to ride over a drop-off. Editorial Note: This term is probably related to chuck ‘to throw with a short arm...
hokey Dinah other. an exclamation of surprise or marvel. Etymological Note: Perhaps a form of the slightly more common holy Dinah, though the Oxford English Dictionary has an entry for hokey, hoaky, defined as “a petty oath, or asservation...