Although some people assume that bumbershoot is a Briticism for “umbrella,” this term actually originated in the U.S. It’s likely a combination of umbrella and parachute. A parachute, like an umbrella, is a canopy of silk or silk-like material...
A man in Surprise, Arizona, wonders why people jumping into a pool sometimes yell “Geronimo!” The history of this exclamation goes back to an eponymous 1939 movie about the famed Apache warrior Geronimo. The film was popular on U.S. military bases...
The Vatican has a long list of new Latin terms invented to denote things in the modern world, such as umbrella descensoria (“parachute) and ludus follis ovati (literally, “oval ball inflated with wind,” otherwise known as rugby)...
An employee who gets a great termination package is said to leave the company with a golden parachute. Where’d that term come from? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Golden Parachutes” Hello, you have A Way with...
meat-bomb n.— «When I was learning to parachute (or become a “meat-bomb,” as the pilots refer to it) the jump master told us that the horizon-wide landing zone (LZ) contained one object and one object only: a tree...
meat tag n.— «Morale is low. I confirm that from hearing quite bitter references to taking “meat tags” on flights and hoping parachutes will open.» —by Hubert Ferdinand Opperman Pedals, Politics, and People ...