house n.— «He also has become less interested in “getting a little house,” a term for attention-getting, applause-generating devices musicians use, such as playing a passage at super speed or holding a high note for a long...
green air n.— «The days ahead appear to offer more of the same “green air”—the term is derived from the green color code that denotes clean air—that settled into the region following the passage of Friday’s cold front...
curbstoning n.— «The measure regulates realty dealers by prohibiting any one from selling land as agents for another without securing a certificate of license.…The passage of this act would effectually abolish...
snooker clause n.— «It is called a “snooker clause” in legislative parlance—a last-minute insert into a dense and hurried midnight bill that, if ever disclosed after passage, always leaves legislators shocked, shocked at how...
goonda tax n. money extorted as ‘protection’ or to permit passage on public thoroughfares, or paid as a simple bribe. Etymological Note: The Hindi and Urdu term goonda can be translated as rascal or ruffian and even as goon, but there is no evidence...