When someone talks about Hollywood or Wall Street, they’re probably not talking about a California city or a Manhattan street. It’s an example of what rhetoricians call metonymy. Metonyms like the White House or Downing Street are often used as...
AFPAK n.— Note: A blend of AFghanistan and PAKistan. «In the two-front war that Washington is now calling “AFPAK,” there’s more head-scratching going on than is immediately visible. Yes, President Barack Obama last week approved a Pentagon request...
tank n.— «By Thursday, when the president met for the first time with the Joint Chiefs of Staff in “the tank,” the secure Pentagon conference room, the campaign had progressed.» —“After Campaign Push, Obama Cultivates Military” by Elisabeth...
hall walker n.— «The departure of Adm. William J. (“Fox”) Fallon gives us a rare insight into a secret world of relationships between the highest-ranking general officers and their civilian masters.…Eventually, in the words of one Pentagon...
wasta n.—Gloss: the Arabic word for influence, personal connections; “pull” or “juice.” Note: While not yet fully adopted as an English word, wasta is increasingly familiar to American soldiers serving in the Middle East. A previous surge in use of...
Thanksgiving express lane n.—Gloss: a brand-new term for a part of airspace normally reserved for military flights that will be opened up to commercial traffic during the busiest flying days of the year. «The most significant change is that the...