Rihanna’s hit “Umbrella” may not have had the same ring if she’d referred to being “under my bumbershoot.” Nonetheless, bumbershoot, bumberell, brolly, and bumbersol, among others, are all
A Wyoming native asks about the origin of her father’s term of approbation, good leather. Grant thinks it might be from baseball, where good leather means “good fielding with a leather ball in a leather glove.” This is part of a...
shoe-icide attack
n.— «Shoe-icide Attack…Bush ducks as Iraqi flings size 10s at head.» —Daily News Dec. 15, 2008. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
suicide gown n.— «Across the way, about a dozen inmates are engaged in a “socialization” exercise. Some participants are chained to benches—”for civilian workers” safety,” as Hong explains it. Others sit...
suicide smock n. an over-garment that is supposedly unusable for self-strangulation and is given to inmates believed to be a danger to themselves. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
battle rattle n. (protective) military gear worn in combat situations. Editorial Note: An identical term dating to at least 1945 and meaning “nervousness in the face of combat” or “combat fatigue” is apparently separately...