In railroad workers’ slang, the expression to bake a cake means to build up steam in a locomotive by stoking a fire. Another term for a train’s fireman is bakehead. This is part of a complete episode.
Did you ever walk in a crocodile? In Britain, a crocodile can be “a group of children walking two by two in a long file.” The phrase came up in an interview with the stylist Vidal Sassoon, who, as a child in London walked in a crocodile...
job and knock n.— «A regular inquiry theme has been the RailCorp tradition of “job and knock”—a term for leaving a job after only a couple of hours but charging for the whole day.» —“Employee goes back to work despite...
An Indianapolis listener who lives on same street where James Whitcomb Riley made his home wonders if the poet’s name has anything to do with the expression associated with living in high style, “the life of Riley.” Click on the...
rip track n.— «The Rip Track, is railroad slang, for Repair Track. It really isn’t just one track but a series of tracks, that are refered to in the singular, rather than the plural term, for a particular place at the railroad, designed...
sleeper n.— «Railroads that come out of Mexico must deal routinely with the “sleepers,” as those who try to hitch a ride on the northbound trains are called.» —“A Way Out of the Immigration Mess” by Mike...