ladybug taint n.— «There’s even a name for it—“ladybug taint.” The smell, which connotes green bell peppers or roasted peanuts, is produced by ladybugs as a defense mechanism. The chemicals they release, in a class of compounds called...
Afghanistanism n.— «For years, Americans went about their daily lives under the false impression that faraway places like Afghanistan didn’t matter. Newspapers even had a term for news stories that were irrelevant to local readers:...
rag horn n.— «“The first time we saw it we were about 400 or 500 yards away, and we saw it up on this ridge with a bunch of cows. And we said “Oh, he’s just a rag horn’” Ralph said, referring to the term for a bull with small...
rent a judge n.— «Q: What is reference judging? A: In California, it’s called “rent a judge,” a pejorative term. Here, about 15 years ago, we passed a statute that allowed parties to retain someone who has been approved by the...
beardy n.— «Mary Lott of Salem lives with three bouncing, busy “beardies,” as the breed is called by its fans. She’s afraid that people will see the trained dog on the screen—and the puppets that play the dog—and buy these...
butter and egg racket n.— «He followed it by a six-city survey quoting records, officials and personal observations of the butter and egg racket. The game is a lottery played by low-income groups.…Bets are made on the butter and egg...