To hox, or hocks, means to call dibs on something, as in “You better hox shotgun if you want to sit up front for the eight-hour drive to Grandma’s!” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Call Hocks” Hello, you have A Way with Words...
If you want to claim something—say, the front seat of a car or the last piece of cake—what do you say? Dibs? Boney? How about “I hosey that!”? The hosts talk about this New England expression, its possible origins, and its equivalent in other parts...
hung up adj.— «I couldn’t see the bird, but I knew he was “hung up” in turkey hunting vernacular, strutting his stuff with the logical expectation that the hen (me) would come to him. That’s how it usually works in nature, but most hens don’t carry...
shotgun v. to try a variety of methods; to make repeated attempts; to take an indiscriminate approach; to be scattershot. Editorial Note: Besides the obvious “to kill or shoot with a shotgun,” a more common meaning of to shotgun is “to force or...
bajador n.— «Even the gentler smugglers are routinely armed with assault rifles, shotguns or pistols. Firepower serves to intimidate clients who might try to escape. It also defends against so-called bajadores, bandits who kidnap immigrants to...