The dated term “jingoism” denotes a kind of belligerent nationalism but the word’s roots lie in an old English drinking-house song that was popular during wartime. Speaking of fightin’ words, the expression “out the side of...
What English-speakers call speed bumps or sleeping policemen go by different names in various parts of the Spanish-speaking world. In Argentina, traffic is slowed by lomos de burro, or “burro’s backs.” In Puerto Rico that bump in...
speed bump n.— «So he began looking down a series of alleys perpendicular to a main road. Turning down one of them, his driver struck a roadway bomb, the kind soldiers call “speed bumps” or “stop-and drop” bombs because they’re laid down...
stop-and-drop bomb n.— «So he began looking down a series of alleys perpendicular to a main road. Turning down one of them, his driver struck a roadway bomb, the kind soldiers call “speed bumps” or “stop-and drop” bombs because they’re...
traffic furniture n.— «CSC began to chase, but the pursuit took time and distance. Intermittent rain, narrow roads, and what the riders call “traffic furniture”—roundabouts, speed bumps, and road dividers—held up the riders...
speed table n. a flat, raised road surface intended to slow traffic. Editorial Note: A speed table is longer and flatter than a speed bump. It sometimes is a part of, or does double-duty as, a raised crosswalk. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)