cover n.— «Many restaurants serve twice as many “covers” (that’s diners in kitchen parlance) as they do in a normal shift. That puts an amazing strain on everyone—reservationists, prep cooks, chefs, bartenders, servers—even...
wildtype n.— «“Our laboratory testing of the vCT using the BD ProbeTec System revealed that the vCT was as easily detected as the ’wildtype’ CT.” “Wildtype” is the term for the common circulating strain of an...
Darth Vader device n.— «Losing weight can sometimes eliminate the condition, as can surgery on the back of the throat, but the standard treatment is to wear an “air splint,” a breathing mask that covers the nose and mouth and...
jingly n.— «Strictly speaking, Jinglies are the lorries, often carefully painted, that Afghans use to carry goods into the base. In reality, however, “Jinglies” is what soldiers in Afghanistan have taken to calling the locals...
double back v.— «We had to adjust our schedule…and it was not only a monetary but a physical strain. A lot of officers had to double back, or come back to work after being off for four hours.» —“State weighs payment to police...
Saddam’s revenge n.— «Though Mr. Ross’s life was never imperiled during his tour, he managed to contract a particularly nasty strain of dysentery, which American soldiers call Saddam’s Revenge.» —“With ‘Patriot Act,’ Jeffrey Ross...