ontin n.— «But he also likes to come up with new words to describe cultural patterns, acknowledging that at breakfast he invented a new word—ontin, meaning the ostensible usage of something—which he has already used a few times to much...
positive jaws n.— «Wilson HTM banking guru Brett LeMesurier notes the “positive jaws”—bankers” parlance for income growth exceeding expense growth—were sadly lacking. “Not only are the jaws shut, there now seems to be overbite,” he...
surface snorting n.— «Scores of Sydneysiders woke to the sight of thick white smoke coming from a Collins-class submarine off Sydney’s northern beaches this morning, but their fears of a fire were unfounded—it was just the ageing sub’s...
hail cannon n.— «He also has what’s called a hail cannon, which uses a sonic boom to bombard hailstones so they break up and are less damaging to fruit.» —“Drought creates thirst for hi-tech farming” in Sydney...
banana skin n.— «Italy are a good side—they won two games in the Six Nations and pushed Ireland in the warm-ups and most of them have beaten Scotland before. This, therefore, is not a “banana skin”; it’s what the French call a...
bilat n.— «Air Force One touches down tonight at Sydney Airport with POTUS on board (Secret Service-speak for President Of The United States). Tomorrow morning Bush meets Prime Minister Howard for “bilats”—diplomatic slang for...