tooth floater n.— «“Tooth floater” is another term for a horse dentist, a trade he practices during the winters in Florida.» —“Horse aficionado draws fans to book fictionalizing history” by Peggy...
trade fours v. phr.— «We shared a too brief lunch during which both father and son in the special parlance of jazz musicians “traded fours,” with a rising crescendo of memories of all that Herb Pomeroy, trumpeter and inspiring...
salt n.— «With that, Madrid became what’s called “a salt”: a union employee who infiltrates nonunion work sites. His work is part of a larger effort by New Orleans trade unions to combat what they call an underground cash-only...
mangette n.— «As if it wasn’t enough that manga’s hardest-working quartet has yet to finish “X/1999” (Viz), “Legal Drug” (Tokyopop), “Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle” (Del Rey), “XXXHolic” (Del...
hard figure n.— «Some might call Clappy a dummy for not taking such a high-profile part in a Hollywood movie. But you’re not supposed to call him that. The proper term is “hard figure,” those in the ventriloquism trade say. Clappy is a...
C diff n.— «We are told that 60,000 hospital patients this year will catch the superbug Clostridium difficile.…Cases of “C diff,” as it is known in the trade, have risen by 22 per cent in the past year, affecting more than...