The expression to run the traps means “to perform due diligence” or “solicit a wide variety of opinions” or “investigate every angle thoroughly.” This metaphor derives from the literal sense of running the traps, which refers to hunting and fishing...
Shut your piehole! means “Shut your mouth!” Dave in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, heard it during a tense exchange at a mechanic’s shop. Piehole appears to be a U.S. offshoot of the older cakehole, recorded from the 1940s and likely associated with British...
BOGO n.— Note: Also abbreviated as “BOGOF.” «I was proud that she had grasped the dangers of Buy-One/Get-One (BOGO) free purchases.» —“BOGO Trap: Buy Eight, Get One Free? I Don’t Think So” by Sharon Harvey...
core-core index n.— «If we look at what is known as the “core-core” index (which strips out both energy and fresh food) then we can see that it is far from clear that Japan ever really escaped from the deflation trap, since...
trap n.— «The Greyhound, which looks as if it sprang from the womb of Howard Hughes’s Spruce Goose, is 50,000 pounds of flying metal that must set itself down on the pitching deck of a ship at 120 knots and come to a complete stop in two...
bolter v.— «The Greyhound, which looks as if it sprang from the womb of Howard Hughes’s Spruce Goose, is 50,000 pounds of flying metal that must set itself down on the pitching deck of a ship at 120 knots and come to a complete stop in...
