magic-wand bill n.— «This is the kind of bill that is often called a magic-wand bill—something that’s one thing, is something else just because we say it is.…Any kind of laws that disregard the reality of the situation is worrisome...
ratchet n.— «As another employee approached with the bat, the man left and said, “I’ll be back before you close and next time I’m coming through with the ratchet,” which the employees understood as slang for a handgun...
sponge gun n.— «The officers used something that is commonly called a sponge gun it’s a less than lethal weapon that we have. The weapon was deployed in an effort to avoid having to shoot this man.» —“Santa Maria Man Threatens People...
harvester n.— «Four or five men in tracksuits got out and opened their car boots. They pulled out belt-fed BKC machineguns, a weapon known in Iraq as “the harvester” for its ability to kill lots of people quickly.» —“I saw boys...
marker n.— «That’s a good thing, too, as high-end guns, or “markers” in paintball parlance, can fire a projectile up to 300 feet per second.» —“Fort Dodge-based paintball team is ‘all about safety'” by Jesse...
nuclear blindness n.— «Add to this the rise of truly intercontinental ballistic missile delivery of nuclear weapons, and the stage was set for what I have termed “nuclear blindness” and defined as “the tunnel vision...