thump mat
n.— «‘Thump mats,” as they became known, were handmade by sailors to muffle the sound of the pulleys hitting the wooden deck, for the benefit of those trying to sleep below deck.» —“Need rope? Knot a problem for Barry” by Jodie van de Wetering ABC (Wide Bay, Queensland, Australia) June 15, 2005. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
What if, instead of being an inanimate object, a dictionary were alive? That’s the idea behind a lavishly illustrated new children’s book called The Dictionary Story (Bookshop|Amazon) by Oliver Jeffers and Sam Winston. This is part of a...
In the 15th century, the word respair meant “to have hope again.” Although this word fell out of use, it’s among dozens collected in a new book of soothing vocabulary for troubled times. Plus, baseball slang: If a batter...