ticktock
n.— «As to whether he backed Mr. Geithner’s decision to introduce the bank bailout plan before arriving at specifics, Mr. Summers, well schooled in Washington’s ways, invoked newspaper slang for behind-the-scenes tales. “I just don’t do ticktock,” he said flatly.» —“In a World Not Wholly Cooperative, Obama’s Top Economist Makes Do” by Sheryl Gay Stolberg New York Times Feb. 16, 2009. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
A magnificent new book celebrates the richness and diversity of 450 years of written and spoken English in what is now the United States. It’s called The People’s Tongue, and it’s a sumptuous collection of essays, letters, poems...
If someone tells you it’s flisky or flobby outside, do you need to take an umbrella? A new book about England’s soggy climate includes 188 terms for rainy weather. Americans have their own joking names for local weather, from June Gloom in Southern...