toad
n.— «“There’s a toad!” she exclaimed, referring not to a warty amphibian but to a defunct Toys “R” Us (Toad: Temporary, Obsolete, Abandoned or Derelict site).» —“Defining Sprawl: From A to Z” by Patricia Leigh Brown in New Haven, Conn. New York Times June 17, 2004. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Sigrin writes from Albany, New York, that she misheard our earlier conversation about the expression shaving yak hair meaning “performing a monotonous, tedious task.” At first she thought we said shaving gnat hair, which she figures is...
A flashlight doesn’t flash. It provides a steady beam of light. So why is it called a flashlight? The earliest versions lit up only briefly before the batteries gave out and required a recharge, so they were literally “flash lights...