tokunbo
adj.— «If any part or bolt or nut shows any sign of working less than 100 per cent, it is automatically replaced with a brand new one, a practice which is in sharp contrast to the tendency to use a “tokunbo” (second-hand) item vandalised from a disused or parked equipment to replace the defective item.» —“Airlines and Air Safety” by Oscar Ikwuemesi This Day June 26, 2002. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
As we’ve previously discussed, firefighters don and doff their equipment, terms deriving from do on and do off. They are also said to dout a fire, meaning they “extinguish” it, dout being a similar shortening of do out. This is...
We have books for language-lovers and recommendations for history buffs. • How did the word boondoggle come to denote a wasteful project? The answer involves the Boy Scouts, a baby, a craft project, and a city council meeting. • Instead of reversing...