︎tooting
n.— «As they put it, they were just out “tooting” around. They are 200 British officers visiting Fort Leavenworth for three weeks of training. It’s part of a nine-month course the newly promoted majors are put through to increase their capabilities. The “tooting” is an acronym for tactical exercises without troops. The officers were conducting training in and around Holton this week in small groups, working tactical problems of how to move units across the countryside.» —“British officers training in Kansas to build skills, relationships” in Holton, Kansas KHGI-KWNB-TV (Kearney, Nebraska) Mar. 5, 2008. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
For rock climbers, skiers, and other outdoor enthusiasts, the word send has taken on a whole new meaning. You might cheer on a fellow snowboarder with Send it, bro! — and being sendy is a really great thing. Plus: a nostalgic trip to Willa...
Loretta in Shreveport, Louisiana, wants to know what lexical and dialectal clues linguists look for when guessing where someone is from. She also wonders: Do people with long careers in the military or who grew up in a military family have a...
Shouldn’t it be “tewting,” in order to stick to the acronym?