unk unk
n.— «There is an old Navy term for the truly imponderable: UNK-UNK for unknown-unknown. Of the ten men Mr. Reagan has nominated so far, Mr. Donovan stands out as the “UNK-UNK” of the team. This is not to say that he cannot do a good job—only that he lacks evident qualifications.» —“The Vague General Haig” New York Times Dec. 17, 1980. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
The word filibuster has a long and colorful history, going back to the days when pirates roamed the high seas. Today it refers to hijacking a piece of legislation. Plus, the language of yoga teachers: When doing a guided meditation, you may hear...
After our conversation about towns with extremely short names, many listeners wrote to tell us about Why, Arizona. Others pointed out that there are towns called Ely in Iowa, Minnesota, and Nevada. Other super-short appellations include Rye, New...