vomit comet
n.— «Discontinuance of the interurban service between Iowa City and Cedar Rapids comes as a bit of a shock to those alumni of Iowa who used to ride it. Various crops of students had different names for the “Crandic,” and the last car to Iowa City at night was known far and wide as the “Vomit Comet” in the good old days of prohibition. Seems some professors (never, never, never any students) used to go to Cedar Rapids and lap up some joy juice and catch the last train out. The swinging and swaying, jerking and jolting, with the track laid out by a drunk snake with the DTs, led to the inevitable result of a revolt by the stomach. The doors would never open—so…“Crandic” comes from the initials on the cars CRandIC railway.» —“The Old Goat” Algona Advance (Iowa) June 2, 1953. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Debbie from Keokuk, Iowa, shares a funny story about her family’s tradition of speed-cleaning the house if guests were coming over. Her mother would declare, “Quick, guys! Whited sepulchre approach!” Her use of the term whited...
What kind of book do people ask for most often in prison? Romance novels? No. The Bible? No. The most requested books by far are … dictionaries! A number of volunteer organizations gather and distribute used dictionaries to help inmates with...