vuzvuz
n.— «I have a new favorite word. It’s slang, but not (as it was explained to me, though it’d be useful to know if someone else out there disagrees) derogatory, for an Ashkenazi* person. The word is “vuzvuz,” ie “That vuzvuz over there by the bus stop…” Why that word, you might ask? Because the Askenazim always asking, “Vus is dis? Vus is dat?” I’m not kidding. That’s really the reason.» —“Today’s Hebrew Lesson” by Danya Jerusalem Syndrome Jan. 29, 2005. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
In the 15th century, the word respair meant “to have hope again.” Although this word fell out of use, it’s among dozens collected in a new book of soothing vocabulary for troubled times. Plus, baseball slang: If a batter...
Asthenosphere, a geologist’s term for the molten layer beneath the earth’s crust, sparks a journey that stretches all the way from ancient Greece to the author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Plus: What the heck is a dogberg? It’s when...