wall dog
n.— «Before moving to New York two years ago, Mr. Lindahl worked as an itinerant sign painter in cities around the country, picking up trade secrets from “wall dogs”—old men who spent their lives suspended above the city, painting larger-than-life images on building walls.» —“For a Faded Tradition, a Fresh New Coat” by Steven Kurutz New York Times Oct. 22, 2006. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
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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...