who-laid-the-rail
adv. phr.— «You have read columns of the heavyweight sensation of the west coast, Max Baer, a club fighter to who-laid-the-rail, two-fisted and willing, and with more color than any fighter of recent year.» —“Says” by Damon Runyon Nevada State Journal (Reno) Nov. 1, 1930. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
A Nevada listener says her mother used to ask her to collect the pearls after a meal, meaning “gather up all the unused dishes and utensils that didn’t need to be washed.” In Australian slang, such an item is often called a sunbeam. This is part of...
Melissa in Greensboro, North Carolina, has been sparring with the Gen Z members of her family over the shifting meanings of words. Her kids use aesthetic as an adjective to mean “aesthetically pleasing,” as in That’s so aesthetic. They also refer to...