Yuma
n.— «The upheaval of 1994 began when thousands of Cubans crowded Havana’s sea wall to cheer on the latest of many ferry hijackings by passengers bent on reaching “La Yuma”—slang for the United States.» —“Repeat of ‘94 ‘Rafter’ Crisis Less” by Anita Snow in Cojimar, Cuba Miami Herald (Florida) Aug. 11, 2004. (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...