Animals, Insects, & Birds Slang, Jargon, and New Words from Double-Tongued Dictionary

Citations in the Category Animals, Insects, & Birds

Non-plant life forms other than humans: wildlife, domesticated creatures, insects, fish, shellfish, mammals, birds, pets, etc. You can also see entries assigned to this category.

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stumpy n. The Manx Cat is a tail less breed of cat, but there are a few variations. Some have a hollow where the tail should be, they’re called “rumpies.” Others have the beginnings of a tail, they’re called “risers.” Those with a slightly longer remainder of a tail are called “stumpies.” Finally, those with an obvious tail are called “longies.” [English Animals, Insects, & Birds] [full cite] (Jul. 17, 2007)

supercedure n. When the virgin queen is of age, “They bring it to the old queen,” says Morrison. From there, it’s a battle to the death. Typically, “The younger and more vigorous queen will sting the older queen, and that’s it,” he explains. The process is called supercedure. [English Animals, Insects, & Birds] [full cite] (Jul. 26, 2006)

supertaxa n. Ward believes rats and snakes belong in the category known as “supertaxa,” groups of organisms that create many new species while having a relatively low extinction rate. [English Animals, Insects, & Birds Biology] [full cite] (May. 4, 2005)

swampus n. The Ice Age melts away 100 million years later, marking the beginning of the end of large mammals and giving rise to creatures like the “ocean phantom,” a jellyfish the size of a truck; the “swampus,” a relative of the octopus that emerges from swamps to feed; and the “toraton,” a reptile bigger than dinosaurs. [English Animals, Insects, & Birds Biology] [full cite] (May. 4, 2005)

swile n. Swiles. Newfie slang for “seals.” [English Canada Animals, Insects, & Birds] [full cite] (Mar. 31, 2005)

tapirage n. Macaws and other parrots supplied most of the plumage, but that of other species—Muscovy ducks, flamingos, egrets and the petite paradise tanager—was also prized. Some colors were produced artificially in a process known as tapirage. Birds with, say, green and blue feathers were plucked and then rubbed with frog secretions; the feathers would then grow back in an unnatural yellow-orange hue. [English Animals, Insects, & Birds] [full cite] (Jul. 7, 2008)

tecticolous n. These developing communities of invertebrates are of a kind not found in the wild, drawing hardy species from different habitats, from grassland and banks to gravel pits and coastal dunes. A new word has been coined to describe the incomers—“tecticolous”, from the Latin tectum, meaning roof. [English Animals, Insects, & Birds Biology Science] [full cite] (Sep. 8, 2004)

tidbitting n. Quail are considered monogamous, but there is a caveat. Often a male will lose a mate, and though he takes care of the little ones, he’s not above seeking a new mate to share the chores. He does this by offering a female (who probably has a brood of her own) delicious bits of food. This practice is called “tidbitting” and is often successful in luring the female away from her own kids and spouse. These kinds of shenanigans are evidently prevalent among all sorts of species. [English Animals, Insects, & Birds] [full cite] (May. 17, 2007)

toot route n. We know more about saw-whets now than we did 10 years ago, because of an innovative survey technique called a “toot route” that was used by the Game Commission in 2000 and 2001 to locate saw-whets. [English Animals, Insects, & Birds] [full cite] (Jun. 1, 2005)

tooth floater n. “Tooth floater” is another term for a horse dentist, a trade he practices during the winters in Florida. [English Animals, Insects, & Birds Slang] [full cite] (Aug. 29, 2007)

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