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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two eyes and a wiggle n. In an act of both optimism and desire, millions of shad fry—so young and tiny they are often referred to as “two eyes and a wiggle”—have been released upstream on many area waterways where dams are being removed. [English Animals, Insects, & Birds Colloquial] [full cite] (Jun. 4, 2007)

urohydrosis n. For instance, the vultures urinate on their own legs, which both cools them down and applies an antiseptic that speeds healing—a practice called urophydrosis. [English Animals, Insects, & Birds Biology] [full cite] (Jan. 22, 2008)

useless canister n. King of Foxrock was third in a maiden hurdle, Alcapone second in a conditions chase, Skibb third in a beginners’ chase and Gimli’s Axe 14th in a novice hurdle. A battle Axe, it was not. In a vernacular unique to the area an animal like that might be described as a “useless canister” or a “scrubbing brush”; for its jockey, it can be a ticket to casualty and if there is one time in the entire year when you do not want to take a fall it is now. [English Animals, Insects, & Birds Sports & Recreation] [full cite] (Mar. 13, 2005)

wampus n. Wampus or cat-a-wampus. Also: Whampus—the panther. A mythical animal used as a bogie to frighten children. Ala. [English Animals, Insects, & Birds] [full cite] (Jun. 13, 2005)

warmblood n. Initially limited to Arabians and certain large breeds known as “warmbloods,” AI, as it’s called, is now accepted for use with most major breeds. [English Animals, Insects, & Birds Health Horses] [full cite] (Feb. 28, 2005)

washback n. Thousands of baby green sea turtles are headed back out to sea Friday with a little help. The washbacks, as they’re called, were rescued from the rough surf over the last few weeks. [English Animals, Insects, & Birds] [full cite] (Oct. 22, 2007)

wet fish n. Both fish reside in the middle-water column of the ocean, causing those in the fishing industry to refer to them as “wet fish.” This means that a lot of water must be pulled into boats when scooping them in from the sea and subsequently expelled when the boats drain their haul. [English Agriculture Animals, Insects, & Birds Nautical Jargon] [full cite] (Mar. 29, 2008)

wet horse n. Wet horse. Stolen horse. (From the fact that raiders ran the herds of stolen horses across the Rio Grande River.) [English Animals, Insects, & Birds Horses Slang] [full cite] (May. 12, 2005)

whale n. In horseplaying parlance, Maury Wolff is a whale, one of the thousand or so professional bettors who collectively wager as much as $1.5 billion a year on thoroughbred races in the United States. He will not attend the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on Saturday. In fact, he and the other whales rarely set foot in a racetrack. [English Animals, Insects, & Birds Gambling Slang] [full cite] (Apr. 26, 2004)

whale n. In the parlance of the casino industry, a huge bettor like Mr. Kashiwagi is a “whale,” which surely makes Mr. Trump his Ahab. [English Animals, Insects, & Birds Gambling Slang] [full cite] (Apr. 27, 2004)

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