Double-Tongued Dictionary Recent Citations

Citation Queue These are recently added citations for catchwords that have not yet been researched or incorporated into a full dictionary entry. There is also a date-sorted archive which includes all citations, whether used in a full entry or not, as well as the full entries themselves.

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lick n. Many folks in the rest of the country wonder why anyone would want to live in such a flood-prone place. Luke becomes visibly tense at the subject and responds, “It’s a way of life,” referring to living on the water. “The new buildings are being built on pilings. So you can take the flood. Wind, you just don’t know. But everyone’s going up,” he says, referring to the homes along the bayous perched on stilts. “You just set yourself up for the lick, you know?” The “lick” is a euphemism for heavy flooding. (Sep. 8, 2008) [full citation…]

pit lizard n. The only thing Stewart enjoys more than a race car and a fight, it seems, is women. Over the course of a race weekend, he’s approached by dozens of them, each more long-legged, doe-eyed and blond than the last. Inside the NASCAR bubble, these gals are called “pit lizards,” and they prowl the inner sanctum at tracks throughout the year. (Sep. 8, 2008) [full citation…]

yo-yo skiing n. Last night, the bus driver asked us where we lived, which led to a lively conversation about skiing, his many ski visits to Snowmass (which he enjoyed), his condo at Snowbird in Utah and what he referred to as “yo-yo skiing” in Minnesota, where the hills are not very big and skiers have to go up and down constantly. (Sep. 8, 2008) [full citation…]

in-run betting n. A particular danger of Internet betting is what is known as “in-run betting,” the ability to bet on a match in progress, either on the final result or any number of propositions, such as how many double-faults a player might make in the second set. (Sep. 8, 2008) [full citation…]

vent figure n. Klein, who lives in Nanticoke, is a trained ventriloquist. She and her puppets, or “vent figures” as they are called in the trade, perform for kids and adults throughout the area. (Sep. 8, 2008) [full citation…]

drowning machine n. This creates a hazardous situation for paddlers who don’t know that the river is about to take a dangerous drop. Low-head dams, such as Idols, are often referred to as “drowning machines” because of the way the recirculating water continues to pull a person underwater. (Sep. 8, 2008) [full citation…]

fertigation n. Professor Michael Delwiche, chairman of biological and cultural engineering at UC Davis, has experimented with wireless sensing systems that precisely apply water—sometimes mixed with chemical fertilizers in a process called fertigation—to tree crops like nectarines. (Sep. 4, 2008) [full citation…]

lobbocracy n. Democracy, which relies on a free and independent press, is now run by what I call a “lobbocracy,” by special interests lobby groups via PR. (Sep. 4, 2008) [full citation…]

quiet title n. If, in fact, the railroad company is willing to state in writing that it has abandoned the property, you may also be able to file what is known as a “quiet title” action, asking a judge to review the facts and determine who owns the property. (Sep. 3, 2008) [full citation…]

plankowner n. All three were members of the commissioning crew—“plankowners,” in Navy parlance—who worked together on the ship’s surface-to-air missile systems. (Sep. 2, 2008) [full citation…]

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