shake of the whip
I've heard "fair shake" before, but hadn't heard it connected to whips: No film-maker ever got a better shake of the whip than I did. --Robert Altman, quoted in a...
bitten by backdoors
Block that metaphor! This just in (a couple weeks ago, when I forgot to post it) from the National Weather Service forecast (which always uses all-caps): A MODERATION TREND IS...
ostinato
An "ostinato" is (according to Wikipedia) a musical phrase that's played or sung repeatedly at the same pitch. (Found this word in the Wikipedia entry for "dhikr.")...
salawat
"Salawat" (also transliterated "salawaat" and perhaps other ways as well) is apparently the term for certain blessings used by Muslims, particularly the Arabic phrase "salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam" (abbreviated...
Mind the gap
Sorry about the long pause here over the past couple weeks. I haven't forgotten about this blog; just been busy, and keep neglecting to post the words that have been...
catchpenny
Another one from a submission. "Catchpenny" is an adjective, meaning "using sensationalism or cheapness for appeal" (sez MW11). Useful in all sorts of circumstances. Dates back to 1750. Presumably refers...
platypus beatkeeper
I'm sure y'all know about hinky-pinkies. Here's a sort of quasi-variant: one person gives a clue, others try to find an answer that consists of two adjoining words (or phrases)...
flocculent
It's possible I've seen this word before, but it's a funny word, so I'll post it anyway. It turns out that the word "flock" can be a synonym for "floc."...
widdershins
I had always assumed that "widdershins" derived somehow from "widow shins," though I was never quite sure what that had to do with anything (something about witches and shinbones, no...
topit
A "topit" is a "[l]arge pocket in the lining of a jacket that allows [a stage] magician to vanish items by tossing them secretly and smoothly into the pocket," according...