| acronymous | = acronymic adj. | 1955 | Go To Quotation |
| ad | A drug addict. | 1938 | Go To Quotation |
| anti-American | Hostile to the interests of the United States, opposed to Americans. | 1773 | Go To Quotation |
| anti-gravity | = anti-g adj. | 1945 | Go To Quotation |
| benny | orig. U.S. Slang abbrev. of benzedrine n. | 1955 | Go To Quotation |
| bessemerize | trans. To treat by the Bessemer process. | 1888 | Go To Quotation |
| bimorphemic | Consisting of or pertaining to two morphemes. | 1942 | Go To Quotation |
| Bircher | A member or supporter of the John Birch Society, an extreme right-wing American organization founded in 1958 by Robert Welch. | 1961 | Go To Quotation |
| blitz | trans. To attack with a blitz; to hit, blast, destroy, etc., by an air-raid. Also intr. | 1939 | Go To Quotation |
| bloat | A conceited or contemptible person (see also quot. 1888). U.S. slang. | 1860 | Go To Quotation |
| bob-sled | A sled or sleigh, made of two short sleds or sleighs coupled together; used in drawing… | 1839 | Go To Quotation |
| boozeroo | A drinking spree. | 1943 | Go To Quotation |
| brown-out | A partial black-out. Also transf. and fig. | 1942 | Go To Quotation |
| burger | A familiar shortening of Hamburger n. Also used as a terminal element, e.g. in beefburger… | 1939 | Go To Quotation |
| burp | A belch. Also transf. and fig. | 1932 | Go To Quotation |
| burp | intr. To belch. | 1932 | Go To Quotation |
| californium | A transuranic radioactive element; symbol Cf; atomic number 98. | 1950 | Go To Quotation |
| calque | A loan-translation (see loan n.). | 1937 | Go To Quotation |
| cancerology | = oncology n. | 1937 | Go To Quotation |
| carny | = carnival n. 2b; also, a person who works at a carnival. Also attrib. or as adj. | 1931 | Go To Quotation |
| charivari | trans. To greet or serenade with a charivari. Cf. shivaree v. at shivaree n. Derivatives. | 1890 | Go To Quotation |
| cheeseburger | A hamburger in which cheese is mixed with or placed on the meat. | 1938 | Go To Quotation |
| Chomskyan | Of, pertaining to, or characteristic of Noam Chomsky or his writings. | 1965 | Go To Quotation |
| cliff-hanger | A serial film in which each episode ends in a desperate situation; hence, any story, play… | 1937 | Go To Quotation |
| Cominform | An information bureau set up in 1947 by the communist countries of eastern Europe… | 1947 | Go To Quotation |
| commonization | The process by which common nouns (also occas. verbs, adjectives, etc.) are derived from proper names. | 1935 | Go To Quotation |
| conjunctiveness | ‘The quality of joining or uniting’ (Johnson). | 1965 | Go To Quotation |
| cosmetician | An expert in cosmetics; a beautician n. | 1926 | Go To Quotation |
| crapper | A privy. | 1932 | Go To Quotation |
| crud | A despicable or undesirable person or thing; nonsense, rubbish. Cf. crut n. slang (orig. U.S.). | 1940 | Go To Quotation |
| dandyfunk | Hard tack soaked in water and baked with fat and molasses. | 1883 | Go To Quotation |
| dereserve | trans. To deprive of exemption from military service, as in the wars of 1914 – 18 and 1939 – 45. | 1941 | Go To Quotation |
| dingbat | U.S. In various uses (see quots.); esp. (a) a piece of money; pl. money; (b) = thingummy n. (cf. dingus n.); (c) a tramp or hobo. | 1838 | Go To Quotation |
| dip | A stupid, unremarkable, or contemptible person. | 1932 | Go To Quotation |
| dipshit | A stupid, inept, or contemptible person; an idiot. | 1963 | Go To Quotation |
| divvy | Colloq. abbreviation of dividend n. | 1872 | Go To Quotation |
| dong | = penis n. | 1930 | Go To Quotation |
| dork | The penis. | 1964 | Go To Quotation |
| drabbet | A drab twilled linen, used for making men's smock-frocks, etc. | 1819 | Go To Quotation |
| dragster | (See quot. 1955.) | 1954 | Go To Quotation |
| eighty-six | In restaurants and bars, an expression indicating that the supply of an item is exhausted… | 1936 | Go To Quotation |
| el | The initial element of jocular, pseudo-Spanish noun and adj. phrases representing… | 1951 | Go To Quotation |
| enthuse | intr. To grow enthusiastic; to go into ecstasies. | 1827 | Go To Quotation |
| flatwoods | Low-lying timber land; applied especially to types of well-wooded land in Ohio, Alabama, and Florida. | 1841 | Go To Quotation |
| flopperoo | A flop, failure. | 1936 | Go To Quotation |
| frug | A modern dance. Hence as v. intr. | 1964 | Go To Quotation |
| gee | Opium or some similar drug. Also attrib. | 1936 | Go To Quotation |
| gin-sling | An American cold drink composed of gin, etc. flavoured and sweetened. | 1790 | Go To Quotation |
| go-around | = runaround n. 4. Esp. in phr. to give (someone) the go-around. Cf. go-by n. colloq. | 1929 | Go To Quotation |
| gook | Used as a term of contempt: a foreigner; spec. a coloured inhabitant of (south-)east Asia or elsewhere. Also attrib. or as adj. | 1935 | Go To Quotation |
| half-shell | Half an oyster shell. In phr. on the half-shell, served in this manner. Also fig. | 1860 | Go To Quotation |
| Henry Clay | A type of cigar. | 1867 | Go To Quotation |
| hep-cat | An addict of jazz, swing music, etc.; one who is ‘hep’; = hipster n. | 1938 | Go To Quotation |
| hepster | = hep-cat n. Cf. hipster n. | 1938 | Go To Quotation |
| hightail | intr. To run (quickly) away, to move quickly. Freq. const. it. | 1925 | Go To Quotation |
| hoagie | = submarine sandwich n. at submarine adj. n. 3. | 1967 | Go To Quotation |
| hoot(e)nanny | An informal session or concert of folk music and singing. Also transf. | 1929 | Go To Quotation |
| hot list | A (notional) list of tasks or items taking priority over others. | 1955 | Go To Quotation |
| hubba-hubba | Used to express approval, excitement, or enthusiasm. Also as n., nonsense; ballyhoo. | 1944 | Go To Quotation |
| ike | colloq. abbrev. of iconoscope n. 2. | 1937 | Go To Quotation |
| in-basket | In an office, etc.: a basket or tray for incoming correspondence and other documents. Cf. in-tray n. | 1940 | Go To Quotation |
| ingliding | Gliding towards the central vowel sound /ə/, as in words like air, here, and poor, and… | 1948 | Go To Quotation |
| initialese | Abbreviation by using the initial letters of the words to be shortened. | 1955 | Go To Quotation |
| Iowan | A native or inhabitant of Iowa. | 1848 | Go To Quotation |
| Jaycee | A colloquial name for a member of a junior chamber of commerce. Also attrib. | 1946 | Go To Quotation |
| jeep | A small, sturdy, four-wheel-drive army vehicle, used chiefly for reconnaissance; a… | 1941 | Go To Quotation |
| jist | colloq. and dial. var. just adv. Cf. jest n. | 1820 | Go To Quotation |
| juicer | An electrician. slang. (Cf. juice n. 1d.) | 1928 | Go To Quotation |
| junketeer | = junketer n. | 1939 | Go To Quotation |
| Khrushchevism | The practice or principles of Khrushchev, notable for his denunciation of Stalin and… | 1957 | Go To Quotation |
| kibitzer | An onlooker at cards, etc., esp. one who offers unwanted advice; a busybody, an officious meddler. | 1927 | Go To Quotation |
| kinker | An acrobat, a contortionist (see also quot. 1948). | 1926 | Go To Quotation |
| lamburger | A meat patty made from minced lamb. | 1939 | Go To Quotation |
| laundermat | A launderette. Also used fig. | 1951 | Go To Quotation |
| lubritorium | A greasing bay in a service station; a service station. | 1930 | Go To Quotation |
| mainline | trans. and intr. To inject (heroin or a similar drug) intravenously, esp. illicitly; to… | 1938 | Go To Quotation |
| maker-upper | A person who makes up (in various senses), esp. a make-up artist. | 1936 | Go To Quotation |
| massa | Master. Chiefly in representations of U.S. and Caribbean black speech. Also as a respectful form of address. Cf. Mas' n. 1. | 1766 | Go To Quotation |
| -mat | Forming nouns (typically proprietary or brand names) denoting either a device… | 1935 | Go To Quotation |
| -matic | Forming words (typically proprietary or brand names) denoting devices which work automatically or mechanically. | 1935 | Go To Quotation |
| maverick | trans. To seize or brand (an unbranded calf) as one's own. Also intr. | 1883 | Go To Quotation |
| minicam | trans. To photograph or film with a minicam. | 1937 | Go To Quotation |
| missionate | intr. To act as a missionary, do missionary work. Also in extended use. | 1815 | Go To Quotation |
| mix-and-match | Of articles of clothing: capable of being coordinated in a number of different ways… | 1960 | Go To Quotation |
| mono | The viral disease infectious mononucleosis (see mononucleosis n.). | 1964 | Go To Quotation |
| monophonemic | Of or relating to a single phoneme; consisting of a single phoneme. | 1936 | Go To Quotation |
| morphemicization | Analysis in terms of morphemes. | 1966 | Go To Quotation |
| mud kicker | A woman who entices a man with the promise of sexual intercourse but who robs him instead.… | 1934 | Go To Quotation |
| muss | To make untidy or disordered; to mess up; spec. to ruffle or tousle (a person's hair). Freq. with up. | 1837 | Go To Quotation |
| namesmanship | The use of influential names in order to impress another person, name-dropping; skill in this practice. | 1964 | Go To Quotation |
| negatory | Esp. among Citizens' Band radio users: ‘no’, ‘negative’. | 1955 | Go To Quotation |
| neosemanticism | A newly acquired sense of a word or phrase; (also) a word or phrase that acquires a new meaning. | 1980 | Go To Quotation |
| noodling | The action of noodle v.; the sport of catching fish or turtles in this way. Also: the… | 1937 | Go To Quotation |
| obscurantistic | = obscurantist adj. | 1934 | Go To Quotation |
| oddball | An eccentric or odd person; a person of unconventional views or habits. Cf. screwball n. 2a. | 1948 | Go To Quotation |
| okey-dokey | = OK int. | 1932 | Go To Quotation |
| ole | Old. | 1835 | Go To Quotation |
| -orama | Forming nouns (mostly nonce-wds.) designating a display, event, etc., usually of… | 1954 | Go To Quotation |
| Oregonese | With pl. concord. The inhabitants of Oregon collectively; Oregonians. Also as adj. | 1845 | Go To Quotation |
| -orium | Forming nouns with the sense ‘establishment in which a specific activity is carried on’. | 1925 | Go To Quotation |
| out-basket | In an office, etc.: a basket or tray for outgoing correspondence or other documents. Cf. out-tray n. | 1940 | Go To Quotation |
| out-of-stater | A person living or originating from outside a particular state. | 1938 | Go To Quotation |
| palsy | A friend, a pal. | 1930 | Go To Quotation |
| pansy-ass | An effeminate man; a weakling; a coward. | 1963 | Go To Quotation |
| para- | a person who watches for enemy parachute landings. | 1940 | Go To Quotation |
| parashoot | In the Second World War (1939 – 45): an enemy parachutist. | 1940 | Go To Quotation |
| peed off | Annoyed, irritated, angry. Cf. pissed adj. 2. | 1948 | Go To Quotation |
| perc | Coffee made in a percolator. | 1936 | Go To Quotation |
| phonometry | A method of investigating language by the statistical analysis of instrumentally… | 1936 | Go To Quotation |
| pistol-whip | trans. To strike or beat (a person) with the butt of a pistol. Also in early use: to threaten (a person) with a pistol. | 1930 | Go To Quotation |
| pixilated | Chiefly U.S. regional. Slightly crazed; bewildered, confused; fey, whimsical; (also) intoxicated. | 1848 | Go To Quotation |
| pocosin | In the south-eastern United States: a marsh, a swamp; esp. an area of low, swampy, wooded ground in an upland coastal region. | 1634 | Go To Quotation |
| P.O.ed | = pissed off at pissed adj. 3. | 1945 | Go To Quotation |
| pome | A poem. | 1820 | Go To Quotation |
| poop | intr. To break down, stop working, give out. Freq. with out. | 1927 | Go To Quotation |
| pop quiz | An impromptu or unscheduled test, examination, or question. | 1931 | Go To Quotation |
| Portosan | A small prefabricated unit containing a toilet, designed for easy transportation… | 1969 | Go To Quotation |
| positioner | A person who or thing which positions something; spec. a device or machine for… | 1934 | Go To Quotation |
| predeterminer | Any of a class of limiting expressions that may precede a determiner. | 1957 | Go To Quotation |
| pre-editing | The action of pre-edit v. | 1938 | Go To Quotation |
| preemie | A baby born prematurely. | 1927 | Go To Quotation |
| premodifier | A word, phrase, or grammatical element which modifies one coming immediately after it. | 1952 | Go To Quotation |
| prescriptionism | = prescriptivism n. 2. | 1962 | Go To Quotation |
| primip | = primipara n. | 1927 | Go To Quotation |
| prop man | = prop-getter n. at prop n. Compounds. | 1935 | Go To Quotation |
| puckeroo | Useless, broken, out of order; destroyed, finished. Cf. puckeroo v., puckerooed adj. | 1943 | Go To Quotation |
| quisler | A quisling; a collaborator, a traitor. Cf. quisle v. | 1940 | Go To Quotation |
| rag-roll | trans. To create a decorative finish on (a surface) using the technique of rag-rolling. Also occas. intr. Cf. rag-rolling n. | 1969 | Go To Quotation |
| repo depot | = repple depple n. | 1947 | Go To Quotation |
| reprographic | Of or relating to reprography. | 1952 | Go To Quotation |
| rim-rock | trans. To kill (animals, esp. sheep) by driving them over a cliff, esp. as an act of sabotage. | 1931 | Go To Quotation |
| roger | Orig. and chiefly U.S. Also with lower-case initial. In radio communication: used… | 1941 | Go To Quotation |
| schlepper | A person of little worth, a fool, a ‘jerk’; a pauper, a beggar, a scrounger; an untidy person; (see also quot. 1934). | 1934 | Go To Quotation |
| schmeer | trans. To flatter; to bribe. Also absol. | 1930 | Go To Quotation |
| schnockered | Humorous variant of snockered adj. | 1955 | Go To Quotation |
| scoffer | One who eats greedily. | 1935 | Go To Quotation |
| scoot | A motor-cycle or motor-car (see also quot. 1943). | 1943 | Go To Quotation |
| scram | trans. To shut down (a nuclear reactor), usu. in an emergency. | 1950 | Go To Quotation |
| scripter | A script-writer. | 1940 | Go To Quotation |
| Selkup | A member of a Samoyedic people of northern Siberia; the language of this people belonging… | 1962 | Go To Quotation |
| shack-job | = shack-up n. 2. | 1946 | Go To Quotation |
| shitcan | orig. Mil. A dustbin; a waste-paper basket. Also fig. (cf. shitcan v. 1). | 1948 | Go To Quotation |
| shit-for-brains | Stupid, foolish. Cf. to have shit for brains at shit n. adj. 20. | 1948 | Go To Quotation |
| shonda | A disgrace. Also occas. in phr. a shande un a kharpe, a shame and a scandal. | 1962 | Go To Quotation |
| simonize | trans. To polish by the application of Simoniz. Also transf. and fig. | 1934 | Go To Quotation |
| sked | colloq. abbrev. (orig. U.S.) of (a) schedule n.; (b) schedule v.; (c) scheduled adj.; also ellipt., a scheduled flight. | 1929 | Go To Quotation |
| sleep-over | Involving spending the night away from one's residence. Of a person: that stays the night. | 1935 | Go To Quotation |
| smoke-up | An official notice that a student's work is not up to the required standard. | 1927 | Go To Quotation |
| smooch | intr. To kiss; to neck or pet; spec. while dancing to a lazy, romantic melody. | 1932 | Go To Quotation |
| snackery | A snack bar or other public eating-place serving snacks. | 1936 | Go To Quotation |
| snarf | trans. To eat or drink quickly or greedily. Freq. with down, up. Also intr. | 1963 | Go To Quotation |
| spec | An elaborate and expensive television show. | 1926 | Go To Quotation |
| squanderlust | A strong desire to spend money or to waste assets; also loosely = squandermania n. | 1935 | Go To Quotation |
| strep | colloq. abbrev. of (a) streptococcus n. (freq. attrib.); (b) streptomycin n. | 1927 | Go To Quotation |
| swacked | Drunk, intoxicated. | 1932 | Go To Quotation |
| tack | U.S. colloq. abbrev of tachograph n., tachometer n. Cf. tach n., tacho n. | 1963 | Go To Quotation |
| taco | A Mexican snack comprising a fried, unleavened cornmeal pancake or tortilla filled… | 1949 | Go To Quotation |
| tailspin | intr. To perform or go into a tailspin. | 1927 | Go To Quotation |
| take-away | U.S. (See quot. 1931) rare. | 1931 | Go To Quotation |
| talkathon | An interminable session of talk or discussion; spec. a prolonged debate in a legislature or similar body, a filibuster. | 1934 | Go To Quotation |
| temp | A temporary employee; esp., a temporary secretary (see temporary n. 4). | 1932 | Go To Quotation |
| terp | A stage dancer, esp. a chorus-girl; also, a ballroom dancer. Also attrib. and pl., dancing. | 1937 | Go To Quotation |
| -thon | Variant of -athon comb._form used in some words, as telethon n. | 1954 | Go To Quotation |
| tizzy | A state of nervous excitement, agitation or worry, a ‘flap’; esp. in phr. in a tizzy. | 1935 | Go To Quotation |
| toke | intr. and trans. To smoke (a marijuana cigarette). Also const. up. | 1952 | Go To Quotation |
| tole | Repr. a U.S. dial. and Black English pronunc. of told pa. tense and pa. pple. | 1797 | Go To Quotation |
| toolie | = tool-dresser n. at tool n. 2. | 1932 | Go To Quotation |
| toots | A woman, a girl; freq. used as a familiar form of address, esp. to a female. | 1936 | Go To Quotation |
| trailering | The act or practice of travelling with or living in a caravan. | 1938 | Go To Quotation |
| tush | = backside n. 3. | 1962 | Go To Quotation |
| tutee | A university student (in relation to his tutor); a pupil of a private tutor. | 1927 | Go To Quotation |
| twi-night | (See quot. 1955.) Freq. attrib., as twi-night double-header (cf. double-header n. c). | 1939 | Go To Quotation |
| twink | = twinkie n. Also attrib. or as adj. | 1963 | Go To Quotation |
| unlinguistic | Not related to linguistics. | 1960 | Go To Quotation |
| unspool | trans. To unwind (thread, tape, etc.) from a spool; spec. in Cinematogr., to project (a… | 1940 | Go To Quotation |
| usageaster | A self-appointed expert on language usage, esp. one regarded as having ill-informed, conservative, or pedantic views. | 1980 | Go To Quotation |
| Victrola | The proprietary name of a kind of gramophone. | 1905 | Go To Quotation |
| wait-list | orig. and chiefly U.S. = waiting list n. at waiting n. 1. | 1960 | Go To Quotation |
| washdown | The, or an, act of washing down; spec. an act of washing oneself from top to bottom… | 1949 | Go To Quotation |
| weakfish | A marine sciænoid food-fish of the genus Cynoscion, esp. C. regalis, the squeteague or… | 1791 | Go To Quotation |
| weaponeer | One who has charge of a weapon of war prior to its deployment. | 1945 | Go To Quotation |
| widget | An indefinite name for a gadget or mechanical contrivance, esp. a small manufactured item. | 1931 | Go To Quotation |
| windy | A tall story; a piece of boasting or exaggeration. | 1933 | Go To Quotation |
| wing-ding | U.S. slang. A fit or spasm, esp. as simulated by a drug addict; freq. in phr. to throw a wing-ding… | 1927 | Go To Quotation |
| winterize | trans. To adapt or prepare (something) for operation or use in cold weather. | 1938 | Go To Quotation |
| woofer | U.S. Black English slang. (See quot. 1934.) | 1934 | Go To Quotation |
| wrap-up | Any easy task. | 1938 | Go To Quotation |
| yachtie | A yachtsman. | 1943 | Go To Quotation |
| yardbird | Mil. A recruit, a newly-enlisted serviceman; also, a serviceman under discipline… | 1941 | Go To Quotation |
| yuck | intr. To vomit. | 1963 | Go To Quotation |
