beat bag
n.— «Deputy Inspector Frank Biehler, commanding officer of the 24th Precinct, said that many of the people still hanging around in doorways and on street corners were undercover police officers. Others, he said, were “simple truants, people in illegal gambling, and kids in the beat bag business,” who sell oregano to unsuspecting people out to buy marijuana.» —“Day After Crack Raid It’s Still Cat And Mouse” by Howard W. French New York Times June 20, 1987. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Hillary in Woodstock, Vermont, says she’s always pronounced mayonnaise as MY-oh-nayz. Is that pronunciation legit? The original French name of this cold, creamy sauce has never fully transitioned into English, so there are at least 15...
She sells seashells by the seashore. Who is the she in this tongue twister? Some claim it’s the young Mary Anning, who went on to become a famous 19th-century British paleontologist. Dubious perhaps, but the story of her rise from seaside...