cross-decking
n.— «Cross decking is for, and I think we all in one way or another suffer from it, it’s when you have an officer and enlisted who possesses a specialty that is so unique and so low in numbers that when you’re operating at the type of tempo we’re operating sometimes that individual’s value is such that you will literally cross deck him or her from one ship to another not coming home, sir. Not coming home.» —“House Committee On National Security Holds Hearing On Fy 99 National Defense Authorization Budget Request” by Dennis J. Reimer Political Transcripts by Federal Document Clearing House Mar. 12, 1998. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
It’s hard to imagine now, but there was a time when people disagreed over the best word to use when answering the phone. Alexander Graham Bell suggested answering with ahoy! but Thomas Edison was partial to hello! A fascinating new book about...
Book recommendations and the art of apology. Martha and Grant share some good reads, including an opinionated romp through English grammar, a Spanish-language adventure novel, an account of 19th-century dictionary wars, and a gorgeously illustrated...