forty-eight
n.— «“Major incident school bus over Northside bridge under the interstate,” the message read. “Five ambulances on scene, one supervisor, multiple 48.” In the parlance of paramedics, “48’s” are fatalities. Dr. Ossmann threw on scrubs and dashed out the door.» —“Deadly bus crash united a team focused on survival” by Brian Feagans Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Georgia) Mar. 3, 2007. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
One of the most powerful words you’ll ever hear — and one of the most poignant — isn’t in dictionaries yet. But it probably will be one day. The word is endling, and it means “the last surviving member of a species.” The...
“What has a head like a cat, feet like a cat, a tail like a cat, but isn’t a cat?” Answer: a kitten! A 1948 children’s joke book has lots of these to share with kids. Plus: an easy explanation for the difference between...