spork
n.— «The buffalo in question is the fourth vehicle in the patrol, towering over the armored trucks. Rather than an animal, it looks more like a medieval siege engine, with its row of small, thick-lensed windows and an iron-clawed arm folded on its roof. “We call that the ‘spork,’ kind of like the little lunch fork or spoon,” McPhail says. “It’s got the spike on one end and the scoop. I guess the best way to look for an IED is, if you think it’s buried, is to dig it and plop. And if it blows up it’s better than having it blow up on a vehicle.” In official military jargon, that process is called “interrogating” the target.» —“Deadly Concentration: Finding IEDs at Night” by Corey Flintoff National Public Radio Dec. 26, 2006. (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...