spotter
n.— «One of the greatest enforcers of virtue—a “spotter” in the parlance of the day—was the Rev. Henry N. Pringle, secretary of the Maine Christian Civic League. He appeared in the Queen City on Monday, June 24, to swear out a warrant against several proprietors of business establishments harboring slots. Then, accompanied by an intrepid band of sheriff’s deputies, namely Emerson, Spratt, Powers and Friend, the Waterville minister set out to crush these dens of iniquity where a man could deposit a coin in the hopes of winning a cigar.» —“Bangor has a devilish history when it comes to slots” by Wayne Reilly Bangor Daily News (Maine) June 25, 2007. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
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...
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...