trophy jacket
n.— «Embellished, beaded, military or brocade—trophy jackets are spring/summer 2009’s mush have fashion piece.» —“Trophy Jackets” Vogue.com Spring/Summer, 2009. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
It’s a brand-new season of A Way with Words! Grant has big news, too: He’s used up his last Metrocard, packed up his belongings, and moved to the Left Coast. He reports on some features of California language there that are already...
The word decimate has a grisly etymology. It derives from a Latin military term meaning “to execute every tenth man in an army unit”— the penalty for a failed mutiny. As a result, some sticklers insist that the English word decimate...
Af-Pak n.— Note: Also AFPAK. «He is understood to have ordered military chiefs to build a revised strategy on the foundation that his first priority is stopping another terror attack against America from what is commonly referred to as...
reset button n.— «Colin Powell put it well when he said that the 9-11 attacks “set the reset button” on U.S. foreign and military policies. This restructuring of the global disorder predated 9-11.» —“Bush’s War: Where is...
launch basket n.— «To hit these cities, Hamas must fire its rockets from the northeast corner of the Gaza Strip. That area is known in military parlance as the “launch basket.”» —“Israeli troops focus on the “launch...