talking dictionary
n.— «A few British bachelors developed liaisons with local lasses, usually tea-pickers. Such women were euphemistically—and imaginatively—called “talking dictionaries.” For she also helped to brush up the man’s knowledge of Tamil—a prerequisite then, as now, for advancement in a planter’s career.» —“Tea-time tricks” by George N. Netto Indian Express (Mumbai) June 14, 2005. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
When you had sleepovers as a child, what did you call the makeshift beds you made on the floor? In some places, you call those bedclothes and blankets a pallet. This word comes from an old term for “straw.” And: What’s the story...
A book of photographs and essays by famous writers celebrates libraries — and the librarians who changed their lives. Plus cutting doughnuts, spinning cookies, and pulling brodies: There are lots of ways to talk about spinning a car in circles on...