Air Chance (Air France nickname)
Air France was founded in 1933 and is the flag carrier of France. The Air France nickname of "Air Chance" has been cited in print in 1952, 1957 and 1958 and is still used by some today,…
Alphebetical for "a"
Air Conditioning in a Glass (Rickey cocktail nickname)
A drink that is "air conditioning in a glass" is a refreshing summer drink. A grapefruit and basil martini was called "air conditioning in a glass" in 2007. American mixologist…
Air Fungus or Aer Fungus (Aer Lingus nickname)
Aer Lingus is the flag carrier of Ireland. Some people have nicknamed the airline "Aer Fungus" or "Air Fungus." "Air Lingus (EI) - Air Fungus" was posted on the…
Airforce Rejected Me Yesterday (“army” backronym)
"Airforce Rejected Me Yesterday" is a backronym (back acronym) for the word "army." "A.R.M.Y. : Air Force Rejected (me) Yesterday" was cited in print in July 2005.…
Airline Food (Airplane Food)
Airline food (also called "airplane food" or "airline meal" or "in-flight meal") was essentially started by United Airlines in late 1936-early 1937, when food…
Airmageddon (air + Armageddon)
"Airmageddon" (air + Armageddon) can mean several things, such as very bad air pollution. An "airmageddon" at an airport occurs when flights are cancelled (or delayed) and many…
Airmelon (air + melon; jocular formation after “watermelon”)
Watermelon exists, so many people think there should be firemelon, earthmelon and airmelon (water-fire-earth-air + melon), all called the "elemelons" (elements + melons). "The…
Airpocalypse (air + apocalypse)
"Airpocalypse" (air + apocalypse) is a term that was coined in January 2013 to describe China's air pollution problem. The "airpocalypse" term has been used in India and in…
Airport Test (employee selection test)
The "airport test" (also called the "Pittsburgh airport test") is one tool of employee selection. The interviewer asks himself or herself how it would feel being snowed in at…
Airport Test (Pittsburgh Airport Test)
The "airport test" (also called the "Pittsburgh airport test") is one tool of employee selection. The interviewer asks himself or herself how it would feel being snowed in at…
Aisle Hog
Steve Kornacki of Salon.com wrote before the January 2011 State of the Union (SOTU) address, "Meet Congress's 5 biggest aisle hogs: You see them every time a president enters the House to…
Akaushi Beef (Akaushi Cattle)
"Akaushi" is Japanese meaning "red cow" or "brown cattle," cited in English print since at least 1926. Akaushi cattle are a Wagyū breed, producing richly marbled and…
Al Dante (al dente + Dante Alighieri)
"Al dente" cooking should not be written as "al Dante" (as in Dante's Inferno), but there are jokes. "How to cook al-dante pasta?" was posted on the newsgroup…
Al Pastor (Cabrito Al Pastor; Carne Al Pastor; Tacos Al Pastor)
"Al pastor" means "shepherd style," a term originating in northern Mexico. "Al pastor" is meat carved from a vertical spit, often seaoned with pineapple, onions,…
Al-CIAda (Al-Qaeda + CIA)
Al-Qaeda (Arabic for "The Base") is a Sunni Islamic terrorist group founded in 1988-1989 by Osama bin Laden -- with the help of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) -- to fight the…
Al-Reuters or Al Reutzeera (Reuters nickname)
Reuters is an international news agency heaquartered in London. Some Reuters critics have claimed that the news organization has an anti-Western and pro-Muslim bias. This criticism intensified in…
Alabama: Lizard (nickname)
Entry in progress -- B.P. Google BooksApril 1845, Cincinnati Miscellany (Cincinnati, OH), pg. 240, col. 1:Alabama, Lizards. Chronicling America23 August 1845, Ripley (MS) Advertiser, pg. 1, cols.…
Alabama: Yellowhammer State (nickname)
Entry in progress -- B.P. OCLC WorldCat recordAlabama : the yellowhammer stateAuthor: Marathon Oil Company.; Rand McNally and Company.; Rand McNally Collection (Newberry Library)Publisher:…
Alain Locke and Harlem Renaissance as the “Big Apple” (1920s; suggested in 1988)
Alain Leroy Locke (1885-1954) was the first African-American Rhodes Scholar and a professor of philosophy at Howard University in Washington, D.C. He guest edited Survey Graphic in March 1925 for a…
Alambres (Mexican Shish Kebab)
Alambres (Spanish for "wires" or "skewers") is a dish that's sometimes called "Mexican Shish Kebab." It's served in fancier Tex-Mex restaurants. Iguana Grill…