Boycott; Girlcott; Procott; Buycott
Entry in progress -- B.P. WIkipedia: BoycottA boycott is a form of consumer activism involving the act of voluntarily abstaining from using, buying, or dealing with someone or some other…
Archive for 09/2009
“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win”
"First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win" has been attributed to Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869-1948), but there is no evidence that he said it.…
Cheap Charlie (candy store)
Entry in progress -- B.P. Google BooksCassell's Dictionary of Slang By Jonathon GreenLondon: Cassell2006Pg. 266:cheap charlie n.[late 19C-1900s](US) a candy store. Google BooksThe Routledge…
Hash-House Greek
Entry in progress -- B.P. "hash house lingo" Google BooksCassell's Dictionary of Slang By Jonathon GreenLondon: Cassell2006Pg. 684:hash-house Greek n. [20C+](US) the jargon of US…
Mike and Ike (salt and pepper shakers; jelly candy)
"Mike and Ike (They Look Alike)" is the name of a comic strip by Rube Golberg that premiered in the San Francisco (CA) Bulletin on September 29, 1907. "Mike and Ike" (or…
Curate’s Assistant (muffin/cake stand)
"Curate's assistant" is the curious name for a muffin stand (also used for small cakes and sandwiches). The stand is usually two or three shelves and is made of wicker or wood.…
Lazy Susan
A "lazy Susan" is a rotating tray, placed upon a dining table for easy use in a diner's access to food (especially condiments). The name "lazy Susan" is cited from at least…
“Speak truth to power”
Entry in progress -- B.P. "Speak the truth, even if your voice shakes" is a similar saying. The Yale Book of QuotationsEdited by Fred R. ShapiroNew Haven, CT: Yale University Press2006Pg.…
“Whenever you don’t know who the loser is in a transaction, then the loser is you”
"If you're at a poker table and you don't see a sucker, it's you." This gambling saying dates to at least 1982 and was possibly coined by Amarillo Slim Preston, a…
Roll with a Hole (bagel)
A bagel has been called a "roll with a hole" (or "roll with the hole") since at least 1944. The rhyming "roll-with-a-hole" made a newspaper headline by at least 1972.…
Cement Doughnut or Cement Donut (bagel)
Bagels used to be harder to chew than most of them are today. Comedian Milton Berle (1908-2002) claimed in 1985 that he told the first-ever bagel joke many years before when he called a bagel a…
“In for a dime, in for a dollar”
"In for a dime, in for a dollar" is an American version of "in for a penny, in for a pound" (the British pound currency, in a saying that dates to the 1600s). The saying means…
Afterburners (Jalapeño Shrimp Poppers)
"Afterburners" (also called "jalapeño shrimp poppers") are jalapeño peppers stuffed with shrmp and wrapped with bacon, usually served with a spicy queso dip. "Jalapeño…
Grillable
"Grillable" (or "grill-able," meaning a food that's able to be heated on a grill) is a word that's not in many dictionaries. A linguistic book published in 1974…
Hockey Puck (a burger, especially a hamburger cooked “well done”)
A round burger (such as a hamburger or a turkey burger or a veggie burger) can resemble a hockey puck. A burger cooked "well done" is often blackened and tough as a hockey puck to eat.…