Stupid Party (Republicans) & Evil Party (Democrats)
An old Washington joke is that the Republicans are called "the stupid party" and the Democrats are called "the evil party." When the Republicans and Democrats get together on…
1960s: Fun City
Stupid Test Acknowledged As Ridiculous (“STAAR” backronym)
STAAR (State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness) is a standardized test that, in 2012, began to replace TAKS (Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills, frequently nicknamed "Torture…
Stupor Bowl (stupor + Super Bowl)
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League. The first Super Bowl was held in Los Angeles, California, on January 15, 1967; the Green Bay Packers defeated the Kansas…
Submarine Sandwich (Sub Sandwich)
The "hero sandwich" is a regional sandwich name popular in New York City since the 1930s; "submarine sandwich" has been popular since the late 1930s and "sub"…
Subourbon (sub-bourbon)
"Subourbon" (suburb + bourbon) is a portmanteau word that is mostly jocular. "What do they drink in The Southern Suburbs? Subourbon!" was posted on Twitter by Bosse Löthén on…
Subourbon (suburb + bourbon)
"Subourbon" (suburb + bourbon) is a portmanteau word that is mostly jocular. "What do they drink in The Southern Suburbs? Subourbon!" was posted on Twitter by Bosse Löthén on…
Subpoena Cannon
The Democrats won control of the House of Representatives after the November 2018 election. Axios reported "Democrats load "subpoena cannon" with 85+ Trump target" by Mike Allen…
Substandard & Poor or Substandard & Porous (Standard & Poor’s nickname)
Standard & Poor's (S&P) is one of the "big three" credit-rating agencies, along with Moody's and Fitch. On August 5, 2011, S&P received much criticism for…
Subvertising (subvert/subversive + advertising); Subvertisement
"Subvertising" (subvert/subversive + advertising) makes spoofs or parodies of corporate and political advertisements. "Such forms of 'subvertising,' as jammer ally Mark…
Subway Acrobat
A "subway acrobat" is someone who performs gymnastic moves on the subway, often using the subway's poles (or straps). The show is done for free, but the performer usually asks for…
Subway Alumni
"Subway alumni" are supporters of a college team who have never gone to that college. Notre Dame had powerful football teams in the early 1900s, and the Fighting Irish often played games…
Subway Series (Subway World Series)
When the New York Yankees play the New York Giants, or the Brooklyn Dodgers, or now the New York Mets in a baseball World Series, it's called a "Subway Series." The first three…
Subway Shmutz (Schmutz) Survey
The Straphangers Campaign of the New York Public Interest Research Group issues an annual "Subway Shmutz" (Yiddish for "dirt," and also spelled "schmutz") survey.…
Subway Super Bowl
The New York Giants (representing the National Football Conference) have never played the New York Jets (representing the American Football Conference) in the Super Bowl. An all-New York…
Subway Warts
What are subway warts? A 2004 blog post named the large bumps on the yellow strips in the subway (that warn people not to come too close to the edge of the platform) as "subway warts." In…
Successful Fire (Jewish Lightning)
On June 5, 2000, NYU librarian George Thompson submitted this, on "successful fires" and "Jewish lightning," to the American Dialect Society list. I'll try to update it…
Such A Bad Experience, Never Again (Sabena backronymic nickname)
Sabena stood for Societé Anonyme Belge d'Exploitation de la Navigation Aérienne and was the national airline of Belgium from 1923 to 2001. Sabena had one of aviation's oldest and…
Sucker Rally (Sucker’s Rally)
A "sucker rally" (or "sucker's rally") is a brief rally that is not sustained. It is similar to the "dead cat bounce," where a stock has fallen so far that, like…
Suckretary (suck + secretary)
"Suckretary" (suck + secretary) is a derogatory term that originally described a female secretary working under a male boss. However, "suckretary" has also been used to deride…
Sucks Children’s Happiness Out Of Life (“school” backronym)
"Sucks Children's Happiness Out Of Life" is a jocular backronym (back acronym) of the word "school." "S.C.H.O.O.L= Sucks Children's Happiness Out of Life"…