"coarse particles open the green clay body to allow gases to escape. It also adds structural strength to hand-built and thrown pottery during shaping although it can diminish fired strength. The finer the grog particles are, the closer the clay bond, and the denser and stronger the resulting fired product. ""The strength in the dry state increases with grog down as fine as that passing the 100-mesh sieve, but decreases with material passing the 200-mesh sieve."" In archaeological terminology, 'grog' is crushed fired pottery of any type that is added as a temper to unfired clay. Several pottery types from"
"Rigger (entertainment) A rigger is one who works on ropes, booms, lifts, hoists and the like for a stage production, film, or television show. The term ""rigger"" originally referred to a person who attended to the rigging of a sailing ship. In the age of sail, trading followed seasonal patterns with ships leaving port at set times of the year to make the most of winds. When not at sea sailors would seek employment ashore. Their skill with ropes and booms found use in the theatre. The original canvas backdrops used in the theatre moved with ropes and pulleys, being"
"Grog Grog is any of a variety of alcoholic beverages. The word originally referred to a drink made with water and rum, which British Vice Admiral Edward Vernon introduced into the naval squadron he commanded in the West Indies on 21 August 1740. Vernon wore a coat of grogram cloth and was nicknamed ""Old Grogram"" or ""Old Grog"". The Merriam–Webster Collegiate Dictionary, which agrees with this story of the word's origin, states that the word ""grog"" was first used in this sense in 1770, though other sources cite 1749. In modern times, the term ""grog"" has had a variety of"
"(or ""no spika de Ingles""). These theories follow standard naming practices, which include attacking people according to the foods they eat (see Kraut and Frog) and for their failure to speak a language (see Barbarian and Gringo). Spic Spic (also known as spick) is an ethnic slur commonly used in the United States of America for a person of Hispanic background. Some in the United States believe that the word is a play on their pronunciation of the English ""speak"". The Oxford English Dictionary takes ""spic"" to be a contraction of the earlier form ""spiggoty"". The oldest known use of"
"Splodge Splodge was a British comic strip, created by Charles Grigg. It ran between 1969 and 1974 in the British comics magazine ""The Topper"". Splodge is a goblin, the last of his species. He is a mischievous character who would play sneaky, nasty tricks on the animals of the woods, but they usually had the last laugh at the end. No humans could see or hear him, except readers of The Topper. Between 2000 and 2001 the strip had a short run in ""The Beano"", the main differences being that Splodge now lived in Beanotown Woods, and the tagline changed"
"Grip (job) In the U.S. and Canada, grips are technicians in the filmmaking and video production industries. They constitute their own department on a film set and are directed by a key grip. Grips have two main functions. The first is to work closely with the camera department to provide camera support, especially if the camera is mounted to a dolly, crane, or in an unusual position, such as the top of a ladder. Some grips may specialize in operating camera dollies or camera cranes. The second main function of grips is to work closely with the electrical department to"
"impression of an enthusiastic customer independent of the seller, marketer or con artist, for whom they are secretly working. The person or group in league with the shill relies on crowd psychology to encourage other onlookers or audience members to do business with the seller or accept the ideas they are promoting. Shills may be employed by salespeople and professional marketing campaigns. ""Plant"" and ""stooge"" more commonly refer to a person who is secretly in league with another person or outside organization while pretending to be neutral or a part of the organization in which they are planted, such as"
"Sly-grog shop A sly grog shop (or shanty) is an Australian term for an unlicensed hotel or liquor-store, often with the added suggestion of selling poor-quality liquor; a place where alcoholic beverages are sold by an unlicensed vendor. The Australian slang term 'sly-grog' combines two older English slang terms: The term 'sly-grog' evolved into general usage in Australia during the 1820s. An early reference comes from the ""Hobart Town Gazette"" of 18 March 1825: ""We therefore felt convinced that in the sequel they would altogether decline applying for licenses, whilst many of them would become sly grog-men to the manifest"
"Strigil The strigil () is a tool for the cleansing of the body by scraping off dirt, perspiration, and oil that was applied before bathing in Ancient Greek and Roman cultures. In these cultures the strigil was primarily used by men, specifically male athletes; however, in Etruscan culture there is evidence of strigils being used by both sexes. The standard design is a curved blade with a handle, all of which is made of metal. Strigils were commonly used by individuals who were engaging in vigorous activities, in which they accumulated large amounts of dirt and sweat on their bodies."
"Spic Spic (also known as spick) is an ethnic slur commonly used in the United States of America for a person of Hispanic background. Some in the United States believe that the word is a play on their pronunciation of the English ""speak"". The Oxford English Dictionary takes ""spic"" to be a contraction of the earlier form ""spiggoty"". The oldest known use of ""spiggoty"" is in 1910 by Wilbur Lawton in ""Boy Aviators in Nicaragua, or, In League with the Insurgents"". Stuart Berg Flexner, in ""I hear America Talking"" (1976), favored the explanation that it derives from ""no spik Ingles"""
"Snob Snob is a pejorative term for a person that believes there is a correlation between social status and human worth. ""Snob"" also refers to a person that feels superiority over those from lower social classes, education levels, or other social areas. The word ""snobbery"" came into use for the first time in England during the 1820s. A snob is also a tool (an anvil) used by cobblers in the manufacture of footwear. Snobs can through time be found ingratiating themselves with a range of prominent groups – soldiers (Sparta, 400 BC), bishops (Rome, 1500), poets (Weimar, 1815), farmers (China,"
"Shill A shill, also called a plant or a stooge, is a person who publicly helps or gives credibility to a person or organization without disclosing that they have a close relationship with the person or organization. Shills can carry out their operations in the areas of media, journalism, marketing, politics, confidence games, or other business areas. A shill may also act to discredit opponents or critics of the person or organization in which they have a vested interest through character assassination or other means. In most uses, ""shill"" refers to someone who purposely gives onlookers, participants or ""marks"" the"
"with slight contempt and smugness."" Gossip Gossip is idle talk or rumor, especially about the personal or private affairs of others; the act is also known as dishing or tattling. Gossip has been researched in terms of its origins in evolutionary psychology, which has found gossip to be an important means for people to monitor cooperative reputations and so maintain widespread indirect reciprocity. Indirect reciprocity is a social interaction in which one actor helps another and is then benefited by a third party. Gossip has also been identified by Robin Dunbar, an evolutionary biologist, as aiding social bonding in large"
"Argot An argot (; from French ""argot"" 'slang') is a secret language used by various groups—e.g., schoolmates, outlaws, colleagues, gay people (Polari) among many others—to prevent outsiders from understanding their conversations. The term ""argot"" is also used to refer to the informal specialized vocabulary from a particular field of study, occupation, or hobby, in which sense it overlaps with jargon. The discipline of medicine has been referred to as having its own argot which includes abbreviations, acronyms, and ""technical colloquialisms"". Author Victor Hugo was one of the first to research and compile terms from criminal argot. In his 1862 novel"
"the terms ""Stomm"", ""Drokk"", and ""Grud"". This last is a clear reference to the Christian God as it is accompanied by the apparatus of an organized religion, including ""Church of Grud"" and similar. Use of the terms includes the colorful ""Grud on a Greenie!"". From 1977 to 1979, ""2000 AD"" also featured a ""Dan Dare"" comic strip, loosely set in the same continuity as ""Judge Dredd"", and these strips too used such parlance as ""Stomm"" and ""Drokk"". In comic series ""Johnny the Homicidal Maniac"", the characters sometimes use the word ""fook"" in place of ""fuck"". The DC Comics character Lobo,"
"only one farmer and one piggy remain. At this time there's no need for the farmer to guess who the piggy is since only one player is left. The two remaining players are the winners. The title of the game is used in the media, often to establish a satiric tone in political pieces. Squeak Piggy Squeak Squeak Piggy Squeak is a parlour game that is sometimes called Grunt Piggy Grunt, Oink Piggy Oink. It is a variation of Blind Man's Bluff and was popular in the Victorian era. To play the game, one player is chosen to be the"
"the word ""Gremlin"". The term ""grommet"" was used in ""Lockie Leonard, Legend"" by Tim Winton: ""Things are never as simple as they seem, not even for grommets"". The word was originally a term for an inexperienced surfer, but has become an accepted term for all young participants. For example, the British Surfing Association offers a Grommet Surf Club for young surfers. Santa Cruz Derby Groms are the junior skaters for the Santa Cruz Derby Girls. Term first made popular on the South Coast of NSW in the 1970s Grommet (sportsperson) A grommet (grom, or gremmie) is a young participant in"
"armed services. {Needs Citation} ""Lifers"" are distinguished not necessarily by their length of time served, but rather by their attitude toward the lower ranks. (Joker describes the distinction as follows: ""A lifer is anybody who abuses authority he doesn't deserve to have. There are plenty of civilian lifers."") Finally, ""POGs"" (pronounced poges) (an alternative spelling for the slang term ""pogues""), stands for Persons Other than Grunts. Grunts is another name for common soldiers. Thus, POGs are Marines who fill non-combat roles (i.e., cooks, clerks, mechanics); they are a favorite target of the front-line troops' derision, and vice versa. Hasford, Michael"
"City slicker City slicker is an idiomatic expression for someone accustomed to a city or urban lifestyle and unsuited to life in the country. The term was typically used as a term of derision by rural Americans who regarded them with amusement. It may refer to a ""fop"", or it may be a derogatory term for a person wearing inappropriate city-type business attire, particularly with a brusque or condescending attitude in areas where local residents are offended by an arrogant attitude combined with disdain and lack of respect for rural people and lifestyles. The term can be used to describe"
"of necessity using whatever tools and materials come to hand and which, whilst not necessarily elegant, is nevertheless serviceable. Bodged should not be confused with a ""botched"" job: a poor, incompetent or shoddy example of work, deriving from the mediaeval word ""botch"" – a bruise or carbuncle, typically in the field of DIY, though often in fashion magazines to describe poorly executed cosmetic surgery. A ""bodge"", like its cognates ""kludge"" and ""fudge"", is serviceable: a ""botched"" job most certainly is not. Bodger was the name of a character in the comic strip 'Flook', which appeared in the U.K. Daily Mail"
"Sporgery Sporgery is the disruptive act of posting a flood of articles to a Usenet newsgroup, with the article headers falsified so that they appear to have been posted by others. The word is a portmanteau of ""spam"" and ""forgery"", coined by German software developer, and critic of Scientology, Tilman Hausherr. Sporgery resembles crapflooding which is also intended to disrupt a forum. However, sporgery is not merely disruptive but also deceptive or libellous—it involves falsifying objectionable posts so they appear to come from newsgroup regulars. The purpose is not merely to jam the forum, but also to sully the reputations"
"Blip (internet) A blip is an onomatopoeic English noun used to refer a small dot registered on electronic equipment, such as radar or oscilloscope screens, or an electronically generated single-pitch sound. Alternatively, it has now entered usage as a short status update posted to any social networking website on the Internet. The word blip was first used in 1880 by American writer Joel Chandler Harris in his Brer Rabbit stories to indicate a physical blow or punch: “Brer Rabbit draw back wid his fis’, he did, en blip he tuck ‘er side er de head.” This definition was adopted by"
"Rigger (industry) A rigger is a person who specializes in the lifting and moving of extremely large or heavy objects, often with the assistance of a crane or derrick or chain hoists (chain fall). The term comes from the days of sailing ships, when a rigger was a person who worked with rigging, that is, ropes for hoisting the sails. Sailors could put their rope skills to work in lifting and hauling. In an era before mechanical haulage and cranes, ropes, pulleys and muscle power were all that was available to move heavy objects. A specialized subset are entertainment industry"
"common usage, originates in the ""louchébem"" transformation of Fr. ""fou"" 'crazy'. ""Piaf"" is a Parisian argot word for ""bird, sparrow"". It was taken up by singer Edith Piaf as her stage name. Argot An argot (; from French ""argot"" 'slang') is a secret language used by various groups—e.g., schoolmates, outlaws, colleagues, gay people (Polari) among many others—to prevent outsiders from understanding their conversations. The term ""argot"" is also used to refer to the informal specialized vocabulary from a particular field of study, occupation, or hobby, in which sense it overlaps with jargon. The discipline of medicine has been referred to"
"Swagman A swagman (also called a swaggie, sundowner or tussocker) was a transient labourer who travelled by foot from farm to farm carrying his belongings in a swag (bedroll). The term originated in Australia in the 19th-century and was later used in New Zealand. Swagmen were particularly common in Australia during times of economic uncertainty, such as the 1890s and the Great Depression of the 1930s. Many unemployed men travelled the rural areas of Australia on foot, their few meagre possessions rolled up and carried in their swag. Typically, they would seek work in farms and towns they travelled through,"
"""scrooge"", for example, is a miser – or someone who dislikes Christmas festivity. His characters were often so memorable that they took on a life of their own outside his books. ""Gamp"" became a slang expression for an umbrella from the character Mrs Gamp, and ""Pickwickian"", ""Pecksniffian"", and ""Gradgrind"" all entered dictionaries due to Dickens's original portraits of such characters who were, respectively, quixotic, hypocritical, and vapidly factual. Many were drawn from real life: Mrs Nickleby is based on his mother, though she didn't recognise herself in the portrait, just as Mr Micawber is constructed from aspects of his father's"
"VI – The Big Wager, ""The Shearer's Colt"" (1936) by Andrew Barton 'Banjo' Paterson]. Sly-grog shop A sly grog shop (or shanty) is an Australian term for an unlicensed hotel or liquor-store, often with the added suggestion of selling poor-quality liquor; a place where alcoholic beverages are sold by an unlicensed vendor. The Australian slang term 'sly-grog' combines two older English slang terms: The term 'sly-grog' evolved into general usage in Australia during the 1820s. An early reference comes from the ""Hobart Town Gazette"" of 18 March 1825: ""We therefore felt convinced that in the sequel they would altogether decline"
"called ""The Swagman"", heard on an old music box, plays an important role in solving the mystery. Swagman A swagman (also called a swaggie, sundowner or tussocker) was a transient labourer who travelled by foot from farm to farm carrying his belongings in a swag (bedroll). The term originated in Australia in the 19th-century and was later used in New Zealand. Swagmen were particularly common in Australia during times of economic uncertainty, such as the 1890s and the Great Depression of the 1930s. Many unemployed men travelled the rural areas of Australia on foot, their few meagre possessions rolled up"
"a ""snipe"" in their coffee, to give it that delicate amber color and to add to the aroma. ""Snipe"" is hobo for the butt end of a cigar that smokers throw down in the streets. All hobos have large quantities of snipes in their pockets, for both chewing and smoking purposes. A ""beggar stew"" is a ""mulligan,"" without any meat. ""Mulligan"" is a stand-in term for any Irishman, and Mulligan stew is simply an Irish stew that includes meat, potatoes, vegetables, and whatever else can be begged, scavenged, found or stolen. A local Appalachian variant is a burgoo, which may"
"""Scrooge"" is used in English as a word for a person who is miserly and tight-fisted, in spite of the fact that Ebenezer Scrooge later reformed. The character is most often noted for exclaiming ""Bah! Humbug!"" despite uttering this phrase only twice in the entire story. He uses the word ""Humbug"" on its own on seven occasions, although on the seventh we are told he ""stopped at the first syllable"" after realizing Marley's ghost is real. The word is never used again after that in the book. A species of snail is named ""Ba humbugi"" after Scrooge's catchphrase. Ebenezer Scrooge"
"Spiv In the United Kingdom, the word spiv is slang for a type of petty criminal who deals in illicit, typically black market, goods. The word was particularly used during the Second World War and in the post-war period when many goods were rationed due to shortages. According to Peter Wollen, ""The crucial difference between the spiv and the classic Hollywood gangster was the degree of sympathy the spiv gained as an intermediary in the transfer of black market goods to ... a grateful mass of consumers."" There are various suggestions about the origin of the word. The spiv had"
"Slugging Slugging, also known as casual carpooling, is the practice of forming ad hoc, informal carpools for purposes of commuting, essentially a variation of ride-share commuting and hitchhiking. A driver picks up these non-paying passengers (known as ""slugs"" or ""sluggers"") at key locations, as having these additional passengers means that the driver can qualify to use an HOV lane or enjoy toll reduction. While the practice is most common and most publicized in the congested Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, slugging also occurs in San Francisco, Houston, and other cities. In order to relieve traffic volume during the morning and evening"
"into a closed store), robbery (stealing by threatening or engaging in violent behavior) or armed robbery (stealing by using a weapon). In the retail industry, the word shrinkage or shrink, can be used to refer to merchandise lost by shoplifting, but the word also includes loss by other means, such as waste, uninsured damage to products, and theft by store employees. Shoplifters range from amateurs acting on impulse, to career criminals who habitually engage in shoplifting as a form of income. Career criminals may use several individuals to shoplift, with some participants distracting store employees while another participant steals items."