AKACroatalin's definitions

Coney-catch

An old time word meaning to swindle, cheat or deceive. See also cony-catcher.

Politicians are unbiased, they’ll coney-catch anybody.

by AKACroatalin March 7, 2019

Yclept

Yclept is another way of saying also known as or AKA. Its original meaning was “going by the name of” and as such was used, in England, by Victorian police forces if a criminal had more than one name. It was also used by the criminals themselves when they wished to confused members of the general public to whom it was virtually unknown. It can also be used to mean so-called, in the sense of a name given to someone or something that is unfit for purpose. At one time it was believed that the word was related kleptomaniac, that the person it was applied to would steal anything, even another name, however, the origins of Yclept go back to the mediaeval English word “geoclepod” which meant “who is called” or “whose name is”. It’s very rarely used now, but could be useful if you want to bring some wiseass know-it-all down to earth, because you can bet they won’t know what it means.

Overenthusiastic user of Magniloquence yclept mouthy idiot of a politician.

by AKACroatalin November 20, 2016

Absolute Poo

A British expression, it’s used to describe something that is no good, rubbish or of poor quality. It’s a rather more polite way of saying totally shit.

“How did your interview go?”
“Absolute Poo!”

by AKACroatalin August 1, 2015

Socially Concerned

Ostensibly it means caring about society. Being concerned about the things that are wrong with society such as increasing violent crime, an increasingly stressed health service, the marginalisation of the disadvantaged members of society, the list is pretty much endless; those who are truly socially concerned then try to do something about it. Unfortunately as in the case of the chattering classes the socially concerned individuals only pay lip-service to whatever cause is fashionable and they do sfa.

Most so-called socially concerned just talk about the latest fashionable cause, they don’t actually do anything to help.

by AKACroatalin May 26, 2015

Bows Under

English expression meaning to have more work that you can possibly deal with. It originated with the Royal Navy and referred to those times when a ship was caught in a severe storm or hurricane. This would require the crew member to work continuously, often for extended periods with little rest, to ensure the safety of the ship. During this time the ship would have green seas coming over the bows so that it appeared as if the bows were under water. When telling of the experience once they were back on shore, the sailors would refer to the ship as being 'bows under' and gradually the expression became associated with the excessive workload incurred at the time as well, so that having an excessive workload requiring continuous application to clear became known as being 'bows under'.

The expression came to be used within the Royal Dockyards to denote times when excessive workloads were experienced. One notable occasion being 1982 when, in response to the Argentine invasion of the Falkland Islands, the Royal Dockyards fitted out ships taken up from trade for Naval service in less than six weeks, Commercial shipbuilders said that this would take more than six months for each vessel, but by carrying out the work in less than a quarter of the time quoted by commercial shipbuilders the Royal Dockyards were 'bows under'.

"This is the first weekend off I've had in six weeks! We've been bows under!"

by AKACroatalin March 18, 2015

Pissed them off

This is a phrase commonly used throughout the UK to indicate to a friend, colleague or even a total stranger that they have seriously annoyed a number of other people by word, action or attitude and that they can expect repercussions.

"Malcolm's just changed a whole load of databases that took months to set up, system support are fuming, he's really pissed them off!"

by AKACroatalin March 29, 2015

Evaced

US Army slang possibly from the Korean War, where helicopters were first used to transport wounded troops, but certainly in use during the Vietnam War. A contraction of evacuated, it means to be removed from a combat zone, by helicopter, to an aid station or hospital and, if the injury or wound is serious enough, back to the United States.

Jimmy got creased a couple of times during Charlie’s last attack; dumb fuck thought he was going to be evaced, but all he got was a purple heart and a pat on the head.

by AKACroatalin February 23, 2017