87 definitions by Athene Airheart

empennage

The tail section of an airplane, including the elevator and rudder.

From a French word meaning "feathers" or "tail feathers."

The empennage of my airplane is painted white and brown and has the registration number on it.

by Athene Airheart May 15, 2004

finger pointing

To draw attention to something. Often used in terms of a person blaming something else. Fairly self-explanatory.

There has been a lot of finger pointing, but no one has yet found the one true cause of cancer.

by Athene Airheart May 16, 2004

Horf

Throwing up, vomiting. Usually in large quantities.

"Boy, he horfed all over the floor!"

by Athene Airheart March 15, 2004

decimate

A frequently misused word.

Decimate literally means to reduce something by a tenth, but many people use it instead to mean "totally destroy." The word "obliterate" would be a better choice than "decimate."

Decimate comes from the root "deci-" which can be found in other words involving ten, "decimal" for example.

When I decimated the cookies I ate ten out of the hundred-cookie batch.

Joe decimated the rock collection by getting rid of one tenth of the rocks.

by Athene Airheart March 25, 2004

groundling

Somebody who can't fly.

Not really a derogatory term, but discriptive. Similar to groundhog.

Don't take your cessna below a thousand feet over a city, you don't want to bother the groundlings.

by Athene Airheart March 19, 2005

groundlings

People who are stuck on the ground all the time.

A non-pilot.

Someone who can't fly.

Also, Groundhog.

"Wow, look at all those groundlings! It's too nice a day to be stuck down there!"

by Athene Airheart March 15, 2004

Hangar

A building or structure used for storing aircraft. Often populated by pilots, mechanics, hangar hounds, and similar ilk. It's kind of like a really big garage, but it's more fun to spend time in.

Hangars can be open on one or all sides, fully enclosed, heated or unheated. Some are quite nice with offices inside, some are very plain without even power going to them. The word "Hangar" comes from a French word meaning "shed."

I'm glad I got my plane into the hangar before the hailstorm started.

by Athene Airheart May 2, 2004