Speedog's definitions

against her will is against the law

Expression (chiefly American): an admonition to males engaging in sexual behavior with females that at any time the female expresses the wish to cease such activity, the male must immediately comply or risk potential legal consequences.

Any guy out on the town needs to remember the mantra "against her will is against the law."

by speedog June 25, 2010

nova

Noun (astrophysics terminology): the catastrophic self-destruction of a "main sequence" stellar body via a runaway nuclear fusion reaction caused by the accretion of hydrogen atoms over time, surpassing the star's ability to burn off the accreted hydrogen prior to the initiation of the reaction.

The Crab Nebula was originally thought to be the product of a nova explosion, but is now known to be the result of the supernova of star Taurus-A.

by speedog July 10, 2010

Climb Mount Nitaka

Phrase (WW II Japanese military): code phrase authorizing the activation of "Operation Z", the Japanese attack on U.S. naval forces based at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

Once Emperor Hirohito had given his assent to Operation Z, the code phrase "Climb Mount Nitaka" was transmitted to Admiral Yamamoto.

by speedog July 7, 2010

Essex

Noun: a 238-ton whaling ship, based out of Nantucket Island (USA), famously sunk on November 20, 1820 in an encounter with "Mocha Dick", an albino sperm whale defending his pod against human predation. Incident widely acknowledged as the direct inspiration for Herman Melville's 1851 novel "Moby-Dick, or The Whale".

"Following the second hull strike by Mocha Dick, the Essex crew had only minutes to provision the surviving boats and cast-off before the ship sank."

by speedog June 16, 2010

Let 'em have it

American military slang: to commence hostilities against an adversary.

After the enemy squad failed to halt their advance on our position, Lt. Johnson shouted "Let 'em have it", and we had to open fire.

by speedog June 23, 2010

anger

Noun (usually military term): an officially recognized state of hostility or war between two or more belligerents; often expressed as the phrase "in anger", now commonly used to describe any state of conflict between opposing parties.

As of the current date, the United States remains the only nation ever to have used atomic weapons in anger, against the Japanese Empire in August 1945, in order to bring an end to Japanese resistance during World War II.

by speedog July 21, 2010

white dwarf

Noun (astrophysics term): the small, highly-dense stellar body remaining after the nova detonation of a "main sequence" star, typically Earth-sized in overall dimension, but displacing a gravitational mass equivalent to that of the Earth's Sun.

Astrophysicists now calculate that white dwarf stars may account for as much as 6% of all the known stars in our quadrant of the Milky Way galaxy.

by speedog July 13, 2010