bill peters's definitions

mechanical placebo

An impressive looking device or scheme, that in fact, does nothing. It is commonly believed that pedestrian controlled traffic signals and signs warning that police monitor speeders by aircraft, are blatant examples.

Why are you pushing the "close" door on this elevator? It's just a mechanical placebo.

by Bill Peters August 11, 2006

snard

This word has been in wide use around the Chicago area since I was a kid in the 1960s. It is the nasty black conglomerate of snow, ice, soot and car exhaust particles that forms underneath your car or truck after weeks of constant sub-freezing weather.

In Chicago, snard is an ever present visual reminder of how depressing winter can be.

You can near the unmistakable sound from the alley of someone knocking snard from their car.

Snard is the number one reason for rusting undercarriages in UP Michigan.

Snard makes car wash operations rich.

Snard is about the yukkiest stuff ever.

People down here in Maryland have no concept of what snard is. They are lucky.

by Bill Peters August 31, 2006

upholstered

Overweight, obese, tubby. May refer to a man or woman. A person who would qualify as a hippo could be refered to as being "well upholstered."

He is so upholstered that a heart attack is imminent.

by Bill Peters October 14, 2006

sound bite

(n) A short, catchy statement meeting the short attention requirements of TV news. Sound bites have the annoying habit of being play again and again ad nauseum. In fact, newscasts are increasingly built around sound bites instead of hard news and analysis. And public relations firms earn huge bucks cooking up sound bites for political spin and damage control.

One memorable sound bite (1984 Debate) from Vice Presidential candidate Lloyd Bensten countering Dan Quayle's comparision of himself to President John Kennedy.

Bensten: "I knew Jack Kennedy. He was a friend of mine. You are no Jack Kennedy."

by Bill Peters November 24, 2006

dirty

(1) To be in possession of an illegal substance, particularly drugs.
(2) To be using drugs or found to be using through a test
(3) Shifty, greasy, unkempt, possession bad manners; having “redneck” qualities.
(4) A mullet

(1) I'm not going to the concert with you if you are dirty. We might get busted.
(2) Barry Bonds never showed up dirty on his tests because he took measures to ensure he showed clean.
(3) She's so dirty; he must be mad about her to wanna go out with someone s-o-o-o-o on the other side of the tracks.
(4) Dawg the Bounty Hunter has a helluva dirty.

by Bill Peters October 13, 2006

andro-dyke

Gay slang abbreviation for “androgynous dyke.” A lesbian who is neither “lipstick” or “butch”, ie., neither overly masculine or feminine. The term "andro-look" and simply "andro" are also commonly used.

Andro-dyke self-identification can be traced to the 1970s.

by Bill Peters October 7, 2006

dark side

(n) One’s evil nature; the evil flip side of an entity or idea. Term is often used in jest; (Concept has been long recognized by psychologists and theologians but given fresh meaning in the popular vernacular by the “Star War” movie series.)

A "dark-side" hacker (term used in the hacker community) describes someone who produces software or hacks with malicious or criminal intent.

“Don’t bug me, you don’t want to see my dark side.”

by Bill Peters November 11, 2006