a white space
“It seems to me that the average punctuation mark, if it’s being used correctly, becomes invisible to the reading mind. You’re not meant to interpret a comma; you’re barely even meant to notice it. (There are stories that deliberately call attention to the punctuation marks they use, of course, but they’re anomalies, and I would hazard that most of them fail to achieve anything important by the practice.)
On the other hand, a white space, perhaps because it is absent of information, presents itself as something to be understood. Many readers might fail to accept such an invitation, simply hurrying on to the next block of sentences, but I do think the request is implicit every time you encounter one. What a white space most frequently suggests is that some significant current of the narrative is coming to a stop and a new one is beginning. A practiced reader will approach it with that expectation in mind.”
—Kevin Brockmeier, from an interview entitled Kevin Brockmeier on White Space at The Reader of Absurdist Books, posted April 06, 2006. Ran into this by way of Bookslut.
Big-eyes.
(Chiefly rural) A plainclothesman or detective.
—Dictionary of American Underworld Lingo, Hyman E. Goldin, Editor in Chief, 1950.
Black Maria, the.
Enclosed van for conveying prisoners to and from jails.
—Dictionary of American Underworld Lingo, Hyman E. Goldin, Editor in Chief, 1950.
Blackstone.
(Rare) A judge. “That blackstone must have figured you was a cat hitting you with triple life (three consecutive life terms).”
—Dictionary of American Underworld Lingo, Hyman E. Goldin, Editor in Chief, 1950.
Black top.
A tent used for gambling by carnival emplyees. “A couple of strange weeds (strangers) just heisted (held up) the black top.”
—Dictionary of American Underworld Lingo, Hyman E. Goldin, Editor in Chief, 1950.
Blue.
(Carnival; antonym of red) Poor paying; not prosperous—applied to a carnival crowd of spectators.
—Dictionary of American Underworld Lingo, Hyman E. Goldin, Editor in Chief, 1950.
Blue room.
1. The back room in a police station where suspects are examined by proper or, frequently, by third degree methods. 2. (Prison) The solitary confinement chamber in which excessively harsh punishments are inflicted.
—Dictionary of American Underworld Lingo, Hyman E. Goldin, Editor in Chief, 1950.
Blue sky racket.
The promotion of stocks or bonds in a company capitalized illegally.—Note: Named after the “blue sky law,” framed to curb what its originators termed the “capitalization of the blue sky.”]
—Dictionary of American Underworld Lingo, Hyman E. Goldin, Editor in Chief, 1950.
Brown.
1. (Prohibition era trade term) Whiskey. [Note: “Brown plaid” was in occasional use to distinguish Scotch from rye.]
—Dictionary of American Underworld Lingo, Hyman E. Goldin, Editor in Chief, 1950.
Color.
Money; cash. “You got to show plenty color in that joint (gambling house).”
—Dictionary of American Underworld Lingo, Hyman E. Goldin, Editor in Chief, 1950.