R. & R.n. rest and recuperation; rest and re-
laxation. (Originally military.) I could
use about three years of R. & R. after that
battle. I’ll need a lot of R. & R. to re-
cover from that stuff they fed us.
RSNinterj. real soon now. (Used in elec-
tronic mail and computer forum or news
group messages. Not pronounced aloud.)
I will post the rest of my trip report
RSN. I will be finished RSN. I’ll let you
know.
rubber 1. n. automobile tires; the rubber of
automobile tires left on the street from
spinning tires. This car has some fine
rubber on it. The rubber on my car is
practically ruined. 2. Go to rubber
(check). 3. n. a condom. Bill has car-
ried a rubber in his wallet since he was 12.
The same rubber! He always carries a
rubber “just in case.”
rubber (check)n. a check that bounces; a
forged check. (See also bounce.) The
bank says I wrote a rubber check, but I’m
sure there was enough money on deposit.
One rubber check after another! Can’t
you add?
rubberneck 1. n. one who stares at some-
thing or someone; a tourist. At noon
the sidewalks are crowded with rubber-
necks. See if that rubberneck over there
has the correct time. 2. in. to stare (at
something or someone). What are all
those people rubbernecking at? Traffic is
stalled because of all the drivers who are
rubbernecking.
rubber sockn. a timid person; a passive
and compliant person. What a rubber
sock. She’s afraid of her own shadow.
Come on! Stand up for your rights. Don’t
be such a rubber sock!
rubbishn. nonsense. (Also an exclama-
tion.) I’m tired of listening to your rub-
bish. Rubbish! That’s the stupidest thing
I’ve ever heard.
rub someone outtv. to kill someone. (Un-
derworld.) The gunman was eager to
rub somebody out. TThe crooks tried to
rub out the witness.
rub someone’s nose in somethingtv. to
remind someone of something con-
stantly; to make a big issue about some-
one’s mistake. (From the practice of
training a puppy by rubbing its nose in
the messes it makes.) So I made a mis-
take! I wish you’d stop rubbing my nose in
it. Rubbing my nose in it is not going to
correct the mistake.
ruckus[“r@k@s] n. a commotion; an uproar.
Quiet, please. Don’t raise such a ruckus.
The boss kicked up quite a ruckus when
I came in late.
rude 1. mod. undesirable; unpleasant.
The prof in my history class is a rude dude,
for sure. What a rude idea! 2. mod.
cool; pleasant. Man, that’s a rude bike!
Sally is a rude-looking girl!
rugn. a wig or toupee. (See also divot.)
Is that guy wearing a rug, or does his scalp
really slide from side to side? I wear just
a little rug to cover up a shiny spot.
rug rat and ankle bitern. a child. Yo u
got any ankle biters at your house? Hey,
you cute little rug rat, come over here.
rulein. to dominate; to be the best. (Slang
only in certain contexts. Typical in graf-
fiti.) The rockets rule! Pizza rules
around here.
ruleymod. ideal; excellent. (See also rule.)
Her idea is ruley! She knows what we
ought to do!
rumble 1. in. to fight. The gangs are
rumbling over on Fourth Street. We’re
going to rumble tomorrow night. 2. n. a
fight; a street fight; a gang fight. If
there is a rumble, get out of there fast.
My brother was hurt in a gang rumble.
rumdum and rum-dum[“r@m”d@m]1. n. a
drunkard; a ruined alcoholic. Get that
smelly rumdum out of here. I don’t want
to end up like a dirty rum-dumb. 2. n. a
stupid person. Hey, rumdum, wise up
and do what you are told. Don’t be such
a rum-dum. 3. mod. alcohol intoxicated.
The old lady got rumdum on gin. Tw o
glasses and she was rumdum and asleep.
rummed (up)mod. alcohol intoxicated.
Sailors like to go into town and get
rummed up. Those boys are really
rummed.rummed (up)