set off the silent alarm. Don’t spook the
cattle. They’ll stampede. 2. n. a spy; a CIA
(U.S. Central Intelligence Agency) agent.
I just learned that my uncle had been a
spook for years. Fred is training to be a
spook, but don’t tell anybody.spookedmod. frightened or startled.
The guy looked sort of spooked. He was
sweating and panting like someone had
scared him to death. The horse was
spooked and rolled its eyes and snorted a
lot.
spook factoryn. the CIA (U.S. Central In-
telligence Agency) near Washington,
D.C., where spies are said to be trained.
Tom got a job in the spook factory.
Does the spook factory pay very well?
spoon 1. in. to neck and pet. They like
to go out and spoon under the stars. Do
you remember spooning with me years
ago? 2. Go to cokespoon.
sportn. friend; chum. (A term of address.)
Well, sport, looks like we have a little
problem here. Hey, sport, what’s new?
spot 1. n. a small drink of liquor. I’ll just
have a spot, please. Just a spot for me,
too. 2. n. a nightclub; a night spot. It
was a nice little spot, with a combo and a
canary. We went to a spot with a juke-
box for entertainment.
spot marketn. the open market where
deals are made on the spot. (Securities
markets.) Oil reached nearly twenty-
five dollars a barrel on the spot market.
Gold prices on the spot market finally
reached $600 per ounce and then promptly
collapsed.
spot of lunchn. a small amount of lunch.
How about a spot of lunch? I had a
spot of lunch at my desk, thanks.
spot someone (something) 1. tv. to give
an advantage to someone. I’ll spot you
twenty points. No need to spot me. I’m
the greatest! 2. tv. to lend someone some-
thing. Can you spot me a few bucks?
I can spot you a whole hundred!
sprain one’s ankletv. to become pregnant.
She has, ah, sprained her ankle. From
the looks of her, she must have sprained her
ankle some months ago.
spring chickenn. a young and naive per-
son, especially a young woman. (Usually
in the negative.) Well, I may not be a
spring chicken, but I got some spizzerink-
tum left. I am a spring chicken, but I
lie about my age to get served in bars.
spring for something and bounce for
somethingin. to treat (someone) by
buying something. (See also pop for
something.) I’m bouncing for pizza.
Any takers? Ralph sprang for drinks,
and we all had a great time.
spring someonetv. to get someone out of
jail on bond or permanently. My wife
came down and sprung me; otherwise, I’d
still be in the slammer. The guy’s
mouthpiece tried to spring him, but the DA
nixed it.
sproutn. a child. Where are the sprouts?
A little sprout came up and tried to sell
me a ticket to a game.
sprout wings 1. tv. to die and become an
angel. I’m not ready to sprout wings yet.
I’ve got a few more years. You wanna
sprout wings, you just keep talking like
that. 2. tv. to be so good as to become
an angel. The kid is not about to sprout
wings, but he probably won’t get into jail
again. He was so good and helpful, I
thought he would sprout wings.
spud[sp@d] 1. n. a potato. I’d like a few
more spuds. Mashed spuds are the best
of all. 2. n. vodka. (Presumed to be made
from potatoes.) How about a glass of
spud? She keeps a big jug of spud in the
reefer and drinks it like water. 3. n. a
vodka drunkard. That silly spud thinks
we can’t smell what’s on her breath. The
old spud on the third f loor fell down a
f light or two and broke his hip. 4. n. a
short person. (Also a term of address.)
He can jump pretty high for a spud.
Hey, spud! I almost didn’t see you!
spungeGo to sponge.
spunk[sp@Nk] n. courage. Show some
spunk. Get in there and stand up for your
rights. I have the spunk, but I don’t have
the brains.spunk