Lexical Compendium

Wait... what is this? Sometimes I come across a word, phrase, idiom, quote, reference, bit of slang, person of interest, etc that either I don't know or I find amusing, interesting, etc. This is a collection of those items so that I can refer back to them in emails, texts, etc.

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"...and she stepped on the ball."

My favorite line in the movie "Trading Places" is a reference to a joke in another movie called "Aunti Mame." In that movie, a rich and condescending woman tells a story about a ping pong game in which she "stepped on the ball."

In "Trading Places," this exchange takes place as Louis Winthorpe III, now disgraced, jobless and homeless, enters his tennis club in in hopes of getting help from his rich friends. As Louis enters the scene, we hear the end of a story being told by one of these friends to the rest of the gang, "...and she stepped on the ball." Louis, of course, discovers that his friends and even his fiancée want nothing to do with him.


(link to this entry)

References:

  1. What do Kimmy Schmidt, Trading Places, & Auntie Mame have in common - Reel Memorable blog entry
  2. IMDB: Trading Places

Tags: quote , movie , inside joke

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"There's nothing more exhilarating than pointing out the shortcomings of others, is there?"

This is a quote from the 1994 movie "Clerks."


(link to this entry)

References:

  1. IMDB: Clerks (quote)

Tags: quote , movie , clerks

Date Added: Unknown

fridging

The term fridging describes a narrative trope in which a female character is used primarily to motivate the male protagonist.[2] The female character is harmed, killed, traumatized, etc in order to catalyze the protagonist's journey -- his grief or vengeance are what propels him forward.

The term comes from the comic Green Lantern in an issue in which the hero discovers his girlfriend murdered and stuffed into a refrigerator by a villain.[3] Comics writer Gail Simone later cataloged a long list of similar cases under the project "Women in Refrigerators," and the name stuck.[4]

In November 2025 I saw the remake of the movie The Running Man.[1] The primary motivation for the main character joining the deadly game show The Running Man is that he is unable to support his wife and sick daughter. These characters are only in the movie to motivate the protagonist. The picture he keeps of them seems to get more air time than the actual characters.


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References:

  1. IMDB: The Running Man (2025)
  2. Wikipedia: Women in refrigerators
  3. Comic Vine: Green Lantern #54 - Forced Entry
  4. Wikipedia: Gail Simone

Tags: movie , jargon , comics

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rozzer

Rozzer is British slang for a police officer.

"Cripes, the rozzers are after us!"

I first heard this while watching the movie Wicked Little Letters.

The terms rozzers , bobbies and peelers (all slang words for police officers) likely originate from a play on the name Sir Robert Peel, founder of the Metropolitan Police Service in 1829.


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References:

  1. Definition: rozzer
  2. IMDB: Wicked Little Letters
  3. Why are the police in the UK called "rozzers"?
  4. Wikipedia: Robert Peel

Tags: slang , british

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trial balloon

A trial balloon is a metaphorical term describing a tentative action or statement meant to test reactions or explore possibilities before committing to a course of action. It's often used in diplomacy, politics, and awkward social situations, where one wants to gauge sentiment or diffuse tension without directly confronting the issue.

The phrase originates from the early days of hot-air ballooning in the late 18th century. British aeronauts would send up small, unmanned balloons as trial balloons to assess weather conditions, wind direction, and other factors before launching a manned flight. By the mid-19th century, the term was being used figuratively, particularly in politics, where governments or individuals would "float" proposals through unofficial channels to gauge public opinion before formally committing. Over time, it came to describe any cautious, preliminary step taken to assess outcomes.

I first heard this term in an interview with Bill Hader on the Where Everybody Knows Your Name with Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson (sometimes) podcast. Hader shared a story about embarrassing himself by badmouthing a movie to someone who starred in it. To mend the social faux pas, he waited an hour and floated a trial balloon by saying, "Um, hey, they’re grilling some chicken over there."

He shared this awkward story with Larry David, who, of course, loved it -- particularly the hilariously ineffectual nature of the "trial balloon" attempt -- and encouraged him to repeat it often.


(link to this entry)

References:

  1. Definition: trial balloon
  2. Podcast: Where Everyone Knows Your Name with Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson (sometimes), - Bill Hader
  3. Wikipedia: Trial Balloon

Tags: vocabulary , podcast , metaphor

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