AIRCRAFT
NOUNS
1876 — LAME DUCK a severely damaged or defenseless aircraft → US
1891 — AVIATOR a flying-machine → obs.
1898 — AVION a flying-machine, esp. a French aeroplane
..20C — BANDIT an enemy aircraft → Amer. sl., World War II usage
..20C — KITE an aircraft → Royal Air Force usage
1908 — BUTTERFLY AEROPLANE any of various lightweight aeroplanes → obs.
1908 — GYROPTER a rotary-wing aircraft
1910 — GALLOPING GOOSE a plane that runs badly → US sl.
1912 — AVIETTE an engineless aeroplane or glider
1913 — BUS an aeroplane, esp. a heavy one → colloq.
1914 — FLIP a short flight in an aircraft → colloq.
1914 — WRITE-OFF a completely wrecked aircraft → Royal Flying Corps usage
1915 — CRATE a military aircraft → World War I Amer. sl.
1915 — FLAMING COFFIN an airplane falling in flames → World War I Amer. sl.
1915 — FLYING FISH an airplane → World War I Amer. sl.
1915 — MECHANICAL COW an airplane that is clumsy in the air → World War I Amer. sl.
1915 — FLY-CATCHER a fast aeroplane, officially a ‘fleet-fighter’ → military esp. airmen’s usage
1916 — FAN an aircraft propeller → Royal Air Force usage
1916 — FLAMER an aircraft coming down in flames → Royal Air Force usage
1916 — HACK an old, slow, or dilapidated aircraft → Amer. sl.
1917 — QUIRK a type of slow, steady aeroplane used to train pilots → Royal Air Force usage
1919 — FLAMING COFFIN a DH-4 bomber aircraft → US sl.
1919 — GUN BUS a gun-carrying aeroplane → Air Force sl.
1920 — EGG CRATE an old aeroplane → US sl.
1923 — CAN an aircraft, esp. if old or dilapidated → Amer. sl.
1925 — BUZZARD an enemy airplane → Amer. army usage
1927 — AIR TRUCK an aircraft used to transport cargo
1930 — PUDDLE-JUMPER a light plane, esp. one travelling only short distances or making many stops → sl.
1930 — RUPTURED DUCK a damaged aircraft → US sl., orig. & chiefly military usage
1934 — CRATE an aeroplane → sl. (Bk.)
1934 — SPAD an aeroplane → sl. (Bk.)
1938 — DUCK an amphibian airplane capable of landing on water or ground → US sl.
1939 — SARDINE-TIN a torpedo-carrying aircraft → Royal Air Force usage
1940 — AIR GOOSE amphibian airplane → World War II Amer. sl.
1940 — AIR LIZZIE an airplane manufactured by the Ford Motor Company → World War II Amer. sl.
1940 — BIG BUS a large airplane → World War II Amer. sl.
1940 — BIG FRIEND a bomber → World War II Amer. sl.
1940 — BIG JEEP a large airplane; a bomber → World War II Amer sl.
1940 — BIG SHIP a large airplane; a bomber → World War II Amer. sl.
1940 — BIRD DOG an air force fighter or intercepter plane → World War II US Air Force usage
1940 — BOGEY → BOGIE → BOGY an enemy airplane; an attacking fighter plane → World War US Air Force usage
1940 — CAN OPENER an aircraft equipped to destroy tanks and other armoured vehicles → World War II Amer. sl.
1940 — CLOUD WAGON an airplane → World War II Amer. sl.
1940 — FLYING COFFIN a glider or airplane → World War II Air Force & paratrooper usage
1940 — PEA-SHOOTER a fighter plane → World War II Army & Air Force usage
1940 — DAWN HOPPER an enemy raider plane using the uncertain light at dawn to slip away and get home → Royal Air Force usage
1941 — DAFFY a Defiant fighter aircraft → sl. obs.
1942 — BUTT-END CHARLIE the trailing aircraft in a formation → US military usage
1942 — PUDDLE-JUMPER a small communications aircraft → Royal Air Force usage
1943 — DAK a Douglas DC-3 Dakota transport aircraft → services’ sl.
1943 — HOT CRATE a fast airplane → Amer. sl.
1944 — LITTLE FRIEND a fighter plane → US sl.
1945 — COFFIN a dangerous plane to fly, esp. one that is in a dilapidated, run-down condition → Amer. dial.
1946 — HOLLYWOOD GLIDER the B-17 Flying Fortress → US sl.
1946 — SMOKY JOE a military aircraft that marks targets for bomber aircraft with smoke bombs → US sl.
1950 — ALUMINIUM COW a CF-100 Canuck jet fighter aircraft → Can. sl.
1950 — BIRD an airplane → Amer. sl.
1950 — BLOW JOB a jet-propelled airplane → US Air Force usage
1950 — BLOWTORCH a jet fighter plane → US Air Force usage
1954 — LIGHTNING ROD a jet fighter plane → US sl.
1955 — BIG A an Atlas ICBM → Amer. military sl.
1955 — BLASTER a jet plane → Amer. sl.
1955 — OIL BURNER a jet plane that uses kerosene-based fuel → Amer. military sl.
1961 — ALUMINUM OVERCAST any very large multi-engined aircraft → US Air Force usage
1961 — BIG-ASS BIRD a usually multi-engine airplane having very large tail surfaces; the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress → US aviation usage
1963 — AARDVARK a F-111 combat aircraft or any aircraft that is awkward-looking or difficult to fly → US sl., Vietnam war usage
1964 — AIR-SUCKER a jet aircraft → US aviation sl.
1965 — BIG-ASSED BIRD a usually multi-engine airplane having very large tail surfaces; the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress → US aviation usage
1969 — BOGEY an unidentified aircraft → US Air Force Academy cadets’ sl. (Bk.)
1969 — RANCH HAND a C-123 aircraft equipped with tanks filled with defoliants used on the Vietnam jungle → US sl.
1972 — EDSEL → FLYING EDSEL the US Air Force F-111 aircraft → US sl.
1972 — FAST MOVER a jet aircraft → US sl., Vietnam war usage
1972 — WILLIE FUDD a WF-2 propeller-driven naval radar aircraft → Vietnam War US Navy usage
1974 — FLYING BEDSTEAD an early, lumbering, but comparatively stable and steady airplane → Amer. sl. (Bk.)
1974 — FLYING BLOWTORCH a jet fighter airplane → Amer. sl. (Bk.)
1975 — AIR-BREATHER a jet airplane whose fuel is burned by being mixed with air taken into the engine during flight → US Air Force usage (Bk.)
1975 — BACK-DOOR the position directly to the rear of a flying aircraft; hence, another aircraft occupying this position → US sl.
1984 — BAG OF BONES a ‘bush pilot’ aeroplane → Can. sl.
1985 — TROJAN an AT-28 aircraft, used as a ground-attack aircraft and then a fighter bomber in the Vietnam war → US sl.
1987 — MONGOOSE a McDonnell-Douglas A-4 Skyhawk strike fighter, as modified for advanced combat training → Amer. military aviation usage
1990 — GROUND-POUNDER an attack plane that operates close to the ground → Amer. sl.
1990 — MOONSHINE an aircraft used for dropping magnesium-based flares to illuminate the ground at night → US sl.
1991 — BUFFALO the CV-7, a military transport aircraft built by DeHavilland Aircraft of Canada → US sl.
1991 — BUGSMASHER a Beech C-47 Expeditor, a military transport plane used from World War II until early in the Vietnam war → US sl.
1991 — FAST BIRD a high-speed attack jet aircraft → US sl., Vietnam war usage
1991 — GROUNDHOG the Republic F-84 Thunderjet fighter aircraft → US Air Force usage
1991 — YAK an enemy aircraft → US sl., Korean war usage
1994 — FAT ALBERT an exceptionally large aircraft, esp. a Boeing 737, a Lockheed C-5A Galaxy, or a Lockheed C-130 Hercules → US sl.
2002 — LEAPING HEAP a Harrier aircraft → UK Air Force usage
Lexicophilia 