Mocha Dick

Noun: an albino male sperm whale known to inhabit the Pacific Ocean near Mocha Island in the early 19th century, credited with sinking several whaling ships which were in pursuit of members of his pod. Considered the inspiration for Herman Melville's novel "Moby-Dick, or The Whale", published in 1851.

As the harpoon boats approached, Mocha Dick played dead, evidently to lure them in closer, until he could counter-attack.

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harpago

Noun (ancient Roman naval terminology): a catapult-launched grappling hook, invented in the 1st century BCE by Marcus Agrippa, and successfully employed by himself (as commander of Roman naval forces) during the Battle of Actium, against the forces of Egyptian Queen Cleopatra VII, and her ally, the Roman triumvir Marcus Antonius (a.k.a. Mark Anthony).

"When Antony's larger Egyptian ships had penetrated the Roman line, Agrippa's smaller galleys successfully reeled them in for close marine combat by using the harpago."

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opposite number

Name: an individual equal in authority, status and capability to ones' self, yet in the employ of a directly rival organization.

After the fall of the Berlin Wall, Agent Smith from the CIA finally met his opposite number in the KGB.

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demolecularize

Verb: to reduce, especially by artificial means, any material object down to to its constituent components at the molecular level.

"With no response after repeated hailing attempts on multiple frequencies, the President issued the order to demolecularize the intruding aircraft."

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DWB

Acronym (American slang): Driving While Blond.

"Jess claimed she was driving under the speed limit the whole time, but got pulled over on an obvious DWB."

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