banana

plural bananas · alternative obsolete bonana · alternative obsolete bonano · alternative obsolete bonanoe

1. countableuncountableThe elongated curved tropical fruit of a banana plant, which grows in bunches and has a creamy flesh and a smooth skin.First known use 1597

   Jimmy had a banana for breakfast.

   1 more example

   I'll need a few things. I'll need some mayonnaise and a silver tin of sardines, a banana.

   2017, Sam Shepard, chapter 27, in Spy of the First Person, →ISBN, page 62

   1. CanadaIrelandUKUScountableuncountableIn particular, the sweet, yellow fruit of the Cavendish banana cultivar, which may be eaten raw, as distinct from e.g. a plantain for cooking.
2. countableuncountableThe tropical tree-like plant which bears clusters of bananas, a plant of the genus Musa (but sometimes also including plants from Ensete), which has large, elongated leaves.First known use 1697
3. uncountableA yellow color, like that of a banana's skin.First known use 1923
4. countablederogatoryethnicsluruncountableA person of East or Southeast Asian descent, considered to be overly assimilated and subservient to white authority.First known use 1970

   Synonyms: Twinkie

5. MalaysiaSingaporecountablederogatoryethnicsluruncountableA person of Chinese descent who cannot speak Mandarin or any Chinese dialect
6. countableslanguncountableThe penis.

   The fact that the cop bought O'Brien a beer after feeling of his banana suggests that it must have been a promising one

   1986, Christopher Street, Cop Feels of Three Men's "Privates", volume 10

   3 more examples

   His you-know-what turned soft .. his eight o'clock class was the last thing on his mind five minutes ago, when his banana wasn't overripe.

   2012, Sarah Miynowski, Fishbowl, page 36

   Most of the gang were trying their best to shag the girls. One boy was sitting in a tree playing with himself and another was asking a table of teenagers if they would like to see his banana.

   2014, Anthony Bunko, Lord Forgive Me, page 71

   He adds that after eating his banana (sucking his penis), he wants anal sex, but she asks him to lick her pussy. Then he tells her no because it is disgusting.

   2017, Intimate Relationships in Cinema, Literature and Visual Culture, page 234

7. countableuncountablehobbiesA banana kick.
8. countableuncountablenuclear physicsA banana equivalent dose.
9. colloquialcountableuncountablecomputerA catamorphism (from the use of banana brackets in the notation).
10. countableuncountableAn incorrectly held handstand, often seen in beginners.

alternative obsolete bonana · alternative obsolete bonano · alternative obsolete bonanoe

1. not comparableCurved like a banana, especially of a ball in flight.

   Even the lowly banana ball, the bane of so many weekenders, sometimes can be exactly right, as in this case.

   2001, Rayne Barton, The Green Hills Golf Chronicles, →ISBN, page 155

   2 more examples

   He played the fading, low-banana shot as planned, and the ball whistled left of the oak tree and between the pines.

   2002, Andrew Collins, Guild of Honor, →ISBN, page 53

   [...]Bernd Schneider closed the scoring in injury-time with a 23 meter free-kick banana shot into the upper-right corner.

   2006, Richard Witzig, The Global Art of Soccer, →ISBN, page 247

plural BANANAs

1. attributivederogatoryhumorousinformaloftenOne who objects to the building of any structure in their neighbourhood or a certain type of structure anywhere, especially in public policy debate.First known use 1991 (Australia)

   David Taylor (Letters, January 23) does not appear to be aware that the NIMBY syndrome, with all its parochial overtones, has been superseded by the all embracing BANANA syndrome – Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anyone.

   1991 January 31, David Williams, “Nowhere, no time [letter]”, in The Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney, N.S.W., page 10

   4 more examples

   Communities have gone far beyond the NIMBY, or not-in-my-backyard, syndrome. Jeff Langholtz, of EPA's Hazardous Site Control Division said, "Right now they don't want us to build them anywhere." Langholtz called the latest in public thinking "BANANA" – build-absolutely-nothing-anywhere-near-anything. Those opposed to incinerators are more organized than ever, he added.

   1992, Environment Reporter, volume 23, Washington, D.C.: Bureau of National Affairs, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 2028, column 1

   Unfortunately, in some areas you can expect the NIMBY fervor to grow into BANANAs—Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anybody. The ultimate result? Unless national security and economic issues intervene, we'll continue to rely more and more on imported fuel and the price of energy is most apt to climb higher. The high price of BANANAs, in the end, will not only be our dependence on foreign oil, but our economic vulnerability.

   2002, Shirley J. Hansen, “Making the Most of Dereg”, in Manual for Intelligent Energy Services, Lilburn, Ga.: Fairmont Press, →ISBN, page 256

   Opposition to these projects is increasingly the norm as opposed to the exception and is not simply limited to a few environmentaly sensitive and wealthy areas such as Southern California. Cynics have observed that the NIMBY movement is evolving into a BANANA (build absolutely nothing anywhere near anyone) or even a NOPE (nowhere on planet Earth) movement with regard to controversial infrastructure siting.

   2007, Michael D. Tusiani, Gordon Shearer, “Import-related Project Siting and Regulatory Issues”, in LNG: A Nontechnical Guide, Tulsa, Okla.: PennWell Corporation, →ISBN, pages 367–368

   They don’t support bike lanes, sidewalks, traffic calming measures, or traffic widening measures. They complain about the lack of communication from city hall but also shout down the mayor and city staff whenever they attempt to explain their policy. You can summarize their views on zoning and new buildings as BANANAs: Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anything.

   2022 October 7, Arthur Augustyn, “Opinion: Stamford is a cultural hellhole. What do the people want?”, in Stamford Advocate, archived from the original on 14 Apr 2024

   Synonyms: NIMBY

1. A surname.
2. A village on Kiritimati, Kiribati.

   The principal economic activity is copra production, the Government copra plantation covering some 5,170 ha. The population in 1989 was estimated at 2,000, the great majority of whom live in London, Banana and Poland villages in the west.

   1993, Derek A. Scott, “A DIRECTORY OF WETLANDS IN OCEANIA”, in Wetlands International, archived from the original on 30 Aug 2018, page 188