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L.A. SPEAK : Postal Parlance

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animals: n . postal employees who work outside on docks, loading and unloading mail trucks.

baby buggy: n . a large, canvas-sided cart used to transport mail between work stations within a post office.

bomb: n . when the volume of mail that must be sorted is particularly heavy. “Every Christmas, we get hit with a bomb.

early out: n . a short shift that results from a light volume of mail. “It’s slow today, we should get an early out.

nixie: n. a piece of mail on which the city and ZIP code do not match.

outsides: n . oversized parcels.

skin the rack: v. to take mailbags for distribution to local post offices. “It’s 1:15; let’s skin the rack and get moving.”

zombie: n . a postal worker who has been assigned to the graveyard shift.

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