boneyard

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English

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Etymology

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From bone +‎ yard.

Pronunciation

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  • Audio (US):(file)

Noun

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boneyard (plural boneyards)

  1. (informal) A graveyard.
  2. (dominoes) In the game of dominoes, the pile of upside-down pieces that have yet to be used.
  3. (aviation, automotive, slang) A dumpsite for obsolete or unusable aircraft etc; a junkyard.
    B-52s in a boneyard
    a 440 V-8 from the boneyard
    • 1951 April, R. S. McNaught, “Railway Enthusiasts”, in Railway Magazine, number 600, page 269:
      Or what is conveyed to those unversed in railway matters by reports following a shed visit that "the frame of Claud Hamilton lay in the boneyard and had many endearing messages of farewell chalked on it"?
    • 1999, Naval Aviation News, volumes 82-83, page 37:
      The “Boneyard” is a place of antiques and historic symbolism, a burial ground for aircraft.
    • 2017, William A. Flanagan, Aviation Records in the Jet Age:
      Beginning in December 1969, the entire fleet was retired to the “boneyard” at Davis-Monthan AFB in Tucson, Arizona.

Synonyms

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Derived terms

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