gate rape

English

Etymology

From gate (“passageway in an airport for embarking passengers”) +‎ rape, formed to rhyme with date rape.

Noun

gate rape (countable and uncountable, plural gate rapes)

1. (informal, derogatory) Aggressive security screening prior to aircraft boarding.
   • 2010 December 3, Kim Conte, “Most Humiliating TSA Pat-Downs of the Week”, in The Stir‎^[1], archived from the original on 8 December 2010:

     Now, some women's advocates are referring to the situation as "Gate Rape" and speaking out against incidents like these so that other women don't have to endure the same humiliation.

   • 2011 April 20, Maureen Dowd, “Stripped of Dignity”, in The New York Times‎^[2], page A23:

     Ever since the Thanksgiving rebellion over intrusive new pat-downs that some have dubbed “gate-rape,” Americans have been debating security requirements versus privacy rights.

Verb

gate rape (third-person singular simple present gate rapes, present participle gate raping, simple past and past participle gate raped)

1. (informal, derogatory, of airport security staff) To screen (someone) aggressively prior to allowing them to board an aircraft.
   • 2011 January 7, Becky Akers, “How to Save Million$ Reading TNA's Website!”, in The New American‎^[3], archived from the original on 13 January 2011:

     And yet for all its tyranny, Israel doesn’t gate-rape passengers as does America's TSA.

   • 2012 November 18, Courtney Lilly, “A General Thanksgiving Episode”, in The Cleveland Show, season 4, episode 3, spoken by Cleveland Brown (Mike Henry):

     We need to open a bar at that airport. People need a stiff drink after being gate raped by the TSA.

See also

• Appendix:American Dialect Society most outrageous words of the year

References

• Most Outrageous Word of the Year, American Dialect Society

Anagrams

• great ape