en
aldis
/ˈɔːl.dɪs/ (British English) or /ˈɑːl.dɪs/ (American English)
Definition
1
A hand-carried or portable signal lamp used to flash Morse code messages, especially from ships and aircraft at sea.
2
Named after its inventor, Arthur Cyril William Aldis, this device was originally a trademark that became a generic term for such signaling lamps.
Examples
The salty old captain flicked on his aldis lamp, blinking out a cheeky 'Fancy a pint?' to the rival ship.
In a power outage worthy of a bad spy movie, she dusted off the family aldis and signaled 'Netflix password?' to the house next door.
Forget fireworks; the navy cadets celebrated with an aldis Morse code extravaganza spelling 'We passed the exam!' across the harbor.
Grandpa's aldis lamp autobiography: 'One flash for yes, two for no, and a disco mode for birthdays.'