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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

spam in a can en · NOUN

Etymology

In reference to the tinned meat product called SPAM.

Meanings

  1. (derogatory, slang, uncountable) Astronauts whose mission involves confinement in a small space capsule.
    • The lab rat, experimental object, “Spam in a can” idea wasn't NASA's vision of the astronaut, but this unpleasant dimension of astronaut life did seep into spaces with a claim to public attention. 1998, Jodi Dean, Aliens in America, page 78:
    • Many of the 324 candidates […] were convinced that astronauts were going to be “spam in a can,” mere passengers in a capsule controlled by NASA technicians on the ground. 2011, G. Scott Thomas, A New World to be Won, page 26: