chirpambush
/ˈtʃɜːpˌæmbʊʃ/nounVerified NewAlso in: Piepshinterhalt (Deutsch) · pitemboscada (Español) · bipuscade (Français)
The smoke detector's low-battery chirp, timed to begin at 3 a.m.
The chirpambush begins on the one night nobody can face a ladder. It sounds every forty seconds with mechanical patience, and each household member lies still, hoping another will act first. By morning the battery is not changed, but the household has bonded in defeat.
Etym. — chirp + ambush — the attack that comes from the ceiling, on schedule.
Rel. — chirpsilence · ceilingeyeball
Novelty check: APPROVE
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