pallet •\ˈpa-lət\• noun
1. a hand tool with a flat blade used by potters for mixing and shaping clay
2. a portable platform for storing or moving goods that are stacked on it
3. board that provides a flat surface on which artists mix paints and the range of colors used
4. the range of colour characteristic of a particular artist or painting or school of art
5. a mattress filled with straw or a pad made of quilts; used as a bed
The word pallet has appeared in 46 New York Times articles in the past year, including “Investigation Into Missing Iraqi Cash Ended in Lebanon Bunker” by James Risen:
WASHINGTON — Not long after American forces defeated the Iraqi government of Saddam Hussein in 2003, caravans of trucks began to arrive at Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington on a regular basis, unloading an unusual cargo — pallets of shrink-wrapped $100 bills. The cash, withdrawn from Iraqi government accounts held in the United States, was loaded onto Air Force C-17 transport planes bound for Baghdad, where the Bush administration hoped it would provide a quick financial infusion for Iraq’s new government and the country’s battered economy.
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