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Gaper's block

June 11, 2007
gay puhrs block/ n. 1. Congealed traffic between you and something really interesting; 2. The rolling audience for an accident or roadside oddity, such as the Dennis Rodman billboard near the Kennedy Expy. in 1996. Origin: The term was coined by Chicago Police Sgt. Irv Hayden, a "flying officer" who did helicopter traffic reports for WGN throughout the 1960s. He died in a helicopter crash in 1971. Barbara D'Amato: "Two uniforms stood in the street motioning cars past and generally preventing gaper's block."