In railroading, the pilot is the device mounted at the front of a locomotive to deflect obstacles from the track that might otherwise derail the train. Archaically this was called a cowcatcher, and this is still the common layman's usage, but this term is deprecated and has not been used by railroad workers for more than a century. _Wikipedia
In "Offloading for Mrs. Schwartz" by George Saunders, used of the folded paper holder that a hot dog comes in. (Heard in act two of this This American Life episode.
In railroading, the pilot is the device mounted at the front of a locomotive to deflect obstacles from the track that might otherwise derail the train. Archaically this was called a cowcatcher, and this is still the common layman's usage, but this term is deprecated and has not been used by railroad workers for more than a century.
_Wikipedia
In "Offloading for Mrs. Schwartz" by George Saunders, used of the folded paper holder that a hot dog comes in. (Heard in act two of this This American Life episode.