snailboater n.— «Powerboat owners are habitually dismissive of sailors as preppy, penurious or just plain nerds, referring to them as “blow-boaters” or “snailboaters.”» —“Power Hungry” by John...
stilettotarsal n.— «The cosmetic procedure, familiar the world over as a quick fix injection to iron out wrinkles, is now being employed as a cure for a condition dubbed “stilettotarsal,” when pain hits the soft tissue on the...
Does one take preventive or preventative measures? A caller in Ocean Beach, California, who just graduated from an exercise science program wants to know which of these terms describes what she’s been studying. This is part of a complete...
They were the last words Abraham Lincoln heard before John Wilkes Booth assassinated him: “Well, I guess I know enough to turn you inside-out, old gal—you sockdologizing old man-trap!” Booth knew that this line from the play Our American...
Do you cringe when you hear the words orientate and disorientate? A copy editor in Waldoboro, Maine does. She’d rather hear “orient” and “disorient.” The hosts weigh in on that extra syllable. This is part of a complete...
In this week’s slang quiz, a member of the National Puzzlers’ League from Somerville, Massachusetts, tries to guess the meaning of bottle room and shred, the latter as used in the context of snowboarding, skateboarding, and surfing. This...