ArchiveJuly 2009

Postal Abbreviations (minicast)

What’s the deal with using the two-letter postal code abbreviations for states, instead of the longer, more formal abbreviations? That is, why write IN for Indiana instead of good old Ind.? A caller is annoyed by U.S. Postal Service...

browning

browning  n.— «Over the years of visiting Jamaica, I constantly heard the men referring to their favourite choice of girls as the ‘browning’ type. I have always wondered who originally came up with this term? During the early 1970s, while...

Breg

Breg  n.— «In the past few years, researchers have discovered that certain B cells appear to share with regulatory T cells—fondly known as Tregs—the responsibility for keeping the immune system under control. Like Tregs, these B cells...

A Walk Spoiled But Our Lie is Good

If English isn’t your first language, there are lots of ways to learn it, such as memorizing Barack Obama’s speech to the 2004 Democratic Convention. Martha and Grant talk about some of the unusual ways foreigners are learning to speak...

performal

performal  adj.— «“There’s a macho performal nature that some of these people crave,” she said. “And what better a performance than the blood and guts of butchery?”» —“Young Idols With Cleavers Rule the Stage” by Kim...

net branching

net branching  n.— «Under the scenario, NARES was one of several shell corporations that operated under the name of “Pacific Bancorp.” The owners and directors of Pacific Bancorp granted franchise rights to do business in North Carolina to...

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