back of town
n.— «Mr. Nagin said that he was reluctant because of safety concerns to let residents into what locals call the “back of town,” the northern part of the Lower Ninth Ward, which was especially ravaged by the one-two punch of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.» —“Longing for Home in a Sealed New Orleans Ward” by Deborah Sontag in New Orleans New York Times Oct. 24, 2005. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
The word filibuster has a long and colorful history, going back to the days when pirates roamed the high seas. Today it refers to hijacking a piece of legislation. Plus, the language of yoga teachers: When doing a guided meditation, you may hear...
After our conversation about towns with extremely short names, many listeners wrote to tell us about Why, Arizona. Others pointed out that there are towns called Ely in Iowa, Minnesota, and Nevada. Other super-short appellations include Rye, New...