BlackBerry prayer
n.— «The device has also generated an odd new social ritual that sees BlackBerry users discreetly operate their devices at meetings behind cupped hands with heads intently bowed toward its tiny screen. The position makes one look as if they are seeking help from a higher power—giving rise to the expression “BlackBerry prayer.”» —“BlackBerry season RIM’s wireless e-mail device generates its own vocabulary as road warriors get hooked on its addictive simplicity” by Steven Chase Globe and Mail (Toronto, Can.) Dec. 14, 2000. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
In the 15th century, the word respair meant “to have hope again.” Although this word fell out of use, it’s among dozens collected in a new book of soothing vocabulary for troubled times. Plus, baseball slang: If a batter...
Amid court-ordered busing in the 1970s, a middle-school teacher tried to distract her nervous students on the first day of class with this strange assignment: find a monarch caterpillar. The result? A memorable lesson in the miracle of metamorphosis...