cotton curtain n. a political, social, and cultural divide, especially concerning race, between the American South and the rest of the country. Editorial Note: A similar term is Orange Curtain. Etymological Note: Patterned after Iron Curtain, defined by the New Oxford American Dictionary as “the notional barrier separating the former Soviet bloc and the West prior to the decline of communism that followed the political events in eastern Europe in 1989.” (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Martha from Tallahassee, Florida, remembers hearing older relatives announce they were going for their constitutional, a term that traces back to Latin constitutio, meaning “character,” “disposition,” “nature,” or “the essence of a thing.” Its...
Wendy from Falls Church, Virginia, asks about a gesture corresponding to the exclamation Shame, shame! that involves scraping one index finger over the other, almost as if peeling a carrot. A German name for a similar gesture actually translates as...