forty-eight
n.— «“Major incident school bus over Northside bridge under the interstate,” the message read. “Five ambulances on scene, one supervisor, multiple 48.” In the parlance of paramedics, “48’s” are fatalities. Dr. Ossmann threw on scrubs and dashed out the door.» —“Deadly bus crash united a team focused on survival” by Brian Feagans Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Georgia) Mar. 3, 2007. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
It was a dark and stormy night. So begins the long and increasingly convoluted prose of Edwards Bulwer-Lytton’s best-known novel. Today the annual Bulwer-Lytton Contest asks contestants for fanciful first sentences that are similarly...
A documentary film called My Beautiful Stutter follows youngsters at a summer camp specifically for stutterers. It’s a place for finding acceptance, support, and confidence for navigating the larger world. And:, “The High Priestess of...