periodic

periodic
 n.— «I thought he had sobered up during our growing up years. I was wrong. He was what is known as a “periodic.” He revealed his dual life to my sister and to me as we entered college, then regularly showed up on campus to get drunk with his old frat brothers.» —“Sometimes, fathers set an example of what not to do” by S. Derrickson Moore Las Cruces Sun-News (New Mexico) June 16, 2007. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)

Join the discussion

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Further reading

Punny Names From 1916

In 1916, a small-town newspaper in Pennsylvania printed a fanciful item about a local gathering with a guest list that included, among others, Miss Ella Vader, Mr. Ray Zor, and other punny names. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of...

Zero Plurals and 50 Cent

A Pennsylvanian who relocated to North Carolina notes that many people in that part of the United States tend to leave the S off of the word cent when talking about money. This well-established feature of Appalachian and Southern varieties often...