rain garden
n.— «But he knew very little about native plants until about five years ago, when he encountered for the first time the term “rain garden”—a phrase used to describe an intentionally created depression in the ground that is planted with native species. Its purpose is to hold rainwater, allowing it to soak into the ground, preventing runoff.» —“Mays: ’shamefully ignored’ natives” by Alma Gaul Quad-City Times (Davenport, Iowa) Jan. 18, 2008. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Diane, a bridge player from Wilmington, North Carolina, asks about sitting with the bathtub, a phrase her friend uses for a lopsided game where one pair keeps getting the good cards. The phrase appears in newspaper columns about bridge starting in...
What’s up with ketchup? The shifting history and spelling of the name of this condiment. For centuries, ketchup was a fishy sauce originating in Asia—the tomatoes came only later! Plus, a new book shows what’s lost when a language dies: when there...