red light fever
n.— «And he will be back for another season of Enough Rope next year. “When I finish with television, I’m not going to be one of those people who’s hankering…for what’s called “red light fever’—I’m always puzzled by those people that want to go to the opening of a wound, and want to be seen everywhere and in the social pages.”» —“Paul Capsis and Andrew Denton” 612 ABC (Brisbane, Australia) Oct. 27, 2006. (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...
In 1971, when a new public library opened in Troy, Michigan, famous authors and artists were invited to write letters to the city’s youngest readers, extolling the many benefits of libraries. One of the loveliest was from E.B. White, author of...