san man
n.— «You can go your whole life without ever having to call a fireman, and if you’re lucky you’ll never have to call a cop, but you want to see a sanitation worker every day. If every san man in the world packs up his kit and goes home, we’re in trouble.» —“Dr. Garbage” by Ben McGrath New Yorker Nov. 13, 2006. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Linda in Salisbury, North Carolina, wonders why boxing is called the sweet science, since there’s nothing obviously sweet about a bruising sport. This term took hold among British sportswriters in the early 19th century as promoters tried to frame...
Do you refer to your dog or cat as “somebody”? As in: When you love somebody that much, you don’t mind if they slobber. In other words, is your pet a somebody or a something? Also, for centuries, there was little consistency in the...