sandbox
n.— «The sergeant isn’t excited about war in the desert, but he isn’t sure that peace in the desert is a whole lot safer.…He had just three days to do laundry and convalesce before heading back into the sandbox.» —“Maps from St. Paul should help” by Jim Klobuchar Star-Tribune (Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minn.) Sept. 22, 1990. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Advice about college essays from the winner of a top prize for children’s literature: Kelly Barnhill encourages teens to write about experiences that are uniquely their own, from a point of view that is theirs and no one else’s. Plus, why do we say...
While compiling the Oxford English Dictionary, lexicographer James Murray exchanged hundreds of letters a week with authors, advisors, and volunteer researchers. A new collection online lets you eavesdrop on discussions about which words should be...