shoddy yarn
n.— «I learnt that Panipat is the country’s biggest producer of shoddy yarn, importing rags from Europe, USA, Asia and Canada and spinning them into inexpensive yarn. In fact, its 350-plus shoddy spinning units give Panipat the distinction of having the largest number of shoddy spinning units in the world (Italy’s in the second place). Intrigued by what I’d heard, I decided to visit a shoddy yarn unit in the district.» —“Geetanjali Krishna: Nothing shoddy about it” by Geetanjali Krishna in New Delhi Business Standard (India) Sept. 9, 2006. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
The English language has been greatly enriched by borrowings from the languages of Asia. Barely scratching the surface, we have from Japan skosh, tycoon, tsunami, origami, yen, kimono, futon, and karaoke. From Chinese comes yen, kowtow, gung ho, and...
A hundred years ago, suffragists lobbied to win women the right to vote. Linguistically speaking, though, suffrage isn’t about “suffering.” It’s from a Latin word that involves voting. Plus: military cadences often include...