Home » Dictionary » sniff

sniff

sniff
 n.— «The final diagnosis ended up being “idiopathic bilateral lower extremity paresis”—a fancy way of saying both of his legs were weak, and we didn’t know why. We sent him to a nursing home where he could get some physical therapy—a “sniff,” or skilled nursing facility (SNF) in doctor parlance-and pretty much washed our hands of the whole thing.» —“Tell me a story” by Alex Fanaroff in Duke University The Chronicle (Durham, North Carolina) Feb. 26, 2009. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

1 comment

Further reading

Navel-Gazing (episode #1549)

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...

Yak Shaving (episode #1548)

There was a time when William Shakespeare was just another little seven-year-old in school. Classes in his day were demanding — and all in Latin. A new book argues that this rigorous curriculum actually nurtured the creativity that later flourished...

Recent posts