The death of Martha’s favorite cat Typo prompts her to reminisce about him, and about one of her favorite ailurophilic words, chatoyant.
deer fast n.— «She recalled how the boy began to cry because he was so thirsty, but he still refused water. Many Iraqi parents try out what is known as “deer fasting,” probably based on a belief that deer eat less during the...
squirter n.— «The two platoons burst out of their Humvees to the side of a four-story building in the Abu Saif neighborhood of Baghdad on Saturday. One squad sprinted to the back to catch any “squirters,” as the soldiers call fleeing...
speed bump n.— «So he began looking down a series of alleys perpendicular to a main road. Turning down one of them, his driver struck a roadway bomb, the kind soldiers call “speed bumps” or “stop-and drop” bombs because they’re laid down...
stop-and-drop bomb n.— «So he began looking down a series of alleys perpendicular to a main road. Turning down one of them, his driver struck a roadway bomb, the kind soldiers call “speed bumps” or “stop-and drop” bombs because they’re...
dabbing n.— «A veteran of the Balkans, this general recalled that his troops had a term for routine, pointless patrols. “Dabbing,” they called it, from the caustic acronym for “driving around Bosnia.”...