Alex from Columbia, Missouri, wonders about rank and file, meaning “the members of the body of an organization as opposed to its leaders.” In 12th-century France, the words renc or ranc referred to a row of soldiers. The word file means a “line” or...
sky weed n.— «Happy Valley had two other pluses: the absence of a homeowners association, “which adds another layer of bureaucracy and red tape,” and a dearth of palm trees (“sky weeds,” as Schroeder calls them), which tend to give away a...
