Monica in Burlington, Vermont, says a friend recently told her that her day became kerfunkulated, and Monica knew what she meant without even asking. Why do we successfully infer the meaning of such words? Placeholder words such as thingamajiggy...
commuter trip n.— «The reason Wyatt has only heard about being on the road is that since he joined the Chiefs, on June 7, the only road games they’ve played have been commuter trips to Quad Cities and Burlington. In baseball parlance, a...
Kelly day n.— «The proposal that fire fighters be given every 16th day off was made to the city council.…The request for Kelly days, for which Cedar Rapids fire fights ask only 22 a year instead of the 24 or more enjoyed by other...
vegetables n.pl.— «“Hey Afroman!” a student shouted into the rapper/singer’s dressing room window after the show, “I got a fat sack of headies for ya. You gonna let us in?” They must’ve known that Afroman had to ditch...
headie n.— «“Hey Afroman!” a student shouted into the rapper/singer’s dressing room window after the show, “I got a fat sack of headies for ya. You gonna let us in?” They must’ve known that Afroman had to ditch his...
bucket n.— «“In the blink of an eye, I just was caught in the current, and gulping and gulping, didn’t stop, and I went down.” Down in to the “first bucket,” as it is known, which has claimed many of the gorge’s victims...