Why do we use the word heat to denote a preliminary qualifying race? Hundreds of years ago, a single instance of heating something such as a piece of metal over a fire for metalworking was called a heat. Later that term was applied to “a round...
Do spelling bees exist outside the United States? Not really. English is unique for how vast and complicated it is, which makes our bees pretty exciting. In France, they have competitions for taking dictation, and the Chinese hold races for looking...
high-marking n.— «Police in western Canada are cautioning snowmobile users against performing a dangerous straight-up tactic that killed an Alberta man last weekend. The practice is called “high-marking” and involves a...
biological passport n.—Gloss: a continuous record of a professional bicyclist’s drug tests. «In an effort to rescue the sport’s prestige, the International Cycling Union plans to institute what is known as a “biological...
coffee-housing n.—Gloss: in a competition or game, trying to distract or annoy another player. «Anything you do to distract is called “coffee-housing,” and it’s against the rules. But there’s a lot of gray area. It’s illegal to talk...
second n.— «From time to time, he engages friends who double as trainers, or “seconds” as they are called in chess parlance. These seconds are players of reasonable playing strength who, ahead of important competitions, study various...