Fans of the popular British baking show know that you don’t want your many-layered cake to concertina, or “collapse like an accordion.” The verb concertina, in this sense, derives from the name of an accordion-like instrument. This is part of a...
If everyone on the planet spoke a single language, wouldn’t that make life a whole lot easier? For that matter, is a common world language even possible? Maybe for a minute or so—until new words and phrases start springing up. Also, did you ever...
Concertina wire takes its name from the concertina, an accordion-like instrument whose bellows fold in and out. The term fits the World War I innovation: coiled barbed or razor wire that travels compactly, then expands to fill space atop a fence...