A flashlight doesn’t flash. It provides a steady beam of light. So why is it called a flashlight? The earliest versions lit up only briefly before the batteries gave out and required a recharge, so they were literally “flash lights...
In an 1899 contest sponsored by a literary magazine, a reader proposed the word whifflement to mean “an object of small importance.” This is part of a complete episode.
The term skycap for workers who help with luggage at an airport was coined by analogy with redcap, a term for porters on trains who wore red caps. Skycap was the winning entry in a contest. Another contest, held in 1923, gave us the word scofflaw, a...
How do actors bring Shakespeare’s lines to life so that modern audiences immediately understand the text? One way is to emphasize the names of people and places at certain points. That technique is called billboarding. And: Anyone for an...
Tsunami Tuesday n.— «CW holds that dark horses will be hurt most by the 2/5 Tsunami Tuesday, but maybe not. Remember: most GOP contests are winner-take-all. The field could easily split. Maybe Rudy will win NY. McCain gets CA. Romney wins...
thulp v. to overcome in a contest, sport, or fight; to beat, drub, or subdue; to finish off or exhaust. Editorial Note: Usually transitive: to thulp someone or something. Etymological Note: Often said to be a blend of “thump to a pulp.”...