When you’re distracted by trying to get the perfect photo at a wedding or fiddling with your camera during a solar eclipse, you’re missing out on some of the experience itself. There’s a term for this: It’s called...
In our earlier conversation about the term clam, which musicians use to refer to a “missed note” or “musical mistake,” Martha misspoke and said a similar term was used in rowing and sculling. Actually, as many listeners...
You may have a favorite word in English, but what about your favorite in another language? The Spanish term ojalá is especially handy for expressing hopefulness and derives from Arabic for “God willing.” In Trinidad, if you want to ask...
ghost pot n.— «The commission has purchased side-scanning radars, installed the equipment onto watermen’s boats, trained them on how to use the devices, and turned them loose in search of lost traps, also known as ghost pots...
sea-hab n.— «Some crab fishermen refer to their time offshore as “sea-hab.”» —“Commercial Fishermen, Battling the Elements Between Commercials” by Charles McGrath in Unalaska, Alaska New York Times Apr...
crab n.— «According to Parker, it didn’t take him and Davis long to spot some “crabs”—a derogatory term for Crips—who were easily identified by their “flags,” or blue bandannas.» —“In Durham, ‘Everybody needs...