With memorable phrases like coagulated sunlight and gilded gravel, poem “Churning Day” by Seamus Heaney is a fine example of how poets can draw out astonishing beauty from the most mundane of tasks — in this case, churning butter. This is part of a...
A government official in New Zealand has devised a new Maori-based glossary to replace some of the English words used by the government for talking about mental health, disability, and addiction. For example, he proposes replacing the word autism...
Infra dig, short for the Latin phrase infra dignitatum, means beneath one’s dignity or uncouth. Abbreviated Latin phrases like infra dig have become standard after old English schoolboys used to shorten them while studying classical texts. This is...
dignity bag n.— «The Love You packs program is intended to ease the moving of foster children, said Fowler, who explained that in the 1950s when a child moved between foster homes, all of their possessions were placed in garbage bags. “We aren’t...
people of pallor
n.— «“White” only describes what a few people look like, and it needs a dignified euphemism, like “People of pallor.”» —“Kiss Me—I’m “White’” by Rob Morse San Francisco Chronicle Mar. 14, 2001. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
