She's a pickin' and he's a grinnin'--it's another newsletter from "A Way with Words." Salut! Oh, hey, sure, it was a rerun this past weekend. A good one, though, with a brand-new word quiz to boot. It has...
schluff v.—Gloss: To temporarily dismount a bicycle and use it something like a scooter in a place where bicycle-riding is forbidden or unwelcome. «Sidewalk bike riding is like jaywalking—who among us cannot resist, once in a while or...
blower door n.— «Before any work is done, an assessor is sent to each home to conduct a detailed examination using an infrared camera and what is known as a “blower door”—essentially an airtight door with an inset fan—to...
cut the turf v. phr.— «Some of our targeted homeowners are suspicious. Some refuse to come to the door. Others hide behind twitched curtains until we leave. We are like political Jehovah’s Witnesses, but we are unrepentant. And, were we...
door buster n.— «I am told it is a GSW (Gun Shot Wound) chest. I alert my staff and anesthesia, check the trauma room for completeness; the trauma room is in constant readiness for such an emergency, or what we on the night shift like to...
hoss-pinch n.— «To those of you who do not know what a “hoss-pinch” is, it is when somebody older than your grandmother has been working for many years in the fields, has used a “rub-board” for years to wash clothes and has soft motherly...