Martha and Grant share listeners’ emails about language changes in the mouths of train conductors and military drill instructors. This is part of a complete episode.
excitation leap n.— «How, in fact, does a reindeer warn of danger? It jumps in the air—what scientists call an “excitation leap”—and then runs away. All of the other reindeer see the leap, see the running, and take off running, too...
waterbowling n.— «They said Glass and another drill instructor would line recruits up after meals and force them to down liters of water from their canteens in a ritual they referred to as “waterbowling.”» —“Marines...
barefoot hole n.— «In the Cabin Creek area, for example, we drill a well to the top of a formation we’re targeting and then we case it off.…Then we drill into the targeted formation what is known as a “barefoot hole.”...
throw phone n.— «The SWAT team moved cautiously during the beginning of the drill while delivering what is called a “throw phone” to the gunman inside. That set up a means of communication, allowing the negotiator to speak with the gunman...
witness mark n.— «We took a cursory glance around for the drill hole (witness mark) without results. The boulders previously lining the east side of the road seem to have been either replaced or built into a more solid stone wall. Several...