rough in n.— «Plumbers use what’s called a “rough in” sheet that comes with exposed sinks to place the water and drain lines inside the wall exactly where they need to stick out under the fixture.» —“Single to double...
Kelly shift n.— «Under what is known as the “Kelly shift,” adopted by the Fire Department in 1969, firefighters worked a 27-day rotation consisting of one 24-hour shift, followed by 48 hours off. After repeating that cycle...
sweating n.— «Alternative fuels, which tend to be expensive, can be suppressed by OPEC and other nations through a process known as “sweating”—dropping their oil prices for a sufficient length of time to make competitive...
family photo n.— «The Foreign Office immediately rang the mobiles of Kim Darroch, the Foreign Office head of news, and Alistair Campbell, Blair’s press secretary. The politicians were just heading off for an EU family photo session. Blair...
blue-slipping n.— «I knew that judicial nominees could be blocked by a senator from their home state (a procedure called blue-slipping), but I had no idea a bill could be blocked from a floor vote by an anonymous hold.» —“Open...
shoefiti n. pairs of shoes, with laces tied, thrown over power lines, trees, and elsewhere. Editorial Note: There’s a shoefiti photo pool at Flickr. Etymological Note: This term appears to have been coined by Ed Kohler. (source: Double-Tongued...