kill screen n.— «We talk about what is known in classic-gaming argot as the “kill screen.” This is the edge of the universe, the place where instructions end. Billy has seen a lot of kill screens. Pac-Man comes to a halt at level 256, as the...
stumper n.— «First, what the loggers call a stumper uses its arm to chop down some trees. The first batch of trees, from the start line to the edge of the property line, are laid across the swamp. The stumper’s large, tank-like track tires...
edge feathering n.— «Boulden and his son, Jordan, created patches of woody cover for quail at the edges of cropland and CRP fields by felling small trees, a practice known as edge feathering.» —“Howard County Farmer’s Story Reflects Quail...
Death of the Typewriter Ding! In this week’s episode, Mark Twain would be pleased. Reports that it’s the end of the line for the typewriter have been greatly exaggerated. Well, slightly anyway: it’s not the horseless carriage return yet. Martha and...
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 hands...
fog line n.— «Resident Michael Reiskind noted that the Jamaicaway lacks edge-of-the-road striping—or “fog lines,” as he called them—on both shoulders of the road between Kelly Circle and Perkins Street. That means drivers have no visual cues about...