handle n.— «The track’s purses are some of the worst in the United States, and the handle—track terminology for the amount of money bet—ranks poorly.» —“All bets are on” by Mark Peters in Bangor, Maine Press...
payo n.— «Their subculture (no, “sub-” doesn’t mean “inferior,” it means “a smaller part of the whole”) is heavily racist against “payos,” as they call non-gypsies, is hostile toward work...
hierarchical dualism n.— «While English teachers regularly deal with disadvantaged groups in the classroom, homosexuality and AIDS were largely ignored. To remedy this situation, she said (in the jargon much loved by educrats): “I...
ABD adj.— «I managed to pass my oral qualifying exam, essentially the final hurdle before writing the actual dissertation. In the parlance of academia, this makes me “ABD” (All-But-Dissertation), which also puts me squarely in...
brain up v.— «Mr Saumarez Smith, a former academic, believes the answer is not to dumb down, “as the Department for Culture Media and Sport would sometimes seem to like us to do”, but to “brain up.”» —“Museums...
straddler n.— «Alfred Lubrano’s “Limbo: Blue-Collar Roots, White-Collar Dreams” (John Wiley & Sons, 2003) examines the issues faced by those who carry their working-class upbringings into the middle class. Education brings...