“You knucklehead!” Where’d we get an epithet like that? Grant tells the story about the wartime cartoon that helped popularize the term. Check out the adventures of R.F. Knucklehead in LIFE magazine. More about cartoons used for...
excessing n.— «At the end of the school year, a committee led by one of Warley’s alleged protégés met to discuss moving some of its employees to other schools—a process called “excessing’ —because J.O. Wilson was over its budget...
joint rag n.— «Magazines produced by prisoners are called “joint rags.”» —“A convict’s look at life on the inside” in Carleton University Carleton Newsroom (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada) July 21, 2009...
scholasticide n.— «Now in Gaza…we see the policy more clearly than ever—this “scholasticide.” The Israelis know nothing about who we really are, while we study and study them. But deep down they know how important...
The world of politics tops this week’s language headlines, including an explanation of the Bradley effect, and the ongoing debate over bilingual education. Also, what does the word fubsy mean? Grant has the answer and reports about a new...
dropout factory n.— «Tonia Causey-Bush, a district administrator, said districts with significant dropout numbers are often called “dropout factories,” but that’s an incorrect label for Rialto Unified.» —“Rialto Unified...