spin out n.— «Equipment rolled out earlier than expected will remain under development until it performs at the original specifications, Terry said. Although other accelerated “spin outs,” as they are called, won’t be announced for a few months...
We all misspeak from time to time, but how about when we mangle words on purpose? Do you ever say fambly instead of family, perazackly for exactly, or coinkydink for coincidence? When Grant recently wrote a newspaper column about saying things wrong...
garagiste n.— «Then there was the rich red fruity wine with lashings of vanilla and oak from Hofstraat Winery’s Renosterbos Shiraz’. It was inspiring, for the creator is a “garagiste” (a term used to describe home winemakers who rent equipment and...
bush bashing n.— Note: According to the Macquarie Dictionary, “bash” is an Australian term for a cross-country trip. «Inspector Andrew Humberstone, in charge of the search, said Mr Meyer was a highly experienced bushwalker and was equipped with...
viper load n.— «Turning equipment off at the end of the day or when not in use. Most equipment and appliances keep a constant energy load so that they don’t have to warm up when they are turned on. This is often called a “phantom” or “viper” load...
recon by fire n.— «The danger is particularly acute at night. The Iraqis do not have night-vision equipment, so when they spot people approaching their checkpoints they have a tendency to do what the Americans refer to as “recon by fire.” If those...