Laura in San Diego, California, wonders about the tradition of performers saying Toi toi toi to each other backstage to wish each other a good performance. It’s possible that it derives from the ancient idea that spitting three times can ward off...
Scrabblepoor means “extremely poor,” conjuring the image of farmers having to scrape together a living by literally scratching at the dirt. The word hardscrabble is more commonly used to describe such grinding poverty. This is part of a complete...
The elevator doors close, and there’s that awkward silence while you and your fellow passengers wait for the doors to reopen. Is there a word for that silence? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Elevator Silence” Hi there, you have A...
whisper grinding n.— «Caltrans instead is considering a technique called “whisper grinding” to make the concrete on I-5 quieter.» —“Green approach produces quiet streets” by Dave Downey North County Times (Escondido, Caliornia) May 27, 2008...
affinity fraud n.— «When the scoundrel running the fraud is a trusted person, it makes the crime even more repulsive. Affinity fraud, as it is known, often includes people who put themselves in positions of trust at churches or schools, in social...
drape n.— «Enter Mr. Sapienza, the freshly recruited weight-training instructor from the Maryland Reform School for Boys. In less than a week, using nonviolent methods that probably would get him fired today, he had the “drapes” as they were...