What does cheeky mean? How about the words twee and naff? A British ex-pat says she finds it hard to convey the nuances of these adjectives to her American friends. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “British Terms” Hi...
Martha argues in favor of the serial comma, citing a recent newspaper caption: “The documentary was filmed over three years. Among those interviewed were his ex-wives, Kris Kristofferson and Robert Duvall.” How’s that again? This...
bando n.— «“That’s what you call convenient,” said James Bertan, 41, an ex-convict and self-described “bando,” or someone who lives in abandoned houses.» —“Some homeless turn to foreclosed homes” USA...
Xoogler n.— «Many of the Xooglers (the name is a contraction of ex-Googlers but is pronounced “zooglers”) are young, entrepreneurial and, thanks to Google’s soaring success, wealthy enough to start their own second acts.» —“Keeping...
springboard injunction n.— «In this case, the judge granted what is called a “springboard” injunction. The idea of a springboard injunction is to prevent employees taking advantage of previous breaches of contract. In this...
half-pat adj.— «When described as a diasporic writer, Shamsie had something interesting to say. She coined her own phrase to describe where she writes from—“half-pat.” Not ex-pat or nomad, but just somebody who has been exposed to...