exit exam n.— «Congress has enacted a federal school reform law known as No Child Left Behind that requires every state to test students in grades three-through-eight in math and English/language arts as a way of measuring national student...
Motown sweep n.— «That move you wrote about today where drivers exit from the left lane has a name. It’s called “the Motown Sweep.” I’m not sure who coined the phrase, but I originally heard about it from one of my professors at Wayne State...
ride n.— «He’s hoping they can wire him an immediate $400—maybe even this afternoon. “With that, we will have enough for the ride,” he says, using the English word. El Ride is the pickup from an Arizona highway toward a safe house or job.» —“Last...
OTM adj.— «One group of decidedly Guatemalan young men answer my questions curtly, poorly disguising their accents and claiming to be southern Mexicans. If snared by the Border Patrol, they will be classified as “OTMs”—Other Than Mexicans.» —“Last...
boo-boo face n.— «Drawing on the heaviest weapon from her considerable thespian arsenal, she makes a boo-boo face. As the tears stream down her cheeks, it is apparent to all but southern TV critics that Annalise has firmed in the betting for next...
gap out v.— «I’ve gone back and there is no way to get to that other road from the road that I was on. So, it wasn’t really that I just gapped out and was down the street past my exit. I was actually on another road parallel to the one I was on. I...