extinction n.— «But the thing is, as Natasha points out, the language of the slot machine industry belies its ultimate aims. There’s a term bandied about at the trade shows: “extinction.” We need to design for extinction, we need to reduce time-to...
tapafication n.— «Although the entree’s ills were first diagnosed in the late 1990s, when the rise of small plates kicked off the tapafication of American menus, the attacks have become more serious lately.» —“Is the Entree Heading for Extinction...
shoot, shovel and shut up v. phr.— «Worse, the law may actually speed up extinctions. Farmers have an incentive to destroy protected species before the biologists find them—a practice known as “shoot, shovel and shut up.”» —“The overcrowded ark” in...
revolving son of a bitch n.— «I happen to be of an almost extinct breed, an old-fashioned gentleman—which means I can be a real revolving son of a bitch when it suits me.» —by Robert A. Heinlein Stranger in a Strange Land , 1961. (source: Double...
climate canary n.— «They are dubbed the “climate canaries”—the people destined to become the first victims of world climate change. And as government ministers sit down in Nairobi at this weekend’s United Nations Climate Conference, the people most...
