If you catch your blue jeans on a nail, you may find yourself with a winklehawk. This term, adapted into English from Dutch, means “an L-shaped tear in a piece of fabric.” And: What’s your relationship with the books on your...
Lawrence from San Antonio, Texas, wonders if spelling is a factor in the different meanings of awful, which describes something negative, and awesome, which describes something positive. Spelling doesn’t come into play here; in fact, for years...
startle factor n.— «Practical research shows that experienced pilots, with training provided by their airlines in upset recoveries, still struggle to perform when attempting to recover. There are many human factors involved in an actual...
charity stripe n.— «Free throw: It’s the greatest misnomer in sports. It’s neither free, nor a throw. It should be called an “earned, uncontested shot,” but that doesn’t quite roll off the tongue like free throw. It’s only a...
swaffle v.— «How to swaffle? For swaffling there’s one factor that is of vital importance: the swaffler must have a so-called top-heavy penis. This means that the penis isn’t completely hard, but not soft either. Top-heavy is a state of...
DADT n.— «One factor that makes her case interesting is that Witt never openly violated the tangled “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, or “DADT” as it is known. She was outed when an anonymous tipster told Air Force...