A man who owns a parrot says that when people see his bird, they invariably ask the question “Polly wanna cracker?” He wonders about the origin of that psittacine phrase, meaning parrot-like. One of the earliest uses of the phrase so far...
OMG, text messaging! It’s destroying the English language, corrupting young minds, turning us into illiterates. It’s probably shrinking the ozone layer, too. Or is it? In his new book, Txting: The Gr8 Db8, David Crystal offers a...
drive to qualify v. phr.— «In real estate parlance, families like the McCauslands “drive to qualify” for a mortgage; the big house they want is affordable only in far-out communities.» —“Long commutes, gas prices crimping...
woolly-booger n.— «Smithson, also a retired state trooper, called Roan’s amendment a “woolly-booger,” a colloquial term for last-minute language inserted in a bill that has far-reaching impact. “He’s a very sharp House member...
godbag n.— «Far worse than the language was the bitter hatred directed at Christians, particularly Catholics. I’m not a religious guy (godbag or christofascist in M&M parlance), but it was hard not to take offense at the immaculate...
grits line n.— «Alexandria still has its Jefferson Davis Highway and Springfield its Robert E. Lee High School, but if last week’s election showed anything, it’s that Northern Virginia is not only different than the rest of the state, it...