Mark Twain famously said that he’d never write “metropolis” for 7 cents when he could write “city” for the same fee, and it stands as good advice for writers looking to make economical word choices. This is part of a...
Hi, ho! Lots of “Behind The Scenes” news from “A Way with Words” this week, but first: In this week’s episode, we discuss “burrito babies” and other college slang. Also, “overegging the pudding,”...
NORC n.— «As a model for Wayland and Lincoln, BHV is an example of what had recently come to be called “naturally occurring retirement communities,” or “NORCs,” in areas in which a large segment of the residents...
earn out v. phr.— «Consider the advance system, whereby a publisher pays an author a nonreturnable up-front fee for a book. If the book doesn’t “earn out,” in the industry parlance, the publisher simply eats the cost...
street money n.— «Street money is the name for cash given to party committeemen and women who hand out literature and drum up the vote on primary and election days. It comes from the candidates and is dispensed to the party’s 69 ward...
laser visa n.— «The U.S. Embassy in Mexico announced a fee increase for nonimmigrant visas. The fee will be raised by $31, to $131, because of “advances in security, information processing systems and inflation,” embassy officials said...