You know those dull sports clichés like “We came to play” and “He left it all on the field”? They’re called bromides. The hosts explain the connection between the tired platitude and the sedative called potassium...
flitillary n.— «The erratic, zigzagging flight of courting and songbird-evading fritillaries prompt some people to refer to them as “flitillaries.” Actually, the genus name probably derives from fritillus, a cylindrical cup used by the...
single shot n.— «Other things which play havoc with aldermen candidates is many voters do not vote for five aldermen. The under votes in the aldermen election are substantial. So it is important for the candidate to be the first, second...
citizen science n.— «The result is an impressively long-running example of “citizen science,” the term for projects in which amateurs gather field data for future research, making up in numbers what we lack in training and...
magicology n.— «Teller was one of the coauthors, and its publication was a signal event in a field some researchers are calling magicology, the mining of stage illusions for insights into brain function.» —“Magic and the Brain:...
Bangle-butt n.— «BMW’s own Chris Bangle started making controversy with his “flame surfacing” design theme.…Other designers use the name Bangle as a term for a project gone wrong, and “Bangle-butt” has become...