If you’re hanging a framed picture but it’s askew, you might say it’s leaning toward Fishers or leaning toward Sawyers or leaning toward Jesus. All of these phrases probably come from the logging industry. If workers are using a...
Did you know reading poetry improves your prose? That includes hip-hop lyrics, too. Also, how linguist can guess where you come from based on how you speak. What do you call someone who picks the chocolate out of the trail mix...
We usually brandish a weapon, or some object we can wave about. But the definition of brandish can be stretched to include more figurative types of weapons or objects (e.g. seductive body parts). This is part of a complete episode.
Chickens give more than eggs, meat, and feathers—they give language!
callback n.— «He ends nearly every chapter with a surprising figurative twist on something he said earlier, like what comedians refer to as a “callback.”» —“Inventing English: A Portable History Of The Language By Seth...
tombstoning n. 1. the use of the names and data of dead persons to commit fraud. 2. In the U.K., the pastime of leaping from heights into bodies of water. Editorial Note: There are many figurative uses of tombstone, most generally meaning an object...