What’s a word for the act of being so focused on documenting an important event, such as a wedding or an eclipse, that your effort to capture it distracts from experiencing the event itself? The A Way with Words Facebook group has some creative...
Is there a word to describe focusing so intently on your computer that you don’t notice the sun has gone down and the only light in your room is from your computer screen? A Twitter user suggests the neologism screenhearthing. Or is there a better...
Are speed reading classes a waste of time? Not if you want to skim instead of read. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Speed Reading Classes” Hello, you have A Way with Words. Hi, this is Tony Friedman from St. Louis, Missouri. Hiya...
attention surplus disorder n.— «She was extremely intense—that just a minimum phone conversation would be a few hours on the phone. And she wouldn’t even take hints to get off the phone. If someone would say, “Oh, I have to go to the bathroom; I...
slacklining n.— «We were at the University of Minnesota, where a burgeoning sport called slacklining was being practiced between tall oak trees on the grassy mall in front of Northrop Auditorium. Like its cousin sport of tightrope walking...