In this episode, books for word lovers, from a collection of curious words to some fun with Farsi. • Some people yell “Geronimo!” when they jump out of an airplane, but why? • We call something that heats air a heater, so why do we call...
There’s a word for the first person to walk through your door on New Year’s Day. The word is quaaltagh, and it’s used on the Isle of Man. This Manx term is one of many linguistic delights in a book Martha recommends for word...
dust n.— «50 Cent would then go on to touch on the internal squabbles within the Wu-Tang and refer to the group as “dust heads.” “It’s really upsetting to me with what’s going on with Wu-Tang right now. I hear they are...
tuxedo n.— «Late for a dinner appointment, she cut through an alley off Belmont Road NW in Adams Morgan and was surprised to see a dozen black-and-white cats—tuxedos, as they are called.» —“Stray but Not Forgotten” by Sue...
Aspenize v.— «Great numbers of the newcomers object strenously to what is termed “the Aspenizing of Bisbee” and the effects of a tourist boom on a dirt-cheap economy that one city councilman estimates is 75 percent dependent...
night commuter n.— «To avoid LRA abduction, every night as many as 40,000 children flee their homes in the countryside to sleep in the relative safety of towns. They seek refuge overnight at churches, hospitals, bus stations and temporary...