Barbara Kingsolver’s book Demon Copperhead is a retelling of Charles Dickens’ David Copperfield set in today’s Appalachia. Martha shares memories of a long-ago visit to Kingsolver’s family farm in Virginia, where they...
Janet in Tucson, Arizona, wonders about a phrase she once saw on a business card: Fortune Favors the Audacious. It’s a translation of a saying that goes back to antiquity, with many variations, including “fortune favors the brave”...
song sharking n.— «The personals are full of them; want ads promising easy fame and fortune for people with undiscovered talent. Music industry neophytes show up, audition, and receive every promise under the sun, if they put up a little...
pure play n.— «While subsidiaries of multiline insurers like UnitedHealth (Charts, Fortune 500) and WellPoint (Charts, Fortune 500) are still the biggest players in Medicaid, the “pure plays,” as they’re called, have grown...
partsumer n.— «It’s called fractional ownership, which dates to the 1960s time shares, Fortune (March 12) reports. In 1986, NetJets sparked a high-end trend when it began selling shares of planes, after which luxury resorts got into the...
spinning n.— «Westly’s personal fortune also has proved something of a campaign liability. He has been criticized for engaging in a practice known as “spinning,” in which investment banks gave high-tech executives special...