tuxedo cat n.— «Someone I knew in college rescued a litter of kittens at abt 1 week of age and I ended up taking Gummitch home to my mother. He was a beautiful orange tuxedo cat with striped legs and tail, a lovely face, and a terrific, tolerant...
non’trée n.— «Bay Area waiters have a nickname for many of their customers these days: the non’trée. Non’trée (pronounced “non-tray”) refers to the folks who order appetizers rather than a pricier entree—a popular practice in economic hard times...
bliss point n.— «Faced with insistent demands to lower the salt, food companies employ three strategies. Strategy No. 1 is to try to reduce sodium. Manufacturers say they can’t do this easily. Unless products are salty enough—reaching what the...
fertigation n.— «Professor Michael Delwiche, chairman of biological and cultural engineering at UC Davis, has experimented with wireless sensing systems that precisely apply water—sometimes mixed with chemical fertilizers in a process called...
quiet title n.— «If, in fact, the railroad company is willing to state in writing that it has abandoned the property, you may also be able to file what is known as a “quiet title” action, asking a judge to review the facts and determine who owns...
decimal dust n.— «The thin wires that could carry the world’s information system directly and cheaply to every house in the city is on the order of what Sup. Ross Mirkarimi likes to call “decimal dust.” Electrical conduit, which will one day be the...