If you speak both German and Spanish, you may find yourself reaching for a German word instead of a Spanish one, and vice versa. This puzzling experience is so common among polyglots that linguists have a name for it. • The best writers create...
Tom in Tallahassee, Florida, wonders why he and his fellow buddies called the store on a ship the gedunk, also geedunk, and also applied the word to the sweets and other goodies they purchased there. As Paul Dickson notes in his book War Slang, some...
trophy jacket
n.— «Embellished, beaded, military or brocade—trophy jackets are spring/summer 2009’s mush have fashion piece.» —“Trophy Jackets” Vogue.com Spring/Summer, 2009. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
jeggings n.pl.— «The latest fashion buzz word doing the rounds is “jeggings.” Unfortunately, the idea of a buzz word precedes the item instantly giving them a bad name, but I don’t think you should let that put you off...
blipster n.— «So just what is a black hipster—a “blipster” or “alt-black”? Like many recent cultural trends, this one straddles race, politics, fashion and art. For the purposes of discussion, we’ll stick with men (though I have seen some...
bike leg n.— «Casati, like many other bike riding University of Montana students and faculty members, has gotten into the habit of rolling up a pant leg—or two—in order to keep it from catching in the bike chain. […] This fashion...