Sorry, Californians—the word dude actually comes from New York City, and goes all the way back to the 1800s. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Birthplace of “Dude”” You’re listening to A Way with Words, the show about language and...
Nowadays we think of the gridiron as the football field, but in the 14th century, a gridiron was a cooking instrument with horizontal bars placed over an open flame. Since then, gridiron has lent its name to a Medieval torture device, the American...
jamiton n.— «We’ve all been there—stuck in traffic, inching along, running late and getting angry when suddenly everyone starts moving. Just like that, the road clears. No flashing lights, no mangled cars, no clue to suggest what went wrong...
pedlock n.— «The Alliance has yet to take a position on congestion pricing, but many of its members support the idea. Mr. Tompkins cited the dual threats of gridlock, referring to frequent weekend backups of up to 45 minutes at the Holland Tunnel...
Big Mother n.— «If public interest in diet wanes, the program can be halted without undoing a tangle of law. The federal government has only one legitimate task: fulfilling its constitutional duties. Doing more it verges on becoming Big Brother or...
