dashboard v.— «Snyder is a 26-year-old from Raymore, Mo., with a black hat, a dignified air and a nose reconstructed a few years ago by a surgeon who used Snyder’s driver’s license as a guide. That procedure followed a head-to-head run-in...
noise floor n.— «If you make your recording too soft, you will mix in too much of what is often referred to as the “noise floor,” the spectrum that all the other sounds inhabit—generally sounds you don’t want.» —“Podcasting...
bird dog n.—Gloss: A person who guides an electrical crew to a repair site. «“There’s a lot of sign language for ‘don’t touch,’” said Andy Janosz, a switchman with PSNH in Manchester and the crew’s local “bird dog...
poofer n.— «Poofers: A slang term for girls who suddenly disappear from their community in order to take part in an arranged marriage. The girls are either kept hidden or moved to another state or country. This term is most often used by...
black blind n.— «It’s a common misconception among people that if someone is blind they can’t see at all n what is known as “black blind.” That, however, is not true for the majority of the blind and visually impaired n most have...
Here’s another newsletter from A Way with Words. On this past weekend’s show we mused over the idea of reading books on electronic devices, talked about “tow-headed,” and got to the German origins of “going to Buxtehude...