A pint-sized mad scientist, a green-haired girl with a contagious sense of wonder, and a 10-year-old detective. They’re all characters in the books on Grant’s latest list of recommended books for children. Also, what’s the word for...
Has your boss ever used the expression “Let’s put the moose on the table”? This management buzzphrase, meaning “let’s address the problem everyone’s been avoiding,” is relatively new, showing up in print...
Dipper n.— «My exquisite pleasure as a Liberal party man who barely knew a Tory or “Dipper” (as we called NDPers) was to work with people from organized labour, Liberals, Conservatives, ad people and NDPers all in a glorious...
tele-town-hall n.— «I answered a phone call from Representative Michele Bachmann. The call was a “tele-town hall,” in which Representative Bachmann conducts a town hall meeting over the phone with her constituents...
defac n.— Note: “Defac” is far less often spelled “difac,” despite being a blend of “dining facility.” «Camp Phoenix in particular, was an example of where the disease began with food preparation and...
thermal roughening n.— «In February, crews started blasting the sidewalks with a blowtorch—or “thermal roughening,” as they call it—to burn away the slippery top layer of stone.» —“Mayor Bloomberg orders $1M worth of...