Sharing a secret language. Did you ever speak in gibberish with a childhood pal, adding extra syllables to words so the adults couldn’t understand what you were saying? Such wordplay isn’t just for kids—and it’s not just limited to...
Hector’s pup, or since Hector was a pup, is another way to say, “Oh, heck.” The expressions go back to the early 1900’s, when people were perhaps more familiar with the character of Hector from The Iliad. This is part of a...
We all lead busy lives—so are speed reading courses a good idea? Plus, if you hear someone speaking with a British accent, do you tend to assume they’re somehow more intelligent? And some common English surnames tell us stories about life in...
cipher n.— «The “Emcee Cypher,” also spelled cipher, is a chance for DJs/producers to showcase their skills while simultaneously enticing a group to create a verbal collage. In hip-hop parlance, cipher refers to something like...
steady ticket n.— «At least three days a week, however, Atencio has a steady “ticket.” In other words, through the labor pool he works 12-hour shifts at a large printing press.» —“Life Is Hard At The Bottom” by...
dog leg n.— «It deployed ESS in a well with the highest changes in well path direction, commonly called “dog leg” in oil field parlance.» —“SPDC Emerges World Leaders in ESS: Accounts for 55% of Shell Total” by...