The German word Zaunkönig means “wren,” but literally translates as “king of the fence.” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Zaunkönig, King of the Fence” The German word zahn means a fence or a...
A hundred years ago, suffragists lobbied to win women the right to vote. Linguistically speaking, though, suffrage isn’t about “suffering.” It’s from a Latin word that involves voting. Plus: military cadences often include...
Paul in Dryden, New York, says when he lived in Tennessee, he knew that when someone began a sentence with Bless his heart, that phrase would usually be followed by the word but, plus a criticism of that person. Now that he’s living in New...
There’s a word hole in a hedge or wall made by the repeated passage of a small animal. It’s called a smeuse. This dialect term from the UK is one of hundreds from Landmarks, a book of essays in which Robert Macfarlane seeks to reanimate...
high water mark n.— «Finally, most hedge funds have something called a high water mark. It requires hedge fund managers to make investors whole before they can start collecting their 20 percent of the profits—regardless of how long that...
side-pocket n.— «A hedge fund often invests into securities which are not quickly or easily converted into cash. Often this happens by way of a “side-pocket” where all illiquid securities are segregated.» —“United...