The dialectal word jimmycane denotes a “strong, destructive wind.” The origin of jimmycane is uncertain, although it may be an adaptation of hurricane. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Jimmycane, Another Word For Hurricane” Hello...
pencil top n.— «Most commercial companies over-prune palms leaving fronds with a V-shape referred to as a “hurricane cut.” Constant removal of these leaves will result in a condition referred to as “pencil top” (trunk narrows just below fronds)...
cat funds n.pl.— Note: “Cat” is short for “catastrophe.” «A ticking countdown to hurricane season will color Washington this week, when state officials overseeing these so-called “cat funds” will meet with lawmakers drafting the legislation. The...
we-be n.— «Washington civil servants are bracing for that personnel hurricane that sweeps through the federal bureaucracy every eight years or so, when a new administration places thousands of political appointees in all the top jobs—and some not...
An Illinois man recalls that as a kid, he used to mix fountain drinks of every flavor into a concoction he and his friends called a suicide. He wonders if anyone else calls them that. Why a suicide? Because it looks and tastes like poison? This is...
hurricane amnesia n.— «I recently received a call from a columnist who had attended a trade show and Gov. Crist’s hurricane conference. He felt industry was using scare tactics to promote their products. This couldn’t be further from the truth...
