nimbomaniac n.— «Cloudspotters—who prefer the formal name nephologists, or the informal “nimbomaniacs”, even have a name for seeing objects in clouds. “It is called pareidolia—finding meaningful shapes in meaningless objects,” said one...
big dance n.— «On Friday, he scheduled his first informal back-and-forth with the press, an informal, off-camera session called the “gaggle” which White House press secretaries typically hold in the mornings as a sort of...
carpet grazing n.— «Once a guilty pleasure of the dinner hour, television is now a shameless suppertime centrepiece as Canadians gather expressly to enjoy their favourite shows—as well as an informal TV-side buffet. “Carpet...
blat n.— «Alena Ledeneva, a University College London professor, will discuss how informal contacts and networks—which she dubs “blat”—have influence over society in post-Soviet Russia.» —“World of lectures set on...
box n.— «It’s where the drugs are. Where the crack is. An area that soft-spoken, veteran police Lieutenant Lionel Garcia calls “the box.” It’s an informal term in cop-speak that means the floating area of most concentrated...
Blackberry thumb n.— «There’s even an informal name for the malady—”BlackBerry Thumb”—a catch-all phrase that describes a repetitive stress injury of the thumb as a result of overusing small gadget keypads.» —“Blackberry...