Are we a nosy species? A listener married to a woman from Bangladesh explains how a Bengali term that translates as “nose-going” reflects the naturally inquisitive style of Bangladeshi culture. In many languages, the nose figures prominently in...
reverse inquiry n.— «Market participants echoed those comments. “The book was incredibly large and the average fill was only 20% to 25%,” meaning that institutional investors received one-fifth to one-quarter of the orders they put in. It seems...
block busting n.— «A committee of civic politicians wants to know what the city and cops are doing to crack down on “unscrupulous property owners.” It comes following an inquiry made by Coun. Don Iveson, who was concerned about homes being...
job and knock n.— «A regular inquiry theme has been the RailCorp tradition of “job and knock”—a term for leaving a job after only a couple of hours but charging for the whole day.» —“Employee goes back to work despite theft, fraud” by Linton...
spoil n.— «One aspect of the investigation is whether Allanson received a “spoil”—racing parlance for a bookie offering over the odds.» —“CEO’s ‘Hindon’ inquiry widens” by Adrian Dunn Herald Sun (Melbourne, Australia) Feb. 18, 2008. (source: Double...
May-December marriage n.— «Now, with the possible candidacy of Fred D. Thompson, the grandfatherly actor and former Republican senator from Tennessee, whose second wife is almost a quarter-century his junior, comes a less palatable inquiry that is...

