Lachryphagy is literally “tear-eating,” and refers to the way some insects crawl up to the eyes of much larger animals to sip their protein-rich tears. The name of the wine Lachryma Christi means “tear of Christ,” and someone...
Lisa calls from Huntsville, Alabama, to say that whenever Lisa was looking sharp in an attractive dress, one “tight enough to show that you’re a woman and loose enough to show that you’re a lady,” her mother would compliment...
Is there something inherent in English that makes it the linguistic equivalent of the Borg, dominating and consuming other languages in its path? No, not at all. The answer lies with politics and conquest rather than language itself. Plus: a new...
The expression tight as a tick is inspired by the idea of being full-to-bursting, like one of those insects when it’s engorged with blood. Tight as a tick can also describe someone who’s quite drunk or very miserly. Other phrases that...
Silence comes in many forms. Writer Paul Goodman says there is, for example, the noisy silence of “resentment and self-recrimination,” and the helpful, participatory silence of actively listening to someone speak. • The strange story...
A stereotype is a preconceived notion about a person or group. Originally, though, the word stereotype referred to a printing device used to produce lots of identical copies. • The link between tiny mythical creatures called trolls and modern-day...