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We tend to take the index of a book for granted, but centuries ago, these helpful lists were viewed with suspicion. Some even worried that indexes would harm reading comprehension! A witty new book tells the story. Plus, the Latin term bona fides...
bomber’s moon n.— «When the novel opens, Harriet is atop Coventry’s cathedral watching for fires. Jeremy is on another part of the roof, and both are at the mercy of a bright, full moon, commonly called a bomber’s moon. It soon becomes...
cannibalizing n.— «More worryingly, the conglomerate is continuing its use of a business practice known as “cannibalising,” whereby new stores are opened in close proximity to existing branches. The intention of this is that...
catch a body v. phr.— «Bell added in his statement that they had the intention of “catching a body, but it wasn’t. We didn’t go downtown to catch a body, only Arthur did.” The street term, “to catch a body,” refers...
playshop n.— «Meltzer and Williamson refer to them as “playshops” because the intention is to help women to connect to the joyful, spontaneous and fun-loving side of themselves, so often set aside during the daily routine of giving to the...
NHI n.— «Last week, the state agency that polices judicial conduct found that when Greene uttered the acronym “NHI” (short for “no humans involved”) he had no intention of making a racial epithet, nor did he think...