Donna in Redwood City, California, reports confusion in her workplace over the term confirming. If she gets an email that says Confirming the supplies will be delivered on Tuesday, she assumes that this means the sender is still in the process of...
Suppose you take off your sandals and then carry them while holding the straps in your hand. In that case, is it correct to call those straps handles? Phil in Omaha, Nebraska, has a longstanding dispute with a friend over that question. You might...
We heard from a woman who told her boyfriend about her plan to get her hair cut. He responded that he thought that particular style would make her hair “worse.” Does the word worse in this case imply that her hair was bad to begin with? This is part...
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 evident that...
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 sister stores will...
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 to knocking someone down with a...