sharp adj.— «The technical term for the climber who goes first is the “leader”; that’s the climber on the “sharp” end of the rope—the end you can hurt yourself on.» —“A Match Made in Canada” by Michael J. Ybarra Wall Street Journal Nov. 12, 2008...
eco-smart adj.— «The Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce is getting eco-smart, as they say in environmental circles. The chamber is installing eight specialty skylights in its offices to eliminate the need for day lighting.» —“Kermit, Carlsbad Chamber Now...
filler n.— «The man was a “filler” in a photo lineup of six black men. A filler is someone who is not a suspect, but whose photo is included because the filler fits the general description of a suspect who was in the photo lineup. There were six...
yard n.— «In broker speak, a bank might ask for a “yard”—one billion in a designated currency.» —“To hide desperation for cash, banks may be falsifying interest rate reports” by Carrick Mollenkamp Wall Street Journal Apr. 16, 2008. (source: Double...
A teacher discusses whether the correct form is feel bad or feel badly. By the way, the Latin proverb Martha mentions here is, “Qui docet, discet.” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Bad vs. Badly” Hello, you have A Way with Words...
gang-cutting n.— «Prosecutors allege he led a multi-state ring that clipped bundles of coupons at a time from newspaper inserts—a practice known as “gang-cutting”—and sent them to IOS for processing, pretending they’d been redeemed by consumers...