Why do we call a run-down area skid row? Here’s a picture of a skid road from Out West, vol. 19, ed. Charles F. Lummis, 1902, Out West Company, Los Angeles This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Skid Row” Hello, you...
OMG, text messaging! It’s destroying the English language, corrupting young minds, turning us into illiterates. It’s probably shrinking the ozone layer, too. Or is it? In his new book, Txting: The Gr8 Db8, David Crystal offers a...
Iran-geles n.— «The US, they told me, was a good place and many Iranians migrated there, especially to Los Angeles, which they had taken to calling “Iran-geles.”» —“Sky’s the limit for Iran’s night callers” by...
trendonista n.— «“The trendonistas still flock to Barneys, but it’s just to eat lunch and buy a lipstick,” said Leslie Wright, a fashion-forward executive at Bonhams & Butterfields, the art auctioneer. “That way,” she continued...
Googie n.— «The sign, erected sometime during the 1950s, is an example of what is called “Googie,” an exaggerated Jetsons-style of architecture named after a Los Angeles coffee shop.» —“After 50-year run, sign will be...
Howdy and happy new year! It's another newsletter from "A Way with Words." Last week there was no newsletter as we celebrated the new year by hauling our dictionaries out of the low-hanging winter sun. We wish they were...