Columnist Lucy Kellaway wrote in the Financial Times about feeling less anxious and fearful in the workplace as she gets older. She concluded that such feelings are bog standard, a British expression meaning “common” or “widespread.” This is part of...
Is there a word you keep having to look up in the dictionary, no matter how many times you’ve looked it up before? Maybe it’s time for a mnemonic device. And: a listener shares a letter from Kurt Vonnegut himself, with some reassuring advice about...
flossy adj.— «Most of the good Portland restaurants serve what is known as “flossy” food (for fresh, local, organic, sustainable, seasonable). Flossies are people who believe in these ideals and try to eat in that manner.» —“Portland food is flossy...
banking n.— «Cigarettes are like gold dust. Custody staff are not allowed to conduct internal examinations and the preferred method of eluding confiscation is “banking.”» —“How I spent a day behind bars” by Lucy Adams The Herald (Glasgow...
cutter court n.— «After lunch, the staff are told the court computer system has gone down, meaning serious delays. The custody court—or “cutter court,” as it’s known by prisoners and staff—is likely to go on until 9pm at least.» —“How I spent a day...
multi-dadding n.— «Sadie Frost has done it. Ulrika Jonsson does it all the time. Paula Yates did it. And so have I. What we, and countless other women have done, is have children with more than one man. It is fraught, it is complicated but, in this...
