voice writing n.— «In the US, court reporters have abandoned stenotype machines, whose keyboards use chord-like combinations to represent sounds, for a technique called voice writing. The “writer”—really a speaker—repeats testimony into a...
What’s a Luddite? Martha explains that this term for “someone resistant to technological change” has its roots in a form of populist rage in the early 19th century. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Luddite” You’re listening to A...
coin-pusher n.— «The machines, versions of which are common in arcades, are called coin-pushers. The user drops in a coin, hoping that it will force more coins off the front of a shelf. But in the case of the illegal machines, the shelf was...
Washing Machine Charlie n.— «By the time he was 19, McNerney was the platoon sergeant of a mortar unit assigned to HQ Company in the jungles of Saipan, fighting Japanese soldiers and dodging Japanese bombs. One day, in early July 1944, McNerney...
bird’s nest on the ground n.— «He deeply resented the suggestion that the White House was his for the taking—a bird’s nest on the ground, as they say in Texas. But with his family’s name and fundraising machine, and a shrewd strategist, Karl Rove...
chop-chop adj.— «Their monkey business was recently uncovered, they have been caught red handed dipping their dirty fingers in the cookie jar like the P1.3 million auto-clave scam. The machine used to sterilize hospital tools failed to meet...