cut the turf v. phr.— «Some of our targeted homeowners are suspicious. Some refuse to come to the door. Others hide behind twitched curtains until we leave. We are like political Jehovah’s Witnesses, but we are unrepentant. And, were we to falter...
quench n.— «During a power test, the very last before collisions could start in the machine (to the annoyance of engineers), a fault led to a warming of the busbar. As superconductivity was lost, the temperature soared in a “quench.” The machine is...
sleepover n.— «Ohio’s elections chief is reconsidering a plan to prohibit poll workers from taking voting machines home for safekeeping in the days before the November presidential election. Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner announced plans in...
alligator shear n.— «Mr. Graap and Agents Stern and Green moved into a brick building where a squat steel machine that was painted green and run by hydraulic power—known in the business as an alligator sheer for its resemblance to that reptile’s...
God shot n.— «The machine is for people who like to fiddle—and not everyone wants to grind beans, pre-heat demitasses, tamp at just the right pressure, “temperature surf” and do all the other hoo-ha necessary to produce a perfect shot (or “God...
extinction n.— «But the thing is, as Natasha points out, the language of the slot machine industry belies its ultimate aims. There’s a term bandied about at the trade shows: “extinction.” We need to design for extinction, we need to reduce time-to...