skittle n.— «Our guys usually dump 200 rounds of “Skittles” onto the target. I did not know what Skittles were for a long time. Back in Hawaii, I came upon two crew chiefs arguing loudly. One of them was very upset about the...
truing n.— «A wheel, he explained, can develop flat spots, and the barn’s special “truing” machine can restore the wheel to working order. A big plastic tub with piles of metal shavings carries the sign “Wheel Truing Machine Chips Only.”...
virtual orchestra machine n.— «In picketing and press releases, it refers to products like Notion and Sinfonia as “virtual orchestra machines”: a kind of alien in the pit.» —“Theater’s Alive With the Sound of...
bio-ink n.— «Here’s how it works: A customized milling machine prints a small sheet of bio-paper. This “paper” is a variable gel composed of modified gelatin and hyaluronan, a sugar-rich material. Bio-ink blots—each a little...
fleeing voter syndrome n.— «Stephen J. Strahs, co-founder of the two-year-old citizen elections watchdog group, said that county officials in the past have attributed these undercounts to the “fleeing voter syndrome.” This is...
put a quarter in someone v. phr.— «The guy is like a machine—put a quarter in him, and he gets a base hit.» —“U. Texas-Austin: Majewski’s streak ends at 11 as Texas routs UTSA 20-3″ by Brian Welch in University of...