Why is a factory called a plant? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Factory vs. Plant” Hello, you have A Way with Words. Hi, this is J.W. I’m from Cedar Hill, Texas, near Dallas. Welcome to the show, J.W. How can we help you? Well, I...
In mining country, a stripper is an huge piece of machinery churns up the soil in search of coal veins. This caused no end of hilarity one Christmas Day for a Terre Haute, Indiana, family when a new in-law was scandalized by the thought that all the...
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...
stumper n.— «First, what the loggers call a stumper uses its arm to chop down some trees. The first batch of trees, from the start line to the edge of the property line, are laid across the swamp. The stumper’s large, tank-like track tires...
trip n.— «In the parlance of the electric power industry, a “trip” means a piece of machinery stops operating. A series of feedwater system pumps supplying water to TMI-2’s steam generators tripped on the morning of March 28, 1979. The nuclear...
churnalism n.— «There has been much comment in the press this week following the coverage of Nick Davies book “Flat Earth News” where he states that “Churnalism” has replaced real journalism…and naturally the PR industry gets the blame. In the...
