TagMaterials

Wouldn’t That Just Cork You?

Deb in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, says that when her mother was disappointed or annoyed she’d say Wouldn’t that just cork you? The idea here is that in the same way that a cork that stops up a bottle, an unexpected or irritating event...

Paper Towelling

Do you use paper towels or paper towelling? While a listener insists her husband’s wrong for his use of paper towelling, Grant explains how certain nouns take a gerund ending. For example, clothes derive from clothing, and the side of a house...

demanufacturing

demanufacturing  n.— «“Pretty much everything with an electronic pulse, we deal with,” said CEO David Kutoff. Materials Processing takes apart TVs and other equipment, a process known as “demanufacturing,” and separates...

phytocapping

phytocapping  n.— «Landfill sites produce the greenhouse gases, methane and carbon dioxide, as putrescible waste decays. Growing plants and trees on top of a landfill, a process known as “Phytocapping,” could reduce the...

whisper grinding

whisper grinding  n.— «Caltrans instead is considering a technique called “whisper grinding” to make the concrete on I-5 quieter.» —“Green approach produces quiet streets” by Dave Downey North County...

witness mark

witness mark  n.— «When recovering evidence for further observation, preservation of any dirt or grease mark on samples can be vital if critical evidence of its past history is not to be lost. Such trace evidence (witness marks) can help...