Among ham radio enthusiasts, the word Elmer has become an affectionate term for an experienced ham radio operator who mentors a novice. It’s also used as a verb: Elmering someone means helping a new ham. The term was coined in a 1971 magazine...
Acclaimed Jamaican poet Safiya Sinclair’s sumptuous memoir, How to Say Babylon (Bookshop|Amazon) tells the story of her struggle to break free from a rigid Rastafarian upbringing, and how her discovery of poetry, both memorizing it and writing it...
How did the word gay go from meaning lighthearted to homosexual? Also, why are elementary schools sometimes called grammar schools? Plus, imeldific, gone pecan, random Scrabble words, and the difference between borrow and lend. And the etiquette of...
What’s the best term for someone who’s being mentored? A woman in a mentoring program at church thinks the word mentee sounds like “manatee.” She’s hoping for an alternative. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Different Terms for...
trep n.— «While the Small Business Administration may be the granddaddy of all business sites, it’s SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives), one of the SBA’s resource partners, that offers ‘treps help from those who’ve actually been there...
old head n.— «Donnie excused himself. An emerald-green Oldsmobile driven by a man in his 20s pulled up to the corner. Donnie slinked into the back seat. “That’s his old head,” said one of the boys, using street slang for mentor. He was Donnie’s...