midnight rule making n.— «Anticipating an end-of-administration rush to churn out hundreds of regulations—a practice known as “midnight rule making”—the White House counseled agencies to restrain themselves. “We need to continue [our] principled...
pig night n.— «One of its disgusted members told me of its annual practice called “pig night” when pledges were sent out to find “ugly townie girls” to be invited to a big Yale party—at midnight they were told, now illegally liquored up, that they...
Greetings, oh wise ones. Here's another podcast, this one featuring a slang quiz on the word "phonemarking." In our discussion forums we're still taking entries to win a copy of Jeff Prucher's book, "The Oxford Dictionary...
Oh, yes, it’s time for another podcast, this one featuring a slang quiz on the word “phonemarking.” Transcript of “Phonemarking (minicast)” Welcome to the summer edition of Slang This, the language quiz from A Way with Words. Our family tends to...
bust on someone v. phr.— «The dock area is closed to cars from midnight to 6 a.m., but according to 17-year-old Kim Stolz of North Woodmere, the police “bust on us” even before midnight.» —“Sitting on the Dock on the Bay; A summertime generation...
third shift n. the illegal manufacture of goods after authorized production has ceased. Editorial Note: In normal workplace jargon, the “third shift” is often from midnight to 8 a.m.; however, the third shift as defined here is simply an extra...

