The term Melungeon, applied to a group of people in Southeastern Appalachia marked by swarthy skin and dark eyes, has been used disparagingly in the past. But Melungeons themselves reclaimed that name in the 1960s. The Melungeon Heritage website...
Twittering, tweeting, twirting—it’s rare to see a whole new body of language appear right before your eyes. But that’s what’s happening with Twitter. We discuss the snappy new shorthand of the twitterati. Also, why do people feel compelled to say...
What do you call the nasty black mixture of snow and ice that builds up in your car’s wheel wells in wintry weather? Is there a word for this frigid gunk? Various names have been floating around, including hunkers, snard, snowlactites, knobacles...
Guatemexicoestadounidense n.— «Growing numbers of Guatemalan and Mexican immigrants are marrying and having U.S.-born children, creating mixed Latino families with ties to three countries at once.…The mixture has become so common in Phoenix, some...
hydroseed v.— «Accompanying the installation of lifesaving guardrails along the Route 17 median in southern Orange County is an alien-green liquid that workers have been spraying on with a high-powered hose.…The process is called hydroseeding. The...
sugaring n.— «A business specializing in all-natural hair removal recently opened downtown at 185-A St. Philip St. The shop, called Sweet 185, removes hair through a practice called “sugaring,” which involves a mixture of sugar, lemon and water...