gun time n.— «A similar issue arose at the Chicago Marathon two weeks ago, when Wesley Korir of Kenya finished fourth, despite starting five minutes after the elite runners. Like O’Connell, his time was clear because of the electronic...
They were the last words Abraham Lincoln heard before John Wilkes Booth assassinated him: “Well, I guess I know enough to turn you inside-out, old gal—you sockdologizing old man-trap!” Booth knew that this line from the play Our American...
Welcome to another edition of the A Way with Words newsletter. What was college slang like 100 years ago? That's what we talked about on the air this past weekend. We also talked about "go fly a kite," nicknames for Vancouver, and why...
nuke the fridge v. phr.— Note: The short life of this term is ably covered by Jason Kottke. «In TV land, this phenomenon is known as “jumping the shark”: the moment when a once proud series swan-dives into putridity. It’s a...
Peggy Lee moment v. phr.— «Now we have the “Peggy Lee Moment.” I heard a reference to this last week on one of those television stations that feature a bunch of guys screaming at each other, and liked it so much I decided to...
photobomber n.— «A “photobomber” is someone who sneaks into one of your happy pics and ruins it. You’re standing there with your new partner, smiling for the camera, capturing the happy moment….absolutely oblivious to...