hackmailing n.— «Technology does have a lot to answer for in shaping our language and is by far the greatest source of neologisms. silicon.com’s own effort is to get the word “hackmailing”—a conjunction of hacking and...
paper airplane n.— «Aviation has a long history of what people call “paper airplanes”—some guy comes along who’s going to build a new plane that goes 1,000 miles an hour and only costs $200 to fly, and he raises money and is...
juice bill n.— «politicians routinely submit legislative bills that would take money from various persons or groups, and then withdraw them once (constitutionally protected) payments are made. These bills go by different names. In...
vinyl village n.— «“Vinyl villages” (a term I borrowed from a friend) line Cedar Road, where builders are more concerned with making money than making homes aesthetically appealing or by saving the trees that will take another...
block n.— «Judy Hines holds the distinction of being one of Denver’s longest working prostitutes. “I started when I was 15, in 1974, working out of an apartment building behind Colfax and Pearl,” said the 46-year-old Hines...
brownout n.— «The San Francisco Fire Department, with the OK of Mayor Gavin Newsom, has been taking certain engines and trucks out of service on a rotating basis since last summer. The “brownouts,” as they’re called, save...