The term green-eyed monster, meaning jealousy, first appears in Shakespeare’s Othello, when Iago says, “Oh, beware, my lord, of jealousy!/ It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock/ The meat it feeds on.” This is part of a...
globster n.— «Many monster enthusiasts believe that huge, unidentified masses that occasionally wash up on beaches throughout the world are sea monsters. These finds, often called globsters, are obviously flesh, yet have decayed so badly...
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...
monster n.— «Frampton’s team argues that the extra entropy is generated by the random nature of quantum physics. This should sometimes allow a collapsing ball of matter to spontaneously transform into something called a...
scriptment n.— «“What do you mean, you’re going to greenlight the movie with a kid named Matt directing?” Mr. Grey said, according to Mr. Weston. Yet with just a 65-page “scriptment” (more than a treatment, less than a script) laying out...
monster-mashing n.— «“Forward march.” The movements are new, and Cain still has to think about what he is doing. Pretty soon, left becomes right, and instead of swinging his arms naturally—right arm, left leg, etc.—he is...