postman’s holiday n. a vacation or holiday spent in a pastime similar to one’s usual employment. Editorial Note: This is a synonym for the far more common “busman’s holiday,” which dates to at least 1893. Thanks to Al Rotches for...
Dionne Warwick n.— «If someone has had “a Dionne Warwick,” the listener should definitely try to be sympathetic as they have had a heart-breaking event. Warwick was famed for having written and sung Heartbreaker...
screamo n.— «A year or so later, she advanced in a battle of the bands competition, competing as an acoustical guitarist with another guitarist against, as she called them, four male “screamo” rock bands.» —“Emily Grace Makes It To...
melotronic adj.— «Bickley-based musician Graham Smith has just completed an album called Eleven, inspired by the first Moon landing. The style of music is electronica / ambient, though Graham refers to it as “melotronic”—melodic...
rent-a-frog n.— «Nowadays, such behavior is strictly prohibited by the fair’s frog welfare policy, a four-page document that outlines rules, including treatment of hundreds of “rent-a-frogs,” which are stored in a cellarlike room under...
ultra lounge n.— «It was happy hour at a nearby “ultra lounge,” whether or not patrons knew what was meant by “ultra.”…“Ultra” is something of a hyperbolic reference to the less-than-ultra-surprising mix of offerings: cocktails...