Sean in New York City is curious about the expression the business end, as in the business end of a gun. It’s simply “the end of an object that fulfills its function or purpose,” such as the business end of a shovel, the business...
Howdy from Wordville! In this week’s archive edition of “A Way with Words,” we talk about Mushroom Basket, Moose Point, and other wacky names given to paint chips and nail polish colors. We also discussed the origin of...
tooth floater n.— «Jim Johnson of Sacred Heart has been a horse tooth floater for 15 years. He uses something that looks like a giant nail file called a “float”—the name used years ago for leveling or planing tools. He swears...
bounce box n.— «The couple also has another method of replenishing—what they call a bounce box. “You bounce it from town to town and go through its contents. If you need shampoo or nail clippers, you use it, then send it to the next...
turn someone over v. phr.— «Too public, it seems. The Mail on Sunday, in Fleet Street parlance, turned him over. Treating him like an errant soap star over two pages, it sunk its fangs into the English divorcee, highlighting his glamorous...
nail house n.— «A small shack, primitively built, on the corner of a road in Shanghai, surrounded by high-rise development. Owned by a strong old woman, patronized by night-time drivers. update: ding zi hu (lit. “nail house”):...