snowball sample n.— «Researchers pursue what is called a “snowball sample,” seeking out workers who then recruit their friends in a process they liken to a chain letter, or to the “six degrees of separation” theory of connectedness. A...
blitz n.— «Shawn comes to Wall Street to play a type of chess called blitz, a game in which the ticking of a three-minute clock eliminates the ponderous pauses of traditional chess and transforms the game into a fevered, trash-talking...
SOD n.— «In December 1996, inspired in part by Mr. Randall’s well-publicized late fatherhood (his wife was 26 at the time), I wrote an article for The New York Times about men having children at a stage in life when their peers were...
Edwardian five n.— «The apartment she chose was once an Edwardian five, which translates simply to a one bedroom for a rich bachelor or widow (probably not for a young single woman—they rarely lived alone in Edwardian times): only one...