Beep-boop-beep! It's another newsletter from "A Way with Words." This weekend we had a row over the death of the subjunctive, listened with curiosity to a Texan talking about "help your plate," fell in love with...
mini-Madoff n.— «Their names lack the Dickensian flair of Bernie Madoff, and the money they apparently stole from investors was a small fraction of the $50 billion that Mr. Madoff allegedly lost of his clients’ savings. But the number of...
non’trée n.— «Bay Area waiters have a nickname for many of their customers these days: the non’trée. Non’trée (pronounced “non-tray”) refers to the folks who order appetizers rather than a pricier entree—a popular practice in...
dumbpipe n.— «The carriers picked up the unflattering nickname “dumbpipes,” underscoring their strict noninterference in the Internet traffic surging over their networks. The name heightened resentment among the carriers...
Ahoy, mateys, and welcome aboard another newsletter from A Way with Words! We are delighted to welcome our new listeners from KTOO in Juneau, Alaska, and WCAI, in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The smell of leather-bound books and printer's ink is...
drop a pickle v. phr.— «He got his nickname, “Split,” when he went to a party shortly after his wife gave birth to their first child. Dropping a bomb and having a child are both referred to as “dropping a pickle”...