In a 1936 episode of Jack Benny’s radio show, a woman says that her father sprained his ankle the night before while truckin’. This has an A Way with Words listener confused; she thought trucking was a term from the 1970s. Grant clears...
drunk bus n.— «As a staggering girl’s stiletto heel punctures your ankle and the guy next to you throws up all over himself, the humid air becomes filled with an earsplitting, slurred version of the JMU Fight Song. Welcome to the Night...
Hockey mom, mavericky, snow machines, and—how could we forget that other memorable phrase from the 2008 presidential campaign?—lipstick on a pig. Some new and not-so-new terms leapt onto the national stage during Gov. Sarah Palin‘s run for the...
paseo millonario n.— «Banco de Costa Rica said in a press release that night-time ATM operations represent only 7 to 8 percent of transactions. For the most part, these three banks have taken the security measure due to the common...
night-out money n.— «“The trouble is that lorry drivers are given what is called night-out money—the industry standard being about £22 a night—which they regard as their money. “So, instead of spending it in lorry parks, they park up in a...
recon by fire n.— «The danger is particularly acute at night. The Iraqis do not have night-vision equipment, so when they spot people approaching their checkpoints they have a tendency to do what the Americans refer to as “recon by fire.”...