Is that knitted winter cap a beanie, a toboggan, a stocking hat, or a toque? Terms vary by region: beanie refers to a knit cap on the West Coast, toboggan for a hat is mainly Southern, sock hat and stocking hat turn up in the Midwest, around the...
dollar banana n.— «Bananas from these countries are called “dollar bananas” because they are exported to North America and produced by American companies.» —“Global Issues For Breakfast: The Banana Industry And Its Problems Faq...
Sherry from Ocean Beach, California, called after watching a PBS documentary about Appalachia and hearing people interviewed use a different pronunciation from the one she grew up with. Both Appa-LATCH-uh and Appa-LAY-shuh are common, and the choice...
At sports events in North America, we enthusiastically root for the home team, right? But a woman from Kenosha, Wisconsin, says an Aussie told her that they most assuredly don’t do that Down Under. There, he tells her, rooting means...
sidecountry n.— «Of the 43 deaths recorded by avalanche researchers in North American this season, almost a fifth have been in what is sometimes called the sidecountry, the areas adjacent to ski areas.» —“Around the Mountains: Cold...
boo word n. an expression or term that represents a topic that is unpopular or unwelcome. Editorial Note: The antonym is hurrah word (also spelled hooray word). In recent years, both boo word and hurrah word are more common in the United Kingdom...