Crime novelist James Ellroy, author of The Black Dahlia and most recently, Blood’s a Rover, tries his hand at a slang quiz. He reveals his favorite slang term, then tries to guess the meaning of the slang words buzzer, sheetwriter, and geetus...
Iberian yoga n.— «The long break has been traditional in many countries with stifling midday heat, but Spaniards claim to have done the most to perfect the ritual, which Camilo Jose Cela, the Nobel Prize-winning novelist, calls “our...
green ceiling n.— «In Mexico, I painted, I read and then got the idea that I could be a writer.…Back home, I was going to face what I call the “green ceiling.” It was the attitude among the older generation of Irish that...
slagosphere n.— «In a recent interview about his controversy-baiting wife Ayelet Waldman, novelist Michael Chabon condemned “the slagosphere”—that merciless virtual coliseum in which anyone with a DSL can publicly eviscerate...
Retifism n.— «Retifism (named after a kinky 18th century French novelist named Nicolas-Edme Rétif) is the term for boot and shoe fetishism (sorry, boots don’t get their own term).» —“Getting the boot” by Josey...
therapism n. a culture or ideal of mental therapy, empathy, or sharing of feelings, especially as a cure. Editorial Note: This term was popularized, although probably not coined by, novelist Fay Weldon. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)