sassywood n.— «About 50 people in the village of Klay, northwestern Liberia, recently gathered to watch a man apply red-hot metal to the limbs of four youths accused of robbery. The man dipped a machete in a concoction of water, palm oil and kola...
prairie whale n.—Gloss: a hog. Note: So-called because its fat can be used for things usually done with ambergris. «By the 1840s, whale oil’s dominance in lighting was under sustained attack. Lard oil, boiled from the fat of hogs, or “prairie...
Gulfie n.— «The war broke out at the peak of the tourist season, when tens of thousands of wealthy visitors from the Gulf were expected to enjoy high-spending holidays in Lebanon. Instead, those in the country at the time found themselves paying...
sky trust n.— «Carbon capping comes in three varieties: cap-and-trade, cap-and-auction, and cap-and-recycle.…In cap-and-recycle, permits are also sold, not given away free. However, the revenue doesn’t go to the government—it goes to all of us, one...
velveting n.— «I’m happy to share with you the secret behind such sublime results: a technique Western cooks, when speaking of Chinese cooking, refer to as “velveting.” All you have to do is mix together some egg whites, cornstarch, oil and Chinese...
flight to cash n.— «This in turn, it comments, could mean trouble for many small US banks, and some big ones, too, and could bring a flight to cash and precious metals and eventually a world recession.» —“Wall Street: Dilemma Of Oil Benefits” by...