brouse n.— Note: A variant spelling of, and derived from, the verb “browse.” The Oxford English Dictionary has this term dated to 1552. «Hiram said the winter of 1833 was bad for working out so they didn’t get much of the...
thrashing n.— Note: Perhaps related to the British noun “thrash,” which means “a party.” «Evidence gathered from the social networking site led proctors at the university to collect five times as much money this...
ricket n.— Note: The Oxford English Dictionary has one cite for this word from 1958, defining it as criminals’ slang meaning “a blunder, mistake.” «Hearn is still involved in snooker, supplying Sky with the premier...
skiintling n.— Note: According to the Oxford English Dictionary, skintling is “to separate and reset (half-dried bricks) at angles to each other, so as to complete the drying.” «The brick facade is as curious as anything. It’s...
Bongiorno! In this week's podcast, a caller asks a delicate question about “blue bark shipment,” an expression involving the transport of deceased members of the military. Martha and Grant discuss the challenge of tracking down its...
throw n. the distance that a key or button can be pressed, as on a computer keyboard. Etymological Note: Directly related to “throw” in mechanical engineering, defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as “the action or motion of a...