Hola, estimados oyentes! It's time for another podcast from "A Way with Words." Earlier this summer a word caught Grant's fancy: "gardentoolism." So he made a slang quiz about it! Listen to the podcast here. If you...
wireline adj. of communication or technology, connected by cable or wire; the opposite of wireless. Etymological Note: From the noun “wireline,” defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as “a telegraph or telephone line of...
mouse-hole v. to tunnel by destroying shared internal walls between rooms or buildings. Editorial Note: The Oxford English Dictionary has a more general definition, “to make a narrow passage or a tunnel.” (source: Double-Tongued...
bluebird n. in business, an unexpected, very profitable, or easily made sale. Etymological Note: According to the Oxford English Dictionary, “bluebird” connoting “happiness” dates to at least as early as 1909. (source: Double...
throw under the bus v. phr.— «We got thrown out and learned to live on our own and then Oxford got thrown under the bus (by NASCAR). I guess we’re bretheren that got thrown under the bus and we found each other and decided we were a nice...
gonch n. underpants or panties; chones. Editorial Note: According to Katherine Barber of the Canadian Oxford Dictionary, as quoted in the Edmonton Journal in 2004, this word takes a variety of spellings: “In Saskatchewan, it’s gauch, gitch or...