The history of the word passenger, meaning “someone on some sort of conveyance,” is a bit surprising. In the 1300s, a passager was the pilot of a ferry, not one of the other people on board. Later passager acquired what linguists call an...
How did the word gay go from meaning lighthearted to homosexual? Also, why are elementary schools sometimes called grammar schools? Plus, imeldific, gone pecan, random Scrabble words, and the difference between borrow and lend. And the etiquette of...
A second-generation Mexican-American wonders how much the English language is being influenced by Spanish, especially after a misunderstanding when he turned to his date in the passenger seat and asked if she wanted to “get down.” This...
no duff other.— «L/Cpl Steven Jones, 25—an Army passenger on the plane—yelled, “No duff, no duff, we are on fire, we are on fire,” before communication was lost. “No duff” is a military term used to indicate a real emergency instead of a...
door v.— Note: Being “doored” is the same as receiving a door prize. «“You have to always be alert,” said Barbara Ross, who bikes to work and volunteers with Time’s Up!, an environmental group that promotes a group bike...
one chance n.— «One chance is a robbery operation whereby we use vehicle to rob victims. We would pick unsuspecting passengers from the road, pretending to be going their way. But at the middle of the journey, we would stop and collect...