A Winter Dictionary (Bookshop|Amazon) by Paul Anthony Jones includes some words to lift your spirits. The verb whicken involves the lengthening of days in springtime, a variant of quicken, meaning “come to life.” Another word, breard, is an old term...
Fans of the popular British baking show know that you don’t want your many-layered cake to concertina, or “collapse like an accordion.” The verb concertina, in this sense, derives from the name of an accordion-like instrument. This is part of a...
Residents of Maine are called “Mainers,” people in Texas are “Texans,” those in Wisconsin are “Wisconsinites,” and people in Phoenix are … “Phoenicians”? Grant and Martha explain that there are consistent rules for the naming the locals. The book...
wooly booger n.— «“Paul is kind of a bull moose type,” says a former associate who asked not to be named. “He doesn’t learn,” says Mr. Moss, who refers to his former boss as “a big old wooly booger.”» —“Meek: ‘I went in there with good...
