trees n.pl.— «Cedarberg told police Hill had given her $20 to sign for the packages but denied knowing what was in them. She said after the packages arrived she heard Hill on the phone telling someone he had the “trees,” a term for marijuana...
knocking on the roof n.— «The IDF has made frequent use of what is known as “knocking on the roof”: Militants are warned by phone when a residential building used to store arms will be bombed, and told to vacate the premised together with their...
phone boot n.—Gloss: An informal location for recharging a cell phone or paying to place a phone call on another person’s phone. Note: A play on “phone booth” and “boot,” the rear storage compartment of a motor vehicle (US: trunk). «In Abuja, the...
The real problem with texting isn’t how it affects language, but what it does to social interaction. Is there anything more annoying when you’re trying to have a conversation than watching your companion’s eyes flitting to his phone when he sees...
Welcome to another newsletter from A Way with Words. This one's full of soda-fountain goodness! Let's just say right out of the gate that, judging by the emails and phone calls, the top call for this past weekend's show was the one about...
twiller n.— «Recently, a handful of creators (present company included) have scrapped pen and paper for mobile phone and keypad, and started texting their novels—in real time, just a few characters at a time. Our medium is Twitter, a service that...