Why is an exciting event called a barnburner? A real barn on fire can be a spectacular sight, with so many combustible materials inside. Metaphorically, then, a barnburner is a “humdinger” or a “doozy.” There’s also a...
Washington Monument ploy n.— «Cynics suggest the proposed park closings are merely a bargaining tactic, a way to gain leverage in getting the budget passed. There’s even a name for it in political circles: the “Washington Monument...
first laddie n.—Gloss: Bill Clinton’s jocular suggestion for the title of a female president’s husband. «Hillary is taking this experiment to its extreme and logical conclusion, by attempting to become the first female...
triangulator n.— «Your husband, President Clinton, who is arguably the most effective Democratic politician in a generation, was often referred to as a “triangulator,” a practitioner of what was termed the third way of...
Clinton fence n.— «Just after the morgue-like Border Patrol HQ, the road turns to dirt and the four of us—three Minutemen and I—bounce along in their SUV for a few minutes, due south. Then, abruptly, looms the border, represented here at...