de-policing n.— «Crime rates are up from last year. Arrests, traffic stops and gun recoveries are down. And while there is dispute over the precise reasons, the union representing police officers in this city says it is partly because officers are...
You’ve just read a terrific paperback novel. Would you feel any differently about it if you’d the same words on the glowing screen of an electronic book? Martha and Grant discuss the social and psychological implications of books that run on...
Do you know where your participle is dangling? Martha and Grant salute National Grammar Day. Also, when you’re scribbling on a piece of paper, do you find yourself expecting spellcheck to kick in and underline your misspellings with squiggly red...
This week’s Slang This! contestant, John Schwaller, president of the State University of New York at Potsdam, ponders the possible meanings of the terms donk and “Baltimore wrench.” He offers his own favorite slang term, “snow snake.” This is part...
Busharraf n.— «Polls showed Musharraf’s popularity was in free fall at 15 per cent. Some 64 per cent of Pakistanis said they viewed the president’s backers in Washington as “the single biggest threat” to the nation. And people had recently taken to...
The election’s still months away, but a caller in Okinawa, Japan wonders how the husband of a female U.S. president should be addressed if the husband himself is a former president. The hosts rule out “First Laddie.” This is part of a complete...
