confuzzle v.— «George Farson, who managed the Eastern League Holyoke Millers baseball team in 1978, invented a word one day. He said his team was “confuzzling.” That’s confusing and puzzling, with a dash of good ol’ boy mixed...
cotton curtain n. a political, social, and cultural divide, especially concerning race, between the American South and the rest of the country. Editorial Note: A similar term is Orange Curtain. Etymological Note: Patterned after Iron Curtain...
combat fashion n.— «Just after dawn, more than 75 police cars race to Times Square, lights flashing, then converge in what’s called “combat fashion.” Each backs halfway onto the sidewalk in a daunting show of municipal muscle...
spinner n.— «R acing fans and baseball hat fans hustled to the tables where they could claim their bright blue Saratoga hats, the second giveaway of the season.…He’d got just one hat, for himself, and was heading with his bag of...
elastic-banding n.— «My opponent, Knuckles, had a tendency to slow down when I was too far behind (it’s what’s called “elastic-banding’ in the industry), so while I did manage to win the race—over a massive track that took around...
bird of passage n.— «A convenient way was found to reconcile the contradiction, said Camille Guérin-Gonzales, a professor of history at the University of Wisconsin and the author of “Mexican Workers and American Dreams.” No...