Nathan in Raleigh, North Carolina, heard his grandfather, busy making Thanksgiving dinner for the family, describe the work as going steady by jerks. The expression means by fits and starts, with bursts of steady effort broken by pauses or...
What do you call that room in your house where the family gathers — the family room? The den? The TV room? Names for that living space go in and out of fashion. In the 1930s, you might have called it the sitting room, parlor, living room, setting...
inlicensing n.— «Q: Will large drugmakers rely even more heavily on buying the rights to discoveries made by others, a practice called inlicensing? A: Inlicensing has been an important source of new medicines for Pfizer, providing about 40 percent...
knocking box n.— «The three pigs are released into a chute that guides them into the building and directly into what is called a “knocking box.” The knocking box is a tall concrete box with an entrance from the outside, a gate across the front and...
meat glue
n.— «Transglutaminase: Commonly known as meat glue, it is used to chemically bond proteins together.» —“Molecular Gastronomy ingredients” News & Observer (Raleigh, North Carolina) May 14, 2008. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
around-the-world n.— «The Blue Devils (10-2, 3-0 ACC) needed a risky, yet phenomenal, over-the-shoulder shot from junior midfielder Brad Ross to get past the Cavaliers 7-6 in sudden-death overtime. His goal, commonly called an “around-the-world,”...