Alex from Columbia, Missouri, wonders about rank and file, meaning “the members of the body of an organization as opposed to its leaders.” In 12th-century France, the words renc or ranc referred to a row of soldiers. The word file means...
Colobama n.— «Trotting out the pejorative “Colobama” to describe Colorado’s poor ranking on some quality of life yardstick generally evokes snickers of derision until one realizes that we really are getting the pants beat off...
meat tag n.— «Robbins says that when the war on terrorism started Fort Drum soldiers wanted to identify themselves in case they were killed. They’d get what are called “meat tags”—with their name, rank, blood type and Social...
tanker yanker n.— «“We’ve got to get the same work done in less time, and that makes the job more stressful,” said Bob Williams, a “tanker yanker,” a hauler of hazardous chemicals. “Listen, we’re adults, and we...