The game of baseball has alway inspired colorful commentary. Sometimes that means using familiar words in unfamiliar ways. The word stuff, for example, can refer to a pitcher’s repertoire, to the spin on a ball, or what happens to the ball...
Why do we use the word heat to denote a preliminary qualifying race? Hundreds of years ago, a single instance of heating something such as a piece of metal over a fire for metalworking was called a heat. Later that term was applied to “a round...
Iris from Cave Junction, Oregon, wonders about the expressions get on the stick, meaning get going, and piping hot, meaning extremely hot. While some have associated the phrase get on the stick with an automotive origin, a more likely etymology...
It’s another A Way with Words newsletter! This past weekend’s episode was a rebroadcast, which we named “Pickles and Ice Cream.” English speakers use those two when they want to compare two things that don’t go well...
RevPAR n.— «Revenue per available room (RevPAR) in Vienna went down 27.5% during the first half of this year. The main issue was dramatic discounting with average room rate down almost 20%.» —“European chain hotels market...
ten-tenths adj.—Gloss: All, all-out, or completely. «Racers often rate their effort in terms of tenths, with nine-tenths being an agressive race pace and ten-tenths a banzai lap.» —“Ultimate!! Racing!! Machines!!” by...