The term “Chinese fire drill” can mean either a “state of confusion” or the adoloscent ritual involving a red light and a carful of rowdy teenagers. But a caller who overheard the expression at work worries that expression might be racist. This is...
hilltopping n.— «Several fly species have landmark-based territoriality, especially for their mating swarms, and may return to the same tree by a lake year after year. Male Cuterebra flies, also called botflies, form mating groups on hilltops...
family meal n.— «I had arrived at 4 p.m. to experience a daily ritual that takes place in hundreds of restaurants across the city, and in thousands more across the country: family meal. Chanterelle was the last stop on a month-long, eight-venue...
pink n.— «In what has become a ritual on weekend nights in that part of the city, drivers gather at a convenience store in the early morning and the challenges are made. The races often take place on straight stretches of roads and may be done for...
waterbowling n.— «They said Glass and another drill instructor would line recruits up after meals and force them to down liters of water from their canteens in a ritual they referred to as “waterbowling.”» —“Marines Testify About Boot Camp...
Cabbage Night n.— «Ah, the joys of the annual ritual of mischief known throughout Vermont as Cabbage Night. It’s the night many home- and business-owners have come to dread as youths harness all their collective naughtiness into one evening of...
