mangal n.— «Mangal is the Hebrew word for barbecue, and arguably one of the most important words in the Hebrew language, according to the average Israeli at least. The almost-sacred ritual is also commonly referred to as “al ha’esh,” literally “on...
man date n.— «Although “man date” is a coinage invented for this article, appearing nowhere in the literature of male bonding (or of homosexual panic), the 30 to 40 straight men interviewed, from their 20’s to their 50’s, living in cities across...
BlackBerry prayer n.— «The device has also generated an odd new social ritual that sees BlackBerry users discreetly operate their devices at meetings behind cupped hands with heads intently bowed toward its tiny screen. The position makes one look...
la migra n.— «The Border Patrol, la migra to the aliens, is desperately seeking to boost its $533-million budget by $41 million.» —“Nightly Ritual: Checker game on U.S. border with people as the pieces” by Ivor Davis in San Ysidro, Calif. Globe and...
desenrascanço n.— «“Desenrascanço” (you read that ‘the-zen-rascan-so’) is simply a slang word for the slacker art of coming up with some last-minute solution for a problem—and as a rule the solution will end up doing more harm than simply avoiding...
stunt up v.— «If the pictures were posed&mdash”stunted up,” in the parlance—it merely highlights one relatively mild stage in a consistent pattern of gross behaviour on the part of a small number of soldiers. The progress from “stunting up”...

