Decisions by dictionary editors, wacky wordplay, and Walt Whitman’s soaring verse. How do lexicographers decide which historical figures deserve a mention or perhaps even an illustration in the dictionary? The answer changes with the times. •...
A writer at an ad agency in Rochester, New York, has a dispute with his chief copy writer: If you’re taking off Thursday and Friday, is your last day of work that week a Wednesday Friday? Or is it a Friday Wednesday? This is part of a complete...
flagging n.— «Investigators say teenage gangs are loosely defined as, “a group a juveniles who form an allegiance, claim a territory, and wear common colors or articles of clothing.” That practice is called “flagging.”» —“Girl Gangs:...
The Pod Couple—also known as Martha and Grant—consider just when is “next week” or “this Monday” anyway? A husband and wife with a long running dispute turn to Martha and Grant for help. Transcript of “This Week or Next...
false flagging n.— «In some of our more affluent neighborhoods, we have young people espousing the gang culture and mentality, receiving their gang information second hand and off popular Internet sites. This can put that youth and...
suitmation n.— «Two years later Godzilla, King of the Monsters, as it was called, was released in the United States and won critical acclaim despite the use of “suitmation” (a guy in a rubber suit) and the insertion of many...