belay slave n.— «The technical term for the climber who goes first is the “leader”; that’s the climber on the “sharp” end of the rope—the end you can hurt yourself on. The term for the climber who holds the rope...
blue jacking n.— «At the age of 10 he sold newspapers in downtown Toledo.…They didn’t have a normal paper route like most kids, delivering to the same house every day in nice, quiet neighborhoods. This young boy and his friend...
bootleg v.— «As the railcars were about to turn around to head back to Strasburg, a commuter train en route to Lancaster and Harrisburg whooshed by on adjacent tracks about 100 feet away.…Narcoa members risk expulsion if they...
piggybacking n.— «Sometimes schools will have a student start the lesson by driving another student home, a practice known as “piggybacking.” If there is another student in the car, ask where your teen will be driving and...
An ESL teacher puzzles over how to explain to his students the proper pronunciation of the word route. He asks whether the pronunciation “root” has been “routed” by “rowt.” This is part of a complete episode...
run wild v. phr.— «His usual workweek is a five-day, four-night route around California or the Southwest—”running wild” in Wal-Mart trucker parlance—delivering goods to stores, used pallets to warehouses and...