Pickthank is an archaic, literary word for a person who curries favor by informing against someone else. The term goes back at least to 1460. Noah Webster defined a pick-thank as “a whispering parasite” or “an officious fellow.” It overlaps with...
If a colleague repeatedly mispronounces a word, what’s the best way to handle it? Should you correct him? Ignore it? Is it possible to discuss the proper way to say something without being rude or condescending?
wig-wag n.— «They said the car…was northbound on Bathurst Street on Sunday night when the driver lost control. She was making a right turn and struck a CN wig-wag signal on the main north-south line.» —“Train gives youth rude awakening” Globe and...
trucker bomb n.— «What should you do if you are driving on the highway and you really need to release some excess fluids? If you are one of many truckers, you grab the nearest jug. And then if you are a rude trucker, you toss it out the window. The...
do-me queen n.— «That would be as rude and abusive as if i had followed up your post asking why rob didn’t go create alt.sex.bondage-only for you to go play in and called you a lazy, snide, self-centered do-me queen bottom.» —“Re: *** The End Of...
one-euro job n.— «They often deride one-euro jobs as “Zwangsarbeit,” the German word for forced work that evokes Nazi labor camps.» —“A rude ’05 awakening for Germans” by Carter Dougherty in Frankfurt, Germany International Herald Tribune Dec. 28...