Heigh-ho! It's another newsletter from "A Way with Words," and we've got treats. Climb into our van! There are two minicasts for you, for one thing. What’s the deal with using the two-letter postal code abbreviations for states...
performal adj.— «“There’s a macho performal nature that some of these people crave,” she said. “And what better a performance than the blood and guts of butchery?”» —“Young Idols With Cleavers Rule the Stage” by Kim Severson New York Times July 9...
Twittering, tweeting, twirting—it’s rare to see a whole new body of language appear right before your eyes. But that’s what’s happening with Twitter. We discuss the snappy new shorthand of the twitterati. Also, why do people feel compelled to say...
sporno n.—Gloss: Images of sportspeople that are similar to or evocative of pornography. Note: sport(s) + porno «Dolce & Gabbana’s latest sporno campaign for their Intimo men’s underwear line (above), employing eager, wide-shouldered chaps from...
cum gutter n.—Gloss: The central, vertical, depressed line between the well-defined abdominal muscles of a man. «Dolce & Gabbana’s latest sporno campaign for their Intimo men’s underwear line (above), employing eager, wide-shouldered chaps from...
freeway flyer n.— «Especially since the effects of Proposition 13 began to kick in with a vengeance, community colleges have become ever more dependent on cheap labor provided by part-time faculty, who are often known as “freeway flyers” because...