producer’s pass n.— «There is now an unwritten rule that writers will provide free rewrites and polishes on their own material, particularly what is known as a “producer’s pass.” That flies in the face of the WGA’s 2004 basic...
fossil group n.— «All that dark matter makes astronomers think that NGC 1132 grew up through the mergers of many smaller galaxies in an entire group, drawn in by the dark matter. That’s why the galaxy is sometimes called a “fossil...
check the boxes v. phr.— «In lobbying parlance, this is known as “checking the boxes”—meticulously informing powerful congressmen and senators about a transaction they might want to weigh in on down the road. Lobbyists live by...
jackpot baby n.— «Our preseason favorite: Rep. Russell Pearce’s plan to deny birth certificates to kids born to people who entered the country illegally. Guess Russell thinks the rule of immigration law is now far more important than the...
tranzie n.— «The “tranzies,” as they’re called, are internationalists, and socialists to boot: their guiding light is the UN, which they believe should rule the world (in a power-sharing arrangement with the NGOs, of course).» —“Vive...
witness mark n.— «With a rule draw out a witness mark from each saw cut on the surfaced side of the line boards and plainly write there-on a brief designation of what line of the building the saw cut is on, as “Brick Line...