Juice in Genoa, New York, remembers her mother used to say I am so mad I could spit nickels. It’s one of several variations on the idea of being angry enough to spit, period, or to spit something specific, such as spit tacks, spit nails, spit...
The only time you’ll ever see the sun’s outer atmosphere is during a full solar eclipse, when sun itself is completely covered. That hazy ring is called the corona, from the Latin word for “crown” — just like the little crown...
You probably know about the Rust Belt and the Bible Belt, but have you heard of the Smile Belt? How about the Biscuit Belt or the Pine Belt? The word belt is sometimes used to denote a loosely defined geographical area. This is part of a complete...
rust out v. phr.— «It was during the 80s, when affluence had become more prevalent, that the foot-stamping began, giving rise to “rust out,” a term used to describe workers who “waste away, unchallenged and...
Ohio Ring n.— «The New York senator’s plan for victory revolves around duplicating her Ohio victory in four neighbouring states: the so-called Ohio Ring, of Indiana, Kentucky, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Each has the same rust-belt...
rusticle n. a stalactite-like underwater accretion formed by cascading rust on sunken iron ships. Editorial Note: Nearly all citations found are associated with the RMS Titanic. Etymological Note: rust + icicle (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)