Death of the Typewriter Ding! In this week’s episode, Mark Twain would be pleased. Reports that it’s the end of the line for the typewriter have been greatly exaggerated. Well, slightly anyway: it’s not the horseless carriage...
This week’s Slang This! contestant, a professor of medieval history at the University of Santa Cruz, tries to guess the meaning of the slang terms quizzam and snirt. This is part of a complete episode.
In California, everybody gets a little crazy when those hot, dry winds called Santa Anas start blowing. A caller asks the origin of the name. Is it a translation of Spanish for “Satan’s wind”? By the way, here’s that list of...
Belsnickle n.— «“Belsnickle,” a word meaning “Good St. Nicholas,” is a term used for a figure of Santa Claus holding a tree or branch in his folded arms. Santa is usually not smiling on a belsnickle, and the branch was...
spotting n.— «In this case, this was [the filmmakers’] master’s project at the School of Journalism at the University of California, Berkley, and they had to finish up before graduation. Music is usually considered to be post-production...
quinfecta n.— «Jockey posts “quinfecta” Series…Laffit Pincay Jr. rode a record five stakes winners Saturday at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif.» —“Jockey posts ‘quinfecta’ Series” St. Petersburg...