Why do we call a run-down area skid row? Here’s a picture of a skid road from Out West, vol. 19, ed. Charles F. Lummis, 1902, Out West Company, Los Angeles This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Skid Row” Hello, you have A Way with Words...
Seattle polite n.— «Seattle is commonly referred to as the Emerald City, which implies that we see ourselves as a gleaming jewel (and perhaps earth friendly as well), a showplace of what a good city should be. We favor getting things done by...
Memorial Day good wishes to you and the remembered. Here's another newsletter from "A Way with Words." Did you miss us? There was no newsletter last week, so now we have two brand-spanking-new episodes to share. This past weekend we...
open winter n.— «This was partly because Leavenworth was enjoying an “open winter”—meaning the severe weather had relented often enough on weekends to grant safe passage to tourists traveling east from Seattle.» —“In the Ruins of a Shop Full of...
Pugetopolis n.— «Pugetopolis is a term boosters use to express the ambitions of creating a massive city that will extend from Olympia to Bellingham, and cynics and critics—and what I like to think of as reasonable people—think of Pugetopolis as...
junking n.— «Vendors who scavenge for collectibles often refer to the practice as "junking" or even Dumpster diving.» —“Artist and entrepreneur, Curtis Steiner shows us the value of objects ordinary or odd” by Tyrone Beason Seattle...

