Chesapeake Bay crabbing has a vocabulary as specialized as a waterman’s gear. Rob, a retired conservationist and biologist near Virginia’s Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic coast, notes that a male blue crab is a jimmy, while a female may be a sook, silk...
Newscasters are going overboard with the euphemisms for death, like passed away, or simply passed. If someone died, it’s fine to say exactly that. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Misplaced Euphemisms in...
soft-story adj.— «City officials have decided to speed an analysis of what to do about so-called soft-story buildings because the wood-frame structures are ubiquitous in San Francisco – possibly numbering in the tens of thousands...
soft-second n.— «As another example, borrowers could be required to share with the government or with the holder of the borrower’s existing mortgage either the equity created through a write-down or the future appreciation in the home...
soft-roader n.—Gloss: a sports utility vehicle styled to look like it is built for off-road driving but which is not really capable of it or suitable for it. «It will also probably share a platform with the next Suzuki SX4 junior soft...
pull the chute v. phr.— «There was a big stigma about concussions years ago—‘Nah, he’s not that hurt.” He’s pulling the ‘chute, which is another term for pulling up lame. He’s soft. He can’t play tough...

