Rob calls from the Chesapeake Bay area of Virginia to discuss the lingo of crabbing. A male blue crab is a jimmy, and a female is called a sook, a silk, or sow. A crab that’s unsuitable for market because its flesh isn’t firm, it’s called a snot. A...
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 Newscasts” Hello, you have...
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 – and probably...
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 price, or...
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-roader, which...
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.”» —“Concussions on their minds” by Dave...
