Default as a noun and default as a verb are the same word, with a familiar English stress shift: nouns often take first-syllable stress, while verbs often take second-syllable stress, as with the different pronunciations of record. A New York City...
You don’t really need those little rivets on your blue jeans. Those flat metal disks are leftovers from an earlier time, when jeans had to be much more durable. Such decorative elements that no longer serve a practical purpose are called skeuomorphs...
Carolyn from San Diego asks why made-to-measure clothing, such as a Savile Row suit, is called bespoke. The word goes back to bespeak, meaning to discuss, arrange for, request, or order something. Tailors used it for goods made to order, and the...
A Turkish proverb about overly optimistic anticipation: Do not roll up your trousers before reaching the stream. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Turkish Proverb for Anticipation” Here’s a Turkish proverb that’s full of wisdom. Do...
Hate it when a software upgrade is worse than the previous version? We call that a flupgrade, or a new-coke. As in, “Skype really new-coked it with version 5.3.0.” Come on, Skype! This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Bad Upgrades”...
What do you call an upgrade gone wrong? Perhaps the ‘Puter Principle could be the software equivalent of the Peter Principle, which in business means that every employee in a hierarchy tends to rise to his or her level of incompetence. This is part...
