scareware n.— «Researchers are also warning of new forms of scareware that are coming up on paid search results. Scareware is a term for fake antivirus software sites that appear to come from well-known vendors such as Microsoft...
If you work in the software industry, you may already know the term dogfooding, which means “to use one’s own product.” Grant explains how dogfood became a verb. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of...
“On the QT” means “surreptitiously” or “hush-hush.” Why the letters? Are they an abbreviation? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “On the QT” Hello, you have A Way with Words. Oh, hello...
Welcome to another newsletter from A Way with Words. Over the weekend we talked more about political language, "hair of the dog," "a fish rots from the head down," and "pareidolia." We also posted another language...
Do you spend so much quality time with your computer that you’ve given it an affectionate name? What is it about inanimate objects—particularly technological gadgets—that inspires us to give them special nicknames? Martha raises these...
zapper n.— «Thanks to a software program called a zapper, even technologically illiterate restaurant and store owners can siphon cash from computer cash registers and cheat tax officials.» —“With Software, Till Tampering Is Hard to...