Martha went on an overnight backpacking trip and came back with a new word: triboluminescence, which refers to the glow created by rubbing together two pieces of quartz. The tribo- is from a Greek root meaning “to rub,” the source also...
Gina from Dallas, Texas, asks about a family Scrabble dispute with her English-teacher sister: is the comparative form stupider, or should it be more stupid? Usage guides allow both forms, along with the superlative stupidest. Longer adjectives...
overkeeper n.— «Investigating local records in Erwin, researching state archives in Nashville and absorbing everything he could find online, Carlton immersed himself in the Sparks Circus and the events that followed after a five-ton...
pit maneuver n.— «When the driver of the car refused to pull over on SR-434 and Ronald Reagan Boulevard in Longwood, a Seminole County deputy decided to move in with the precision immobilization technique called a pit maneuver...
pig farm n.— «Former Sheriff Carl Sparks, a popular leader who retired at the end of 2002, said he faced retribution when he first ran against his superior, former Sheriff John Smith. Sparks said he was transferred from the high-profile...
sparks
n.— «Sparks: A welder.» —“Chicago Speak” by Anne Keegan Chicago Tribune Feb. 3, 1994. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)