derecho n.— «On the evening of July 8, cool air made heavy by rain crashed earthward at tremendous speed in central Nebraska, said Pollack, the weather service meteorologist. The descending air touched off a weather phenomenon known as a...
biophony n.— «Krause coined the term, “biophony,” referring to the biotic (group of animals living together) symphony in an ecosystem.» —“Noise pollution problems harm wildlife, too” by Sheryl De...
katastroika n.— «The threats in the region from AIDS and other epidemics are potentially dire. Prophecies are always hazardous, but in the former Soviet Bloc, the outlook for the next few decades is perhaps best characterized by a Russian...
submarine patent n.— «Occasionally, patents take a decade or two to be granted because they are held up in appeals and amendments in the Patent Office. When this happens under the existing system, an inventor can obtain a 17-year monopoly...
stove pipe v. to develop, or be developed, in an isolated environment; to solve narrow goals or meet specific needs in a way not readily compatible with other systems. Also attrib. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
stove pipe v.— «“There are a lot of data processing systems out on Navy bases and stations,” he said. “But they’re, for lack of a better word, stove-pipe systems that found one specific application and solved that problem very...