thermal roughening n.— «In February, crews started blasting the sidewalks with a blowtorch—or “thermal roughening,” as they call it—to burn away the slippery top layer of stone.» —“Mayor Bloomberg orders $1M worth of...
erratic n.— «When I rounded the a sharp corner, rising from the dry gully I’d dipped into, the stones were less than 20 paces away, resting before me with the candor and natural equipoise of wild animals. In years past, I’d come upon such...
butterfly gate n.— «The insert was among several in the Nov. 15 issue, celebrating the magazine’s 40th anniversary. All the inserts were what the industry calls butterfly gates—ad pages on the outside, which unfold to reveal pages of...
witness mark n.— «We took a cursory glance around for the drill hole (witness mark) without results. The boulders previously lining the east side of the road seem to have been either replaced or built into a more solid stone wall. Several...
flash blood n.— «Many injecting drug users share dirty needles or use a dangerous cash-saving technique known as “flash blood,” in which a user injects heroin or another illicit substance and then draws a syringe full of blood...
treechange n.— «These days, now that a seachange has become prohibitively expensive for many, people are now considering the option of a “treechange”: downshifting from the capital cities to scenic rural localities, still...