confusopoly n.— Note: Often used (as in this article) and perhaps coined by Scott Adams, creator of the comic strip Dilbert. «The goal of the people at the top now is to create what I call confusopolies. The barriers to entry to almost...
strip-and-flip v. phr.— «Typically, in a buyout situation like this, the new owners follow some variation on what has come to be called the strip-and-flip script. They proceed to gin up profits at their new holding by any means necessary...
spoil bank n.— «In the rolling hills just a few miles outside town, a forest of black locust, black cherry and young sugar maple grows from what the locals call spoil banks, mounds of dirt and rock tossed aside by years of strip-mining...
Biltmore stick n.— «He wore a backpack with a G.P.S. receiver and carried, in one hand, a data collection unit resembling a portable credit card machine, and in the other, a strip of wood known as a Biltmore stick.…The Biltmore...
Boston version n.— «Burlesque has a rich history in Boston, where several burlesque theaters stood in Scollay Square before the district was demolished to make way for Government Center. Performers during burlesque’s heyday coined...
Greetings, wanderers, and welcome home. This past weekend on A Way with Words we wrestled with "commentate," "tie me over" vs. "tide me over," long words, and "biweekly" vs. "semiweekly." We also...