“He’s been sick three days hand-running.” Huh? In some parts of the country, “hand running” means “in succession, consecutively.” The hosts muse about the possible origins of this phrase. This is part of a...
dipsticking n.—Gloss: taking random samples or randomly choosing people to question. «One recent morning, Ms. Cascio asked several students in succession to explain the logic of their answer to the same question—and, “Uh, yeah, I agree...
marble ceiling n.— «As speaker of the House, Pelosi, 66, would be second in the line of presidential succession, behind the vice president. “For a woman to break through what I call the “marble ceiling’ here is something quite...
air bridge n.— «An “air bridge” is the term for planes that would move in swiftly and ferry people out in quick succession.» —“U.S. plans ‘air bridge’ out of Lebanon, officials say” in Washington, D.C...
strawite n.— «Strawite (strô-it), noun. Technocrat and adherent to the John Major theory of succession, which argues that a charismatic leader who brings misadventure to the party should be replaced by a grey man who will be seen as...