The Stendhal syndrome is a term used to describe feeling overwhelmed by the beauty of a work of art. The name comes from the French writer Stendhal, who wrote about the dizzying sensation of seeing the art in Florence. It’s somewhat similar to the...
Is there a word you keep having to look up in the dictionary, no matter how many times you’ve looked it up before? Maybe it’s time for a mnemonic device. And: a listener shares a letter from Kurt Vonnegut himself, with some reassuring advice about...
cubital tunnel syndrome n.— «Orthopedic specialists around the globe are seeing the worldwide strike of a new condition known as cubital tunnel syndrome (commonly called cell phone elbow) that can potentially cause long-term nerve damage. When the...
talk and die syndrome n.— «Doctors have suggested that Richardson suffered from something called “talk and die” syndrome, in which bleeding that occurs between the skull and brain stem is delayed. Patients seem fine after the trauma and may think...
backyard syndrome n.— «The early-March snowstorm that creamed the Eastern seaboard largely missed Vermont’s big skiing areas. But resort operators were delighted nevertheless, because the storm whetted the appetite of all those coastal skiers. The...
doom loop n.— «Companies that don’t go through this process will be facing even greater risks. Startups that rely solely on cutting could head into a downward spiral if revenue doesn’t increase enough to offset low margins. That could lead to a...
