An editor with a large database company is tussling with colleagues over the proper use of the words comprise and composed of. She believes the correct usage would be: The alphabet comprises 26 letters or The alphabet is composed of 26 letters...
A listener who works with computers asked about the difference between premise and premises, especially when it comes to the idea of on- or off-premises computing. Going back to the 1600’s, the term premises has meant a “location” or “site,” but...
singletrack n.— «Mountain bikers are always hunting for something called singletrack. Like fresh powder for skiers or the perfect wave for surfers, singletrack is one part natural phenomenon, one part mystical experience and one part marketable...
finger trouble n.— «Customers contacting the Helpline do so for a variety of reasons. Perhaps they don’t understand the remote control, the instruction book or are having problems caused by “finger trouble.” We will—using Sanyo products and...
lopomo n.— « An increasing amount of electricity is used by equipment that is neither fully “on” nor fully “off.” We call these equipment states low power modes, or “lopomos.” “Standby” and “sleep” are the most familiar lopomos, but some new...
walk shed n.— «Jeff Drinkwater questioned the fixed half-mile walk shed to transit stops. He asked how much of Baltimore City falls within the walk shed of a transit stop.» —“Technical Committee” Baltimore Regional Transportation Board...