red-out n.— «The scope should not be advanced against resistance. “Red-out” is the term used to describe what occurs when the tip of the scope is placed too close to the bowel wall mucosa. In this situation, the reflection of...
A listener in Brazil challenges Martha’s pronunciation of the odd English word antipodes. Their email exchange leads Martha to muse about a favorite collection of poems, where she first encountered this word.
iceberg disease n.— «Experts commonly refer to it as an “iceberg” disease. Visible at the tip are individuals whose symptoms include diarrhea, abdominal pain, weight loss and, in children, delayed growth. The rest of the...
toke n.— «Groups of UAW members were stationed at several points along the busy road, including directly across from the new casino, a gaming site that some dealers said would be costing them tips—or as they call them tokes—in coming...
Q-tip cruise n.—Gloss: a pleasure trip aboard a trip, taken mainly by senior citizens. Note: So named because they have white hair and resemble the white cotton ends of Q-tips. «It was in mid-September 2006, the final cruise of the season...
windsled n.— «For residents of this remote village on an ice-locked island off the tip of mainland Wisconsin, the gliding boatmobile, known here as a windsled, is a kind of school bus.…The 9,000-pound vehicle, propelled by its twin...