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...
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...
fartichoke n.— «I love the nutty, earthy flavour of jerusalem artichokes, but there is a reason they are often called fartichokes. A tip from an Indian friend is a trick worth knowing—adding a pinch of asafoetida, or hing, to the...
box office n.— «There are swept tip designs that lessen the factors contributing to noise and some noise canceling technology has been tested inside the cockpit (or “box office” if it’s a female crew [g]).» —“Re: Silent...