furparent n.— «Best of all, there’s a nice seven-page subset out of the “People I Detest” chapter devoted to people with “furkids” or, to use her other neologism, “furparents.” These people don’t have pets. They have furry children on special...
swiper n.— «Some venues have even resorted to installing ID card machines, known to security as “swipers.” “The first thing we do is swipe the card, and it shows exactly what the card should say on the screen,” says Mario, bouncer at a popular...
creeping crud n.— «Mr. Chrapko agrees. He says he has detected a “steady drift towards communism.” Later, he will describe this as “the creeping crud.”» —“An old-fashioned Western meeting—on separating” by Richard Cleroux Globe and Mail (Toronto...
skybusting v.— «North of Toronto at Tiny and Wye Marshes, fog, that persisted until 10 a.m., eliminated the skybusting that is common in public areas and forced all hunters to wait until the ducks were close.» —“Opening-day bag fairly lean” Globe...
sweater puppies n.pl.— «You can make wads of cash stripping in Toronto if you have the wear-with-all and you keep your mouth shut about the Leafs. Nobody likes a Habs fan here, even one with a nice set of sweater puppies.» —“Licence to thrill” by...
sailor’s blessing n.— «With flute-and guitar backing from Ryan Driver of Toronto trio Silt, the double meaning of the song’s recurring refrain about “a sailor’s blessing” (a euphemism for a curse) perfectly illuminates the music, no matter what...