Katie in Everett, Washington, is curious about the expression If ifs and ands were pots and pans, there’d be no need for tinkers. What is a tinker? She heard this phrase on the television series The Gilded Age, in response to a character who is...
Martha and Grant share some favorite Facebook groups: Ambrose Bierce was the baddest-ass lexicographer who ever lived. I judge you when you use poor grammar. What Are A Grammar? People Who Always Have To Spell Their Names For Other People. Of...
One hundred years ago, American journalist and satirist Ambrose Bierce published a curmudgeonly book of writing advice called Write It Right: A Little Blacklist of Literary Faults.
traveler n.— «“He is a sexual predator,”” Mehalco said, seeking a maximum sentence. He called Roberto a “traveler,”” a term for men who hook up with underage girls for sex over the Internet.» —“Man gets 6-15 years for having sex with 14-year...
snowshoe spamming adj.— «Like a snowshoe spreads the load of a traveler across a wide area of snow, some spammers use many frequently-changing IP addresses and domains to spread out the spam load in order to dilute recipient reputation metrics and...
traveler n.— «Boeing’s supplier partners did not install many of the electronic and hydraulic systems into their respective fuselage sections as planned. Boeing is shifting workers—known as “travelers” in airplane production argot—from other...