Why are psychiatrists and psychologists called shrinks? It’s a jocular reference to the ritual practice in certain tribal societies of literally shrinking the heads of one’s vanquished enemies. The term shrink was adopted as a joking...
reservation shopping n.— «The bill, H.R. 4893, introduced by Rep. Richard Pombo, R-Tracy, sought to end the practice of “reservation shopping,” in which a tribe seeks to have land placed in trust, the same legal category as a...
Stand back! It's another newsletter from A Way with Words. This past weekend on A Way with Words we talked about crossword puzzles. This coming weekend superstar solvers from across the continent will gather in Brooklyn, New York, to test their...
paper bullet n.— «This reservation and others in the state are the final destinations for the tribe’s money. They govern themselves and pay for health services, education, housing and public safety with a combination of tribal money and...
burner n.— «That mark usually involves a long strip of angry-looking scalded rubber, which can be seen on many of the island’s twisting roads.…And while the work of Chuggy and the native tribe of so-called burners may never...
wota n.— «My informant explained that wota—which is pronounced “oh-tah”—are an offshoot branch of Japan’s hobby-obsessed tribe of introverts known as otaku. While regular otaku seek out anime figurines and high-tech gizmos...