A magnificent new book celebrates the richness and diversity of 450 years of written and spoken English in what is now the United States. It’s called The People’s Tongue, and it’s a sumptuous collection of essays, letters, poems, lyrics, and much...
When Ana first arrived in the United States from Hungary, she was taken aback when someone greeted her with the idiomatic expression How’s it hanging?. She was also puzzled by the expression trim the tree meaning to “adorn a Christmas tree with...
Greg Pliska’s game Double Definition uses a cryptic-crossword trick: each clue gives two meanings that point to the same word, with no separate wordplay half. A clue such as trim a tree splits neatly in two, and crazy flying mammals works the same...
papped v.— «Super-skinny Teri Hatcher has been papped pounding the pavements with dumbbells in hand, making sure her forearms stay as trim as her pipe-cleaner pins.» —“Armed And Dangerous” Sky Showbiz June 1, 2005. (source: Double-Tongued...