For 341 years, the poets laureate of Britain have all been male. That just changed with the appointment of Britain’s new poet laureate, Carol Ann Duffy. Her work has been described as “dealing with the darkest turmoil and the lightest...
Troop can mean a single service member as well as a group, especially in military usage. June from Encinitas hears news reports such as “two troops were wounded” and wonders why it sounds off when trooper already means one person. The older sense...
Af-Pak n.— Note: Also AFPAK. «He is understood to have ordered military chiefs to build a revised strategy on the foundation that his first priority is stopping another terror attack against America from what is commonly referred to as...
AFPAK n.— Note: A blend of AFghanistan and PAKistan. «In the two-front war that Washington is now calling “AFPAK,” there’s more head-scratching going on than is immediately visible. Yes, President Barack Obama last week...
We asked you to tell us about odd regional food names, and boy did you oblige! Martha reads some of your letters about whoopie pies, hot tamales, pretzel salad, coolers, and the frappe vs. milkshake controversy.
diplomatic surge n.— «President George W. Bush this week celebrated security gains from the US troop “surge” in Iraq—but made clear that US hopes rest heavily on what some aides call “the diplomatic surge...