He’s a real trouper is the traditional spelling, with trouper from a theatrical troupe and the old stage ethic of the show must go on. Jean in Sharon, Pennsylvania, asks because she teaches theater and sees the competing trooper, which evokes...
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...
care bear n.— «Sitting in his squad car on the westbound lane of Interstate 70 near Troy, Illinois State Trooper Scott Becker wasn’t getting a lot of chances to write speeding tickets.…Becker was just there to let the drivers know that he cared—one...
descanso n.— «Alongside Interstate 80 in Knowlton Township is something called a descanso, a Spanish word that means a roadside memorial. It is for state Trooper Philip Lamonaco.» —“Tenuous Bond Links Two Memorials” by Rod Allee Record (N.J.) June...