In Greek myth, the sirens were women with the bodies of birds whose song was so alluring that it enticed men to their death. In the early 19th century, French engineer and physicist Charles Cagniard de la Tour built a device that sent blasts of air...
When investing or trading stocks, the last thing you want is to take a bath — or, for that matter, a haircut. The first of these refers to getting cleaned out of money. The second is an allusion to being left with as little as two bits, or 25 cents...
viz n.— «For divers, all that silt obscures almost everything. “I always say, gimme a foot of viz”—visibility—“and that’s a great day,” says the NYPD’s John Drzal. “Even with a light, you can see just enough to gauge how much air you have left...

