Welcome to the A Way with Words newsletter, where "language" is our middle name. "Dangerous" was taken. This weekend we told you what a "trailer queen" and a "soup spitter" are, and we took a punny quiz about...
yellow bird n.— «For another, ward leaders have been known to take street money from candidates, promise support and then not deliver. There is a name for this, too. These ward leaders are called “yellow birds,” after the old airline...
Barbie n.— «Fortunately, Brits can take advantage of the weak dollar in a different way, said Stephen Adams in Britain’s Daily Telegraph. Instead of vacationing in the States, we are buying investment homes there. The new army of...
leisure sickness n.— «Believe it or not, there are actually people who suffer from what is known as “leisure sickness,” which is a condition that develops on weekends or vacations. The sample size for the study (almost 2,000 men and...
old and cold rule n.— «If you plan to use the vacation home as the relinquished property, do not use it personally for at least two years, and two tax returns. The IRS has adopted what is known as the “old and cold” rule. If...
mandy n.— «In some organisations, people refer to their annual vacation as “mandy”—short for “mandatory leave”—an interesting corporate euphemism that implies executives are so engrossed with their work, they need to be literally ordered...