To be at the coalface means to be on the front lines–working at a practical level, rather than a theoretical one. The phrase is primarily British, and derives from the image of coal miners having direct contact with exposed ore. This is part of a...
If you say to someone the Spanish equivalent of “you’re giving me green gray hairs” (me sacas canas verdes), it means that person is making you angry. In Japan, the phrase that literally translates as “one red dot” refers metaphorically to “the lone...
Is it grammatically correct for a high school football team to call itself the Vanguards? A Wisconsin listener argues that Vanguard is already a plural noun. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “The Vanguards” Hello, you have A Way...
one chance n.— «One chance is a robbery operation whereby we use vehicle to rob victims. We would pick unsuspecting passengers from the road, pretending to be going their way. But at the middle of the journey, we would stop and collect everything...
bleed-out n.— «A recent study about Iraq’s insurgency by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington estimated that 3,000 foreign fighters had gone to Iraq to join the insurgency. Now, battle-hardened, they form the vanguard of...
lily pad n.— «Mr. Secretary, can you tell us, do you envision the force of Marines as the vanguard in the battle against terrorism in Afghanistan? Do you see them being used to seek out and destroy al Qaeda networks, or are they setting up a lily...