In a nautical context, the word heave refers to the action of a ship rising or lifting with the waves. The past tense is hove, and if a boat hove into view, it slowly came into sight, as if gradually appearing on the horizon. This is part of a...
If a married couple moves because one spouse is relocated for work, is it correct to say the other spouse is following them? A listener wonders about the implications of the term “follow,” and how that dynamic works in today’s day and age. Married...
Why do subdivisions and office complexes have names invoking landscapes and animals that don’t exist there? A Fort Wayne, Indiana, listener got to wondering about this after passing the “Bay View Apartments” in her hometown: there’s not a bay in...
wireline adj.— «It will let your computer take advantage of information and services on different kinds of networks, in different brands of computers, on both wireline and wireless media, all over the world.» —“General Magic Inc. Mountain View...
waterbug
n.— «When a player (usually a guard) possesses extreme quickness, he is sometimes referred to as a “waterbug.”» —“A microscopic view into the playoffs” by Matt Stroup NBCSports.com Apr. 27, 2007. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
self-licking ice cream cone n.— «This is the “self-licking ice cream cone” approach to analyzing results of experiments or exercises: decide what result you want to achieve and then build an event to meet success. This approach, however, does not...