You’ve seen people indicate emphasis by putting a period after each of several words, and capitalizing the first letter of each word. A Michigan listener wonders how this stylistic trick arose. Her question was prompted by this description of...
vent figure n.— «Klein, who lives in Nanticoke, is a trained ventriloquist. She and her puppets, or “vent figures” as they are called in the trade, perform for kids and adults throughout the area.» —“A woman’s love...
Ahoy, mateys, and welcome aboard another newsletter from A Way with Words! We are delighted to welcome our new listeners from KTOO in Juneau, Alaska, and WCAI, in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The smell of leather-bound books and printer's ink is...
wrench n.— «Adams already had experience fixing bicycles because he did it so much on his own. Soon after completing the bicycle school, DNS closed the lab where Adams was stationed. He decided to became a bike mechanic or—as they call...
green broke adj.— «The afflicted victim has the urge to buy a horse and the only way to lick the dreaded malady is to attend a horse sale.…Since the subject had been brought up I asked in a quieter voice, “Is he broke?”...
churn zone n.— «Ditech Networks, a leading provider of voice quality solutions to the global communications industry, today announced the results of its worldwide voice quality audit, which showed that an average of 39 percent of all...