If you’re on tenterhooks, it means you’re in a state of anxious anticipation or suspense. But what IS a tenterhook? The answer goes back to a 15th-century manufacturing process. Also, you probably have a term for those crumbs that...
Charlotte in Alexandria, Virginia, has noticed a bit of National Park Service shorthand in Washington, D.C.: some attractions shrink to the first two letters of each word. Ford’s Theater becomes FOTH, Peterson House across the street is PEHO, and...
Washington Monument ploy n.— «Cynics suggest the proposed park closings are merely a bargaining tactic, a way to gain leverage in getting the budget passed. There’s even a name for it in political circles: the “Washington Monument...

