Molasses Monday is a slang term for that first, slow-moving day of the workweek. Other nicknames associated with days of the week include Sunday Scaries, Humpday for Wednesday, Little Friday for Thursday, and of course, Taco Tuesday. This is part of...
Decisions by dictionary editors, wacky wordplay, and Walt Whitman’s soaring verse. How do lexicographers decide which historical figures deserve a mention or perhaps even an illustration in the dictionary? The answer changes with the times. •...
Hola, che! In this week’s episode, it’s a game about food names! (“What would you serve to a plumber?” “Leeks.”) We also discuss how to correct a new sweetheart’s grammar, “infracaninophile,” “nonplussed,” and “Word up!”: One caller this week wanted...
Ahoy! In this week’s brand-spankin’-new episode: Great gifts for language lovers, nerds vs. geeks, “tow the line” vs. “toe the line,” the slang term “poutrage,” and the crust in the corners of your eyes after you sleep. Here ’tis: It’s been called...
crabby adj.— «Last year NASCAR was trying to reduce the amount of lateral track alignment offset from the front to the rear wheels that teams were running in their COT set-ups, inducing what was known as “crabby cars.” The cars were literally...
rocket docket n.— «In a court system in which clerks get behind on scheduling trial dates by an additional 220 cases each and every day, Dallas” “proof or plea” docket is a big help, disposing of about 200 cases during each Wednesday afternoon...
