Germans have a wonderful word for that mess of wires and cables under computer workstation. It’s Kabelsalat, literally “cable salad.” In Japanese, it’s takoashi haisen, or “octopus leg wire.” Electricians sometimes refer to a tangle of wires as a...
If everyone on the planet spoke a single language, wouldn’t that make life a whole lot easier? For that matter, is a common world language even possible? Maybe for a minute or so—until new words and phrases start springing up. Also, did you ever...
Concertina wire, the coiled barbed wire that’s compact and easy to move around, takes its name from the concertina, an accordion-like instrument. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Concertina Wire” Grant, I’ve been reading about...
tofu concrete n.— «The bodies of thousands of dead children were dragged from the rubble of Sichuan schools built on a base of what the Chinese call “tofu” concrete, chicken wire and unforgivable corruption, as builders grew wealthy producing what...
Martha explains how experiments with dead frogs and live wires led to the invention of the battery, and inspired a couple of familiar English words.
white goods n.pl.— «The partnership collects used aluminum softdrink cans, cardboard, plastic, electrical wires, abandoned cars, other metals, and even “white goods”—a term used to describe major household appliances and can also include computer...