Karen from Santa Barbara, California, wonders about the verb to retire. Why doesn’t it mean to tire all over again? The Spanish word for retirement, jubilación, is cognate with the English word jubilation. This is part of a complete episode...
To be jonesing for something means to be craving it. The phrase arose in 1960’s drug culture, but beyond that, there are competing stories about its origin. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Jonesing” Hello, you have A Way with...
How would you feel if someone took away your smartphone? Nomophobia, the suggested moniker for that anxiety produced by the separation between one and one’s phone, was cooked up by a market research firm. Is there a better term for that awful...
flight to cash n. a sudden widespread selling of investments, or their rapid conversion from illiquid to liquid, in anticipation or belief of an unfavorable or unsafe market; a sudden widespread withdrawal of bank deposits. Editorial Note: A “flight...
synchronizer n.— «From crating up the bombs and bullets, to shrink-wrapping the helicopters, to counting up the endless tiers of port-a-potties, the pullout of U.S. combat forces from Iraq, when it inevitably comes, will rank as the longest-planned...
mattress v. phr.— «A mattress is not just something that is manufactured for the purpose of sleep and rest. It is used also to refer to women who have a large number of male sexual partners.» —“Withdrawals and apologies” by Heather Robinson Jamaica...