underperforming asphalt
n.— «In auto-dependent suburbs that were built without a traditional center, shopping malls offer the chance to create downtowns without destroying existing infrastructure, by recycling what’s known as underperforming asphalt.» —“Recycling the Suburbs” by Bryan Walsh Time Mar. 16, 2009. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
A writer stumbles upon a tiny, motionless creature on a country road and, against all good advice, takes it home. The resulting memoir, Raising Hare, is a lovely meditation on nature and our relationship to it. And: have you ever invented a fake...
Our discussion of Anglo-Saxon kennings inspired listener Paul Holler of Arlington Heights, Illinois, to write a lovely poem exploring the idea of the kenning sea-guest, meaning “sailor,” and what it means to be a guest of the sea and what that says...