urban tumbleweed

urban tumbleweed
 n.— «Word Fugitives sought an American equivalent for the Irish term witches’ knickers, which refers to “disposable plastic bags caught in trees.”…People on both coasts and in between submitted urban tumbleweed.» —“Word Fugitives” by Barbara Wallraff The Atlantic July-Aug., 2005. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)

Join the discussion

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Further reading

Too-Long Didn’t Read or Watch Digital Shorthand

The Merriam-Webster.com dictionary now includes an entry for TL;DR, also rendered as TLDR. It’s a speedy way of dismissing overlong text or introducing a shortened version of something. This useful locution also inspired AI;DR, short for AI;didn’t...

Stub Your Toe (episode #1606)

Advice about college essays from the winner of a top prize for children’s literature: Kelly Barnhill encourages teens to write about experiences that are uniquely their own, from a point of view that is theirs and no one else’s. Plus, why do we say...