walker
n.— «Twenty years ago, men who went out constantly in high society were known as “walkers,” a quippy term coined by John Fairchild, then the publisher of Women’s Wear Daily, to describe Jerry Zipkin, the steadfast escort and trusted confidant of grandes dames. The job description was codified: those usually gay men accompanied women whose husbands abhorred the black-tie circuit; the men were well dressed and cultured and knew to step aside when photographers raised their cameras. After the party, they escorted their dates to their front doors, and no farther. “The term walker is an overused term,” said David Patrick Columbia, who documents New York’s society scene on another Web site, newyorksocialdiary.com.» —“The Socialite Wore a Black Tie” by Peter Davis New York Times Apr. 23, 2006. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Nancy Gabriel from Ithaca, New York, recalls her father’s no-nonsense responses to minor injuries when she was a child: After making sure she was really all right, he’d say, It’s far enough from your heart; it won’t kill you. Other times he might...
A listener in Unadilla, New York, says her husband, whose family is French-Canadian, uses the phrase That burns my onions when something irritates him. There are several kitchen-related metaphors used to express anger, including that steams my...