wendy
v.— «Misogyny, anti-intellectualism, vindictive political opponents, an out-of-control press—the resignation of Wendy Alexander as leader of the Labour party at Holyrood offers something to everyone with a thesis about the loss of public respect for the UK political process. First, misogyny. In recent years the Scottish political classes have introduced a new verb to the English language—the idea of being “wendied”—a term invented to describe the way that Alexander apparently browbeat her civil servants, assistants and anyone else who didn’t match her exacting demands. A wendying was often said to be carried out in a shrill manner—another word that cropped up in descriptions of her style.» —“Alexander’s achilles” by Ewan Crawford Guardian (United Kingdom) June 30, 2008. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
In the 15th century, the word respair meant “to have hope again.” Although this word fell out of use, it’s among dozens collected in a new book of soothing vocabulary for troubled times. Plus, baseball slang: If a batter...
Cat hair may be something you brush off, but cat hair is also a slang term that means “money.” In the same way, cat beer isn’t alcoholic — some people use cat beer as a joking term for “milk.” And imagine walking on a...