Why do subdivisions and office complexes have names invoking landscapes and animals that don’t exist there? A Fort Wayne, Indiana, listener got to wondering about this after passing the “Bay View Apartments” in her hometown: there’s not...
throw-up n.— «Across the street from the doorway collage is a big, black squiggle on the side of a rundown market. Two doors down, behind some leaning pallets, are two-toned bubble-letter “throw-ups,” around the corner...
mantrip n.— « When we were ready, we loaded in to what is called a mantrip. This is the car that travels on a track and takes the miners deep into the mine. Because the ceilings are low in the mines, you have to lay back in the car so you...
pit group n.— «The white set off their wood-paneled ceilings and clean-lined furniture. It was OK until they got the sectional sofa, or pit group as they were called in the “70s.» —“Let paint chips fall where they...
bugaboo word n.— «I hope he will be defeated so badly that the bugaboo word Imperialism will never be heard again.» —“What Republicanism Has Done in Wyoming” by Francis R. Warren Fort Wayne...
hot tub rash n.— «Waterborne diseases could include cryptosporidium, giardiasis and pseudomonas dermatitis, commonly known as “hot tub rash.” Aside from hot tub rash, most waterborne diseases cause diarrhea and abdominal cramps...