Martha explains how experiments with dead frogs and live wires led to the invention of the battery, and inspired a couple of familiar English words.
scarecrow n.— «The NYPD is using unmanned police cars on major highways as a deterrent to speeders, the Daily News has learned. The vacant vehicles—derisively referred to as scarecrows by some cops—were blasted by the city’s police union...
sea-gulling v.— «The final few yards is elbowing, sand-spraying pandemonium, as contestants dive headfirst, grapple, and fight for batons, sometimes waiting to let others grasp and miss before making their move. “Sea-gulling,”...
karaoke democracy n.— «The term “karaoke democracy,” coined by Takashi Inoguchi, a professor at the University of Tokyo, is part of a theory that focuses on the dominance of the bureaucracy in Japanese politics. He describes...
Fredneck n.— «Scottie was incensed when he read in The Washington Post that Douggie had referred to us as “Fredneck County.” The Post account last Friday said that Douggie had used the term “jokingly.”…And...
geek syndrome n.— «People with Asperger’s, which affects mostly boys, aren’t likely to have any physical disabilities. They sometimes show an extraordinary grasp of obscure topics. As a result, the condition is sometimes known as the...