When does a word’s past make it too sensitive to use in the present? In contra dancing, there’s a particular move that dancers traditionally call a gypsy. But there’s a growing recognition that many people find the term gypsy...
sorry gift n.— «Because guilt over spending is playing a big role in the sales downturn, he teaches salespeople to suggest a “sorry gift”—of another timepiece—for a wife who might be disappointed that her husband just dropped a sizable...
retire/rehire n.— «The practice of allowing state employees to retire, collect a pension or realize some other lump sum benefit and then be rehired for the same job is not working as intended. The practice is called retire/rehire and it’s...
facetimer n.—Gloss: Cornell University slang for a person who only attends and event or appears in public in order to be seen by others. «So, to sum it all up, playing the Terriers does pack more fans into Conte Forum—the game was...
earn-out n.— Note: OED has an entry for “earnout,” unhyphenated, added in September 2006, which defines the term as “a contractual provision whereby the seller of a business receives additional payments if the business...
anti-fit adj.— «And what has America given the world?? Quote “A piece of America in every home” is a load of bollox. The sum total is: 5 year old gangsters, baggy anti-fit jeans, laceless shoes, Beverly Hills 92010, Bay...