decimal dust
n.— «The thin wires that could carry the world’s information system directly and cheaply to every house in the city is on the order of what Sup. Ross Mirkarimi likes to call “decimal dust.” Electrical conduit, which will one day be the backbone of a city-owned power system, costs a little more, but not that much.» —“Am I the only person who thinks this is insane?” by Tim Redmond San Francisco Bay Guardian (California) Aug. 6, 2008. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
In this episode: How colors got their names, and a strange way to write. The terms blue and orange arrived in English via French, so why didn’t...
Funny cat videos and cute online photos inspire equally adorable slang terms we use to talk about them. • Also, when a salamander is not a...
Is there such a thing as a “neutral” accent, and if so what does it sound like? And that quirk in the way southern Californians talk...
Why do southern Californians refer to interstate thoroughfares with the definite article, as in the 405 or the 8? This usage is a result of the...
Mike in Ukiah, California, grew up in the UK, where he often heard the expression to know your onions, meaning “to be knowledgeable about...
According to Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe, it’s important to master the basics of writing, but there comes a time when you have to strike out...
You must log in to post a comment.