Del Rio model
n.— «It’s all about speed. That’s the biggest difference in saving lives in this war.…We call it the Del Rio model, after a small town in West Texas about 150 miles from our stateside base in San Antonio. When you get hurt in Del Rio, there are lots of little community hospitals between Del Rio and San Antonio. But you shouldn’t stop there if you have a severe trauma. You want to go right to San Antonio. The medics know it, the pilots know it. Don’t make the intermediary stop. It’s a waste of time, and time is precious.» —“The Doctors of War” by Bob Drury Men’s Health Jan. 30, 2006. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Brian in San Antonio, Texas, wonders about the origin of the pinkingin the term pinking shears. Such shears cut an even, zigzag pattern that keeps cloth from fraying at the edges. Pinking likely comes from French piquer, meaning to...
A hundred years ago, suffragists lobbied to win women the right to vote. Linguistically speaking, though, suffrage isn’t about “suffering.” It’s from a Latin word that involves voting. Plus: military cadences often include...