half-pat
adj.— «When described as a diasporic writer, Shamsie had something interesting to say. She coined her own phrase to describe where she writes from—“half-pat.” Not ex-pat or nomad, but just somebody who has been exposed to different spaces and is able to access both (or however many) to be able to create something.» —“Loving the word” by Mina Malik-Hussain Daily Times (Lahore, Pakistan) Feb. 19, 2008. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Ash in Huntsville, Alabama, wonders about the phrase all stove up, which is how his body feels after a long day’s work. It comes from the expression to stave in, meaning “to smash in,” as when something smashes in the staves of a barrel. This...
Sam in St. Charles, Illinois, says that when he mentioned a big old water tower nearby, his mother corrected him, saying the water tower wasn’t old, it was new. Can’t you use big old or big ol’ in that way? Of course you can! The...