sky island
n.— «From a parched sea of desert in southeastern Arizona, Mt. Graham rises 2 miles to a crested summit above the clouds. Isolated in time and space for 11,000 years, the mountain is what biologists call a sky island, “a cradle of evolution.”» —“A Desert Mountain Versus The Stars” by Carol Ann Bassett Newsday (Long Island, New York) May 5, 1987. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
You can’t help wondering if some astronomers listen to rock music as they gaze at the stars, given that a couple of names in The Dictionary of Minor Planet Names(Amazon) honor the band Yes and also Procol Harum. This is part of a complete...
Corey in Buffalo, New York, says her family uses the word unta for “the piece of bread you use to sop up the last bite of what you’re eating.” They also use it as a verb, as in I’m going to unta. Her family is half Sephardic...