squirrel guard
n.— «Spidery-looking bits of metal and inexpensive pieces of plastic are at the heart of one of the most important strategies Entergy Texas has to prevent power outages. Commonly called squirrel guards, more than 100,000 of them are perched atop poles throughout Southeast Texas, effectively preventing the furry critters from coming into contact with equipment that has the potential to kill the animals while also causing a fault that would turn the lights off for Entergy customers.» —“‘Squirrely’ power outages pack unpopular punch” Hardin County News (Lumberton, Texas) Jan. 17, 2007. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Episode Archives
One-Armed Paper Hanger (episode #1518) 02/18/2019: The emotional appeal of handwriting and the emotional reveal of animal phrases. Should children be taught cursive writing in school, or is their time better... [more]
Hair on Your Tongue (episode #1517) 02/11/2019: If you speak both German and Spanish, you may find yourself reaching for a German word instead of a Spanish one, and vice versa. This... [more]
Train of Thought (episode #1516) 02/04/2019: Chances are you recognize the expressions Judgment Day and root of all evil as phrases from the Bible. There are many others, such as the... [more]
Colonial English (episode #1515) 01/28/2019: The anatomy of effective prose, and the poetry of anatomy. Ever wonder what it'd be like to audit a class taught by a famous writer?... [more]
Space Cadet (episode #1514) 12/24/2018: We have books for language-lovers and recommendations for history buffs. • How did the word boondoggle come to denote a wasteful project? The answer involves... [more]
You must log in to post a comment.