strohlem
n.— «The 18th-century kitchen has a strohlem ceiling that is among the best preserved that team members have seen. Strohlem is the German word for straw and mud, Thomas said. Wooden boards were wrapped in wet straw, then packed in mud.» —“The Talking Walls” by Mary Giunca Winston-Salem Journal (N.C.) July 13, 2004. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
German filmmaker Werner Herzog is known for such documentaries as Grizzly Man and Fitzcarraldo. He’s also fascinated with what he calls “the limits of language,” as evident in his 1976 documentary how fast auctioneers can talk, How...
Katie in Everett, Washington, is curious about the expression If ifs and ands were pots and pans, there’d be no need for tinkers. What is a tinker? She heard this phrase on the television series The Gilded Age, in response to a character who...