Katie in Greenville, South Carolina, reports that when she was growing up in rural Montana, if one of her classmates was caught doing something wrong or reprimanded by a teacher, the rest of the children would say a ver, drawing out the syllables...
The names of professional sports teams often have surprising histories — like the baseball team name inspired by, of all things, trolley-car accidents. Plus, some questions to debate at your next barbecue: Is a hot dog a sandwich if it’s...
A woman who grew up in Albuquerque recalls that when one of her schoolmates got in trouble, she and their peers would say ominously, “Umbers!” This slang term is apparently a hyperlocal version of similarly elongated exclamations like...
mad-dogging n.— Note: This term is related to mean-mugging and mad-mugging. «According to all of the news reports two young men met outside of a downtown bar and tried to stare each other down. In Albuquerque this is called “mad-dogging.”...
Tamalewood n.— «There, in the shadow of the snow-capped Sandia Mountains, the aircraft-hangar-like buildings at Albuquerque Studios house part of a budding film industry that one local newspaper dubbed Tamalewood. This year, four more...
blisk n.— «Aircraft engines can be damaged by foreign objects entering the engine and hitting the fast-spinning airfoils. Modern jet engines use integrally-bladed rotors, often known as blisks, which are made using materials of the...