Martha explains how experiments with dead frogs and live wires led to the invention of the battery, and inspired a couple of familiar English words.
highmarking n.— «The man is believed to have been killed after triggering an avalanche Saturday afternoon by driving straight up the side of a hill, a practice called highmarking.» —“Alberta snowmobiler’s body...
french v.— «Add this to the list of terms that no one seems to know the origin of. Frenching is simply smoothing a body element into the body so it’s faired in—most often the headlights and tail-lights of a vehicle. To french headlights...
scooter skirt n.— «Europeans, in colder places than Seattle, ride year round (often with something called a “scooter skirt,” a warm blanketlike cover for the rider’s lower body).» —“Take a lesson, Seattle, from...
Hello, guys and dolls--it's another newsletter from A Way with Words. We aired an episode this past weekend in which we talked about the footwear known as "go-aheads," what part of the body is "possible,"...
hot body n.— «The reverse kimono dress is what the garment industry calls a hot body, meaning it sells so well that a designer makes it for more than one season, often tweaking it by using a new fabric.» —“Michelle Obama’s...