What’s the structure that projects out from a building over an entrance, such as at a hospital entrance where patients can be dropped off? Architects call it a port-cochere, or literally, “coach door.” This is part of a complete...
Why are floors of buildings called stories (or storeys)? One theory suggests that an Latin architectural term historia once referred to the stained-glass windows or the ornate statues around the edifice. But the etymology is unclear. This is part of...
Should you use enamored of or enamored with? Grant explains that while North Americans use both, enamored of is the more common of the two. In Great Britain, it’s enamored of, a construction similar to those in several Romance languages...
“Anymore, I play golf instead of tennis.” Grant explains that this grammatical construction is known as the “positive anymore.” This is part of a complete episode.
An Indianapolis woman vaguely remembers that there was a term for the Mohawk Indians who worked on the high beams and girders of some of this country’s most famous construction projects. The word she wants: skywalkers. High Steel is the...
schoobrary n.— «You may recall that when the idea of placing a school in a planned downtown library (an idea we’ve taken to calling a schoobrary) surfaced late last year, concerns arose about the increased construction costs that would...