The Irish English word bockety describes someone who has difficulty walking, or something that’s fallen into a state of disrepair, as in my bockety old chair. This is part of a complete episode.
You may have a favorite word in English, but what about your favorite in another language? The Spanish term ojalá is especially handy for expressing hopefulness and derives from Arabic for “God willing.” In Trinidad, if you want to ask...
Is there something inherent in English that makes it the linguistic equivalent of the Borg, dominating and consuming other languages in its path? No, not at all. The answer lies with politics and conquest rather than language itself. Plus: a new...
Have you ever been faced with a defugalty? This ironic misspelling and mispronunciation of difficulty popped up in a Dashiell Hammett novel, They Glass Key, in 1931. It’s often said with a tongue in the cheek, but, as in the case of the...
phone boot n.—Gloss: An informal location for recharging a cell phone or paying to place a phone call on another person’s phone. Note: A play on “phone booth” and “boot,” the rear storage compartment of a motor...
ICUitis n.— «Shalof describes the absolute chaos she and her patients feel when they are transferred out of the ICU with 1:1 nursing care to the floor where nurses may have up to eight patients. As a floor nurse, I can see the shock this...