blind hoistway n.— «He concluded that he must be on the thirteenth floor, and that, this being an express elevator, there was no egress from the shaft anywhere for many stories up or down. (Such a shaft is known as a blind hoistway...
Talibob n.— «Thousands of militias—dubbed the “Talibobs” because of their Taliban-like brutality and their slavish devotion to “Bob” Mugabe—tortured and murdered the local population during elections in 2002...
drive to qualify v. phr.— «In real estate parlance, families like the McCauslands “drive to qualify” for a mortgage; the big house they want is affordable only in far-out communities.» —“Long commutes, gas prices crimping...
hootlessness n.— «We also gravitate from win-lose to win-win. We are attracted to goals and actions that are for our own highest and best good, and for the highest and best good of everyone—including the planet as a whole. Lester...
san man n.— «The impetus came from Ms. Nagle, who has long been fascinated by the Sanitation Department.…One of Ms. Nagle’s main concerns is the invisibility of “san men” as they are called, the ways in which people look past...
tissue n.— «The impetus came from Ms. Nagle, who has long been fascinated by the Sanitation Department.…Tissue is “a desk job, an easy job.”» —“Nothing’s Wasted, Especially Garbage” by Edward Rothstein New...