TagGeography of the United States

spoil bank

spoil bank  n.— «In the rolling hills just a few miles outside town, a forest of black locust, black cherry and young sugar maple grows from what the locals call spoil banks, mounds of dirt and rock tossed aside by years of strip-mining...

laborshed

laborshed  n.— «The first-ever Quad-Cities Graduate Inventory determined that 47,700 graduates are being produced annually within a 90-mile radius, which is considered the laborshed area for the Quad-Cities.» —“Illinois Q-C Chamber...

stranger-originated life insurance

stranger-originated life insurance  n.— «In what has to be the wackiest new trend in life insurance, many consumers are allowing total strangers to place bets on when they will expire—and the sooner they go, the bigger the payoff. It’s...

STOLI

STOLI  n.— «In what has to be the wackiest new trend in life insurance, many consumers are allowing total strangers to place bets on when they will expire—and the sooner they go, the bigger the payoff. It’s called Stranger-Originated Life...

Pronouncing Aunt

A listener from Falmouth, Maine, disagrees with his Canadian friends about how to pronounce the word aunt. He says it shouldn’t sound like the name of the insect. But is that the way most people pronounce this word for your mother’s...

tenant command

tenant command  n.— «The sailor was assigned to what’s known as a tenant command, a unit that’s located on base but is not part of the chain of command.» —“Sailor’s Death Investigated” in Groton Hartford...