Gerrymandering draws political boundaries to tip elections towards certain political parties. Originally, the word was pronounced “GARY-mandering” with a hard “g.” But why? And why did it change? • Mark Twain and Helen Keller...
A listener in New York City wonders about how to pronounce gerrymander, which means “to redraw the lines of an electoral district so as to favor a particular political party.” The term comes a joking reference to Massachusetts governor...
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...
gulch n.— «For Glyn Willacott, there was never a dull moment aboard HMS Cardiff. The 59-year-old served as a weapons engineer between 1982 and 1985, travelling to the Falklands, the Persian Gulf and, of course, back to the ship’s home...
crooked number n.— «Manuel believes the home run “is your greatest hit in baseball.” It gives the Phillies big-innings capability. They began Game 5 with 14 multi-run innings—”crooked numbers” in the parlance—out...
drag and brag n.— «He wanted to give his students, whatever age and background, an experience they would not forget and one that was tied to the environment around them. He was not a naturalist who would drag a group through the woods...