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Episode 1502

Mimeographs and Dittos

In this episode: How colors got their names, and a strange way to write. The terms blue and orange arrived in English via French, so why didn’t we also adapt the French for black and white? • Not every example of writing goes in one direction...

A Gazelle on the Lawn

What do you say if you have guests over and someone in your family has stray food left on the face? In some households, the secret warning is “there’s a gazelle on the lawn.” But why a gazelle? Also, this week: the term for a party...

mowing the lawn

mowing the lawn  n.— «Maritime patrol planes fly a grid pattern over the search area, guided by GPS. They fly in parallel swaths over the ocean, in a process that pilots refer to as “mowing the lawn.” Flying at an altitude of...

slow gardening

slow gardening  n.— «The mix of shrubs and flowers Mr. Rushing planted instead of a traditional lawn is an example of his “Slow Gardening” approach. The term takes its name and inspiration from the Slow Food movement, whose adherents...

flake

flake  n.— «After goat-proofing the yard with a substantial fence, all it requires is letting them mow the lawn and eat up to one flake of hay a day each. Connie feeds half a flake in summer and a full flake in winter. There are about 20...