Michelle calls from the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania to ask about it’s been a minute meaning “It’s been a while.” Why would we use a phrase that usually means “sixty seconds” for a period of time that might...
If everyone on the planet spoke a single language, wouldn’t that make life a whole lot easier? For that matter, is a common world language even possible? Maybe for a minute or so—until new words and phrases start springing up. Also, did you...
telco hotel n.— «“I live in Chula Vista. For me to get to the closest data center, it’s a 45-minute drive on a typical day,” he said. And, those San Diego data centers are filling up. Most are clustered at Scranton Road in La Jolla...
worm grunting n.— «Earthworms are sensitive to low-frequency vibrations. These drive some types of earthworms to the surface, and in the southeastern US is used in a practice known as “worm grunting,” by scraping a piece of metal on...
Welcome to another newsletter from A Way with Words, this one brought to you by way of the brown hills of Los Angeles. This past weekend we had a great time on the air. Was it the "duck tape" vs. "duct tape" call? Was it trying...
two minute man n.— «The field race in a pure time trial format with the lowest ranked athletes going first up to the highest ranked who goes last. Athletes go at two minute intervals (this possibly needs to be tweaked a bit based on some...