Welcome to another edition of the A Way with Words newsletter. What was college slang like 100 years ago? That's what we talked about on the air this past weekend. We also talked about "go fly a kite," nicknames for Vancouver, and why...
nuke the fridge v. phr.— Note: The short life of this term is ably covered by Jason Kottke. «In TV land, this phenomenon is known as “jumping the shark”: the moment when a once proud series swan-dives into putridity. It’s a...
Peggy Lee moment v. phr.— «Now we have the “Peggy Lee Moment.” I heard a reference to this last week on one of those television stations that feature a bunch of guys screaming at each other, and liked it so much I decided to...
photobomber n.— «A “photobomber” is someone who sneaks into one of your happy pics and ruins it. You’re standing there with your new partner, smiling for the camera, capturing the happy moment….absolutely oblivious to...
extinction n.— «But the thing is, as Natasha points out, the language of the slot machine industry belies its ultimate aims. There’s a term bandied about at the trade shows: “extinction.” We need to design for extinction, we...
page 75 n.— «In a typical Hollywood screenplay, there comes a moment just before the third act when the protagonist is faced with certain defeat. It is the part of the film in which the bad guys gain crucial ground after a series of...