We tend to take the index of a book for granted, but centuries ago, these helpful lists were viewed with suspicion. Some even worried that indexes would harm reading comprehension! A witty new book tells the story. Plus, the Latin term bona fides...
The word dungarees is a relic of the British colonial presence in India. Dungri was the name applied to a durable cotton cloth exported from India to England in the 1600s, and used to make sails and tents. Dungaree comes from the Marathi term...
sliming n.— «The path to Academy Award victory, however, is beset with many dangers, quite apart from the pressures of walking the red carpet. As Slumdog has grown to be more and more of an Oscar contender, the murky Hollywood art of...
poorism n.— «Poverty tourism—sometimes known as “poorism”—did not originate in Mumbai (formerly Bombay). For years, tour operators have been escorting foreign visitors through Rio de Janeiro’s infamous favelas, with their drug...
Kollywood n.— «Now, Kollywood (the Tamil film industry as it is known) has decided to take things into their own hands.» —“Tamil actors turn detective” by Durga Nandini, Dhanya Rajendran Now.tv (Mumbai...
Bombay docks
n.— «Another one is “bombay docks,” used when a girl has bad body odour.» —“The slang bang!” by Reshma Arya DNA (Mumbai, India) Dec. 4, 2006. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)