fais do-do n.— «Despite the album’s throwback ethos, the boys in the band keep things hopping—”fais-do-do-ing,” in New Orleans parlance.» —“CD Reviews: Jay-Z and Linkin Park, Alison Krauss, Handsome Boy Modeling School...
Big Apple n.— «So many people have asked the writer about the derivation of his phrase, “the big apple,” that he is forced to make another explanation. New Orleans has called it to his mind again. A number of years back, when...
Big Apple n.— «The Big Apple. The dream of every lad that ever threw a leg over a thoroughbred and the goal of all horsemen. There’s only one Big Apple. That’s New York. Two dusky stable hands were leading a pair of thoroughbred around...
red seat n.— «Charlie Melancon’s victory in the bayou region of Louisiana’s 3rd Congressional District proved that Democrats could win seats held by Republicans, or as he called them, “red seats.”» —“Democrats put best...
witches’ knickers n.pl.— «Alaskans call them “tundra ghosts” and “landfill snowbirds.” In China, they’re “white pollution.” South Africans have sarcastically dubbed them their “national flower...
woobie n.— «In the same way that each member of the family chose something that represented them, and placed it in Chip’s casket. Adam and Holly and their children chose Connor’s pacifier and Janie’s “woobie.”» —“Myers’...