A Way with Words

squeeze page

Posted by Grant Barrett on September 2, 2009 · Add Comment

squeeze page n.— «Once someone has visited your site, they will often encounter what is known in marketing terms as a “squeeze page.” How it got that name, I’m not sure, but a squeeze page is really just a pop-up box or page that invites readers to subscribe and tells them the benefits of doing so. [...]

I Was Eaten Alive by Words of the Year

Posted by Grant Barrett on November 18, 2008 · Add Comment

Hey, ho, let's go! Another newsletter from A Way with Words is here. We kick off the year-end "word of the year" season with an episode about them, in which we offer a few of our own candidates: "Joe the" (as in "Joe the Plumber" and "Joe the Biden"), "bailout," "staycation," and "hockey mom." Plus, [...]

vomit draft

Posted by Grant Barrett on November 1, 2006 · Add Comment

vomit draft n. the first rough version of a piece of writing. Editorial Note: So-called because the words pour onto the page unhindered and unrefined. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)

shadow ad

Posted by Grant Barrett on November 6, 2005 · Add Comment

shadow ad n.— «It would be difficult to find a clearer example of the mingling of real news and advertising than the “watermark” ads The Times started offering in late September. Advertising images are printed faintly underneath a full page of stock-price quotations, with a conventional ad stripped across the bottom. There is little distinction left [...]

watermark ad

Posted by Grant Barrett on November 6, 2005 · Add Comment

watermark ad n.— «It would be difficult to find a clearer example of the mingling of real news and advertising than the “watermark” ads The Times started offering in late September. Advertising images are printed faintly underneath a full page of stock-price quotations, with a conventional ad stripped across the bottom. There is little distinction left [...]

huge bottom spread

Posted by Grant Barrett on December 5, 2004 · Add Comment

huge bottom spread n.— «The journalistic fraternity has its own way of describing the people, the things or the events in a lighter vein. A tall gracious girl is referred to as a “Banner Head line” and a person’s obesity, particularly the lower portion of the body, is described as a “huge bottom spread.” The lingo [...]

Newsletter

Contact

Listen

squeeze page

vomit draft

shadow ad

watermark ad

huge bottom spread