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Get the Goody Out

Amelia in Arlington, Virginia, was surprised to hear her wife, who is from Iowa, use the phrase getting the goody out to describe someone sporting a well-worn pair of sweatpants, indicating that they were continuing to get the most out of that...

Origin of Nosy

Are we a nosy species? A listener married to a woman from Bangladesh explains how a Bengali term that translates as “nose-going” reflects the naturally inquisitive style of Bangladeshi culture. In many languages, the nose figures...

Barbie

Barbie  n.— «Now, the Linux community has long enjoyed the insights of technically minded geeks, many of whom count the command line among their best friends. We would be remiss not to alert our readers, however, to a small—but rapidly...

cribbing

cribbing  n.— «Another exercise teaches a group how to lift rubble off victims and support it—a procedure called “cribbing”—so that injured people can be safely removed. A long iron rod is used to pry up rubble and short wooden...

rape stand

rape stand  n.— «The chains allowed the dogs to get close to each other, but not to have contact, one of myriad findings on the property that suggested a dogfighting operation. Others included a rape stand, used to hold non-receptive dogs...

headache bar

headache bar  n.— «Our tools were round-pointed shovels of the common variety and a 6-foot steel pry bar that weights about 20 pounds.…One swings the steel bard (my Dad taught me to call it a “headache bar”) on a vertical...