Grant gives Martha a little Greek test with the word leucomelanous. Leuco, meaning “white,” and melano, meaning “black,” together refer to someone with a fair complexion and dark hair, like Snow White or Veronica from the...
rain fade n.— «Rain and snow absorb the signal, reducing the quality of the service during storms, an effect the industry calls “rain fade.”» —“With WiMax, Walking on the Wireless Side in Baltimore” by Peter...
Twittering, tweeting, twirting—it’s rare to see a whole new body of language appear right before your eyes. But that’s what’s happening with Twitter. We discuss the snappy new shorthand of the twitterati. Also, why do people feel...
snowroller n.— Note: Also as two words: “snow roller.” «Several days ago, several hundred rather large snowballs appeared on Lake Eyak over night. The next day I received phone calls and e-mails from curious Cordovans asking...
Ahoy, mateys! You've received another newsletter from "A Way with Words," which, like a walk around the promenade deck, is known to relieve uncomfortable internal distress. What do children call their grandparents? What is a...
eatout n.— «The geese are leaving what scientists call massive “eatouts,” or large, bare swaths of land that may never recover.» —“State adds spring hunting season to thin population of snow geese” by Brian T...