A Way with Words | sun

jeggings

Posted by Grant Barrett on October 5, 2009 · Add Comment

jeggings n.— «“What’s so great this year,” she says, “is that they’re making jeans that are great for boots.” They’re slim, soft, light and tight, fitting almost like leggings. In fact, At the store they like to call them “jeggings.”» —“Just a bit of edge” by Jill Rosen Baltimore Sun (Maryland) Sept. 4, 2009. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)

buzzworm

Posted by Grant Barrett on January 17, 2009 · 1 Comment

buzzworm n.— «Being in the sun, perhaps the bike path was too warm for this 30-inch buzzworm, a pit viper species common to California and known to biologists and Latin scholars as Crotalus viridis oreganos, or Northern Pacific Rattlesnake.» —“Bikepath buzzworm” by winehiker Winehiker Witiculture Sept. 22, 2006. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)

burrowing

Posted by Grant Barrett on November 23, 2008 · Add Comment

burrowing n.— «As the sun sets on the Bush administration, the survival rite known as burrowing is under way. Burrowing is when favored political appointees are transformed into civil servants and granted instant tenure on the federal payroll.» —“Eight Years Is More Than Enough” New York Times Nov. 23, 2008. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)

A Year of Words

Posted by Grant Barrett on November 15, 2008 · Add Comment

Hockey mom? Staycation? Recessionista? What’s your choice for Word of the Year 2008? Also, what expression do you use to describe when it’s raining but the sun is still shining?

Text Messaging: Not Killing English

Posted by Grant Barrett on September 29, 2008 · Add Comment

Here’s another newsletter from A Way with Words! Is text messaging a sign of the destruction of English? No! On this past weekend’s show, we talked about it, as well as the names of your toes, “recombobulation,” word blends, and “au jus sauce.” Listen: http://waywordradio.org/the-txting-db8/ On this week’s online-only minicast, Martha did a run-through of [...]

prop

Posted by Grant Barrett on January 26, 2008 · Add Comment

prop n.— «Keeping their annual tradition alive, oddsmakers at the Las Vegas Hilton sports book have released the world’s most comprehensive list of Super Bowl betting propositions. Other Las Vegas casinos will follow with their own propositions—or “props,” as they’re fondly known—on the big game, but the Hilton’s list is the biggest, best and most eagerly [...]

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A Year of Words