Texas barrier n.— «I pass the ruins of police headquarters, blown up by an Al Qaeda in Iraq suicide truck bomber in May 2007, and enter a corridor lined by eight-foot-high slabs of concrete—”Texas barriers” or “T...
nester n.— «Contractors often are hired by the chemical industry for specialized work and to keep costs down. Some are so imbedded in the work force they are called “nester” contractors, with long careers in one place, while...
bowl of red
n.— «The fact that a Texas “bowl of red,” as chili is commonly called, has no original relationship with past didn’t matter.» —by Mark Busby The Southwest , 2004. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
excitation leap n.— «How, in fact, does a reindeer warn of danger? It jumps in the air—what scientists call an “excitation leap”—and then runs away. All of the other reindeer see the leap, see the running, and take off running, too...
ghost voting n.— «The mailer focuses on a practice called ghost voting, a widespread practice of voting for fellow members in the Texas House.» —“Political Ads: How Trustworthy Are They?” by Nancy Wilson KEYE...
We hear the word maverick a lot lately, but where did this term for a stubborn nonconformist come from? Martha tells the story of the Texas politician who inspired the word, and whose grandson apparently coined another familiar English word...