touchback
n.— «In addition, undocumented immigrants who have been in the United States for two to five years, no matter where they live, would have to travel back to a port-of-entry on the U.S. border, such as El Paso, Texas, and go back across the border to apply for guest-worker status. Upon performing this so-called touchback, these several million immigrants could immediately return to their U.S. homes.» —“Critics: Immigration bill bordering on unrealistic” by Frank James Chicago Tribune Apr. 17, 2006. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Mimeographs and Dittos (episode #1502) 06/24/2018: In this episode: How colors got their names, and a strange way to write. The terms blue and orange arrived in English via French, so... [more]
Spicy Jambalaya 06/18/2018: Teen slang from the South, and food words that are tricky to pronounce. • High schoolers in Huntsville, Alabama, told Martha and Grant about their... [more]
Chopped Liver 06/10/2018: There's a proverb that goes "beloved children have many names." At least, that's true when it comes to the names we give our pets. "Fluffy"... [more]
Busted Melon 06/02/2018: When writing textbooks about slavery, which words best reflect its cold, hard reality? Some historians are dropping the word slave in favor of terms like... [more]
Truth and Beauty 05/28/2018: Malamute, kayak, and parka are just some of the words that have found their way into English from the language of indigenous people in northern... [more]
You must log in to post a comment.