tramp dread
n.— «My excuse is that, as a freelance journalist, I do not receive any paid holiday. If I stop working, the money stops coming in—and my finances are so precariously balanced that simply forgoing one week’s wages could bring the whole house of cards tumbling down. I suffer from what Martin Amis and Christopher Hitchens refer to as “tramp dread”—the fear that if you stop churning stuff out you won’t merely fall behind on the mortgage, you’ll be completely destitute by the end of the month.» —“The office clown” by Toby Young Guardian (United Kingdom) Sept. 6, 2008. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Book recommendations, including a collection of short stories inspired by dictionaries, and a techno-thriller for teens. Or, how about novels with an upbeat message? Publishers call this genre up lit. Plus, a clergyman ponders an arresting phrase in...
Barbara Kingsolver’s book Demon Copperhead is a retelling of Charles Dickens’ David Copperfield set in today’s Appalachia. Martha shares memories of a long-ago visit to Kingsolver’s family farm in Virginia, where they...
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