Words easily misused #11
I've seen two different journalers use the term potboiler correctly this morning, but I've also talked with a lot of people in the past who were confused as to what it meant. So, as a public service, I'll note that (as I understand it) the term derives from the notion of a book that an author writes solely to keep the pot boiling—that is, a book written for money (presumably as opposed to one written for artistic reasons). It is, as Nick M. notes, a somewhat derogatory term. The people I've talked with who've been confused about the meaning thought that it referred to a book that's so gripping that the reader doesn't notice the pot is boiling over on the stove; while it's certainly possible for a potboiler to have that effect, that's not really what the term is meant to imply.
While I'm here, I'll mention another term that I don't think the speaker was using in its usual sense: the CEO of a certain software company, in a conference call describing quarterly financial results, recently referred to a newly hired executive as "well-heeled." From context, I'm pretty sure that the CEO meant the exec was very experienced; I'm not sure whether it was just a speech mistake, or whether the CEO didn't realize that well-heeled means "rich."
In other news, MW10 seems to have had a bit of a site redesign recently. Not sure yet whether I like it. Hey, what do y'all think of the sidebar on those definition pages? In particular, what do you think of the fact that the sub-pages under each sidebar heading are collapsed/invisible until you click the heading? Would it be better to show a fully expanded sidebar showing all 24 (or so) sub-pages, so you could get anywhere on the site in one click? There are advantages and disadvantages to both approaches; I can't decide which I like better.