Words & Stuff

Three times in the past two or three days, I've heard people say "deets" for "details." And what they tell you three times is true, so I guess it must...

According to Wikipedia, "kuzbu" is "an Akkadian word which means 'seductive allure' or 'sexual appeal.'" Or, in the vernacular, "hotness." As in, "Whoa, his entire body is adorned with kuzbu."...

An "energumen" turns out to be a person possessed by an evil spirit, or someone who acts like they're possessed, or a fanatic. I'm now surprised that I haven't seen...

Thanks to Naomi B for my favorite word of the week. It means to becloud or obscure something. Example: "It is the pity of the world, Dr. McAdam, to see...

I recently encountered the phrase pattern "[activity noun x] o'clock" meaning "it's time to do x": once as "sex o'clock" (link is not work-safe), once as "pray o'clock" (in an...

In honor of my new niephling Avery: A few years back, Arthur E introduced me to the word "niephling," a gender-neutral word for nieces and nephews. Most useful when the...

The abbreviation "CXO" or "CxO" refers to the set of executives whose titles start with "Chief" and end with "Officer"--CEO, CFO, CIO, etc. For details and a cite, see Word...

I've of course heard of things happening "at the 11th hour"--very late in a process. But apparently things can happen even later than that: Alicia Summers of El Mirage, Arizona[,...

According to a Detroit Free Press article, "Leap year babies hop through hoops of joy, pain of novelty birthday" (doesn't "Hoops of Joy" sound like it should be part of...