Linguist, lexicographer, writer, editor, broadcaster

Recent catchwords: read-alike, violin hickey, throw a Porsche at someone, Q-tip cruise, 1-800 car

Sorry the updates have been so intermittent. I’ll try to get back on track.

Recent interesting catchwords from the Double-Tongued Dictionary:

read-alike n. a (fiction) book whose contents are similar to another book’s.

violin hickey n. a mark left on the neck from playing the violin.

throw a Porsche at someone v. phr. in the British military, to fire an expensive missile at a target.

Q-tip cruise n. a pleasure trip aboard a ship, taken mainly by senior citizens. So named because the passengers have white hair that resembles the white cotton ends of Q-tips.

1-800 car n. a car that is outfitted with superficial and expensive after-market modifications that make it look good but do not improve its performance.