crisis actor The term crisis actor originated in the emergency preparedness community and originally referred to professional actors available for hire to participate in disaster and mass casualty drills as victims, witnesses, criminals, etc. Hiring trained actors is thought to increase the realism and effectiveness of such drills. But after the December
Bechdel test The Bechdel test is an informal way to determine whether a film or TV show exhibits bias against women in the female characters it presents. It’s named for its inventor, cartoonist Alison Bechdel, who described the test in a 1985 installment of her comic strip Dykes to Watch Out
yodel Yodeling is associated with Alps, so it’s no surprise that the English word is borrowed from German. The Oxford English Dictionary defines the verb to yodel as “to sing or call using a distinctive style of vocalization characterized by repeated rapid alternations of pitch between the low chest voice
white shoe The adjective white shoe is used in the United States to denote the establishment, the privileged, moneyed, and usually conservative, elites who traditionally run American businesses. And in current use it is often specifically used to denote top-flight law firms. But why white shoes? The term dates to the 1930s
run it up the flagpole The phrase run it up the flagpole and see if anyone salutes is credited to Madison Avenue admen of the 1950s. The phrase, and many others like it, is used in the context of brainstorming or “spitballing ideas” and refers to making a suggestion to see if people like it.
Middle Ages / medieval The Middle Ages, or medieval period, runs from roughly 500–1500 C. E., that is more or less from the so-called fall of Rome to the so-called Renaissance and the start of the modern era. While Middle Ages is a pretty obvious term for a period between two others, there
cotton-picking / cotton-picker The adjective cotton-picking and the noun cotton-picker have as their origins a metaphor for slavery in the American South. While in today’s usage the racist intent has often been bleached away, the terms can still carry a racist connotation even if the speaker does not intend that sentiment. The
plead / pleaded / pled The verb to plead, meaning to make an appeal or argument, especially in a legal setting, comes to us from the Anglo-Norman French plaider. Since the Normans ruled England starting in 1066 and imported their own laws and legal system into England, many English legal terms come from Norman French.
coach Coach is a word with two very different primary meanings. Etymologically coach is probably a single word, connected through use in university slang, although it is possible that the two meanings have different origins. The older of the two meanings is that of a means of conveyance, originally a horse-drawn
world The word world has a very straightforward etymology. It comes from the Old English woruld, and its basic meanings haven’t changed for over a thousand years. World can refer to the realm of human existence or to various subdivisions of it, such as the world of sports or the
khaki Khaki is a light brown or tan cloth, usually of cotton or wool, or simply a designation of that color. In past decades it was associated with military uniforms but has become less so of late. This word, like many others, is a legacy of British colonialism. The word is
