What is a “bottle episode”?
I asked those who would know if there’s a name for a television episode with two characters stuck in, say, an elevator or a basement, talking about whatever until they get free. There is, and Merriam-Webster has it.
Hallmark censors Frasier
As our household makes its way through Frasier, we listen closely for the missing words.
Word of the day: game-changer
It’s in a Julia episode set in 1963. Did people really say “game-changer” in 1963?
Things fall apart
A guest on The 11th Hour tonight: “vius versa.” And another guest, a couple of minutes after that: “stimmied,” for “stymied.”
Just say no to interregnum
There is no throne. There is never not a president. And we don’t (yet) have a declaration of martial law.
Recently updated
Stornography, now appearing in a cartoon.
Stornography
The commodification of horrific weather into televised spectacle.
Baseball and silence
I know very little about baseball, but it seems to me that the game invites contemplation — watching and waiting and thinking. Joe Buck and company, but especially Buck, sucked all the silence out of the game.
On the news
“ . . . they’ll sell less iPhones.”
Rip and run
Omar robs drug dealers, but “rip and run” has a much broader meaning.
Domestic comedy
“Five-o!”
Scott Pelley, man
“. . . how man is attempting to restore bird populations threatened by climate change.”
Naked City TL
“I don’t know what the letters stand for, but it means that I’ve got a compliment for you if you can dig up something nice to say about me.”
Naked City agriculture
“I got a wife, two kids, a nice business — produce, organically grown, no sprays.”
Man��s Human evolution
Scott Pelley refers to “man’s” evolution, then “human” evolution.
From the -wise world
“Ward, this comes as quite a blow to me, friendship-wise.”
How to improve writing (no. 42)
“The study of law is something new and unfamiliar to most of you — unlike any other schooling that you have ever known before.”
Okay, swell, lousy
Slang and I Love Lucy.
Word of the day: omnibus
A word, a television show.