Wingnut (Wing Nut)
A "wingnut" (or "wing nut") is a piece of hardware ("nut") with two "wings" for a thumb and another finger, so that the nut can be turned easily.…
Holidays/Events/Parades
WingNutDaily (WorldNetDaily or WND nickname)
World Net Daily (WND) is a conservative website that began in May 1997. Some critics have called WND "WingNutDaily" or "WingNut Daily" (wingnut + WorldNetDaily).…
Wingtard (wingnut + retard)
"Wingtard" (wingnut + retard) is an epithet used against someone either on the right wing or the left wing, although the right wing use is more common. "Wingtard" has been cited…
WiNo (Williamsburg North)
"SoHo Is SoOver, New Yorkers Are Moving to WiNo and Rambo" by Corinne Ramey appeared in The Wall Street Journal on September 10, 2015. It explained that "WiNo" stands for…
Winter Texan
"Winter Texan" is what is called a "snowbird" in Florida -- someone who comes down from the north to experience a more moderate temperature during winter (December through…
Winterval (winter + festival)
"Winterval" (winter + festival) was coined in 1997 by Mike Chubb, the Birmingham (UK) city council's head of events, as the name of a winter festival around the time of Christmas and…
Winterval (winter+ festival)
"Winterval" (winter + festival) was coined in 1997 by Mike Chubb, the Birmingham (UK) city council's head of events, as the name of a winter festival around the time of Christmas and…
Wire House (Wirehouse)
A "wire house" (or "wirehouse") is a brokerage house that has a communication network; originally, a "wire house" meant a brokerage house with a telegraph line or a…
Wirus (variant pronunciation of “virus”)
The 2019-20 COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic resulted in much talk about a vaccine. Some people mocked "virus" as "wirus," and "vaccine" as "waccine" or…
Wisconsin: America’s Dairyland (nickname)
The state of Wisconsin has long been known for its dairy industry. A 1924 newspaper ad for "Pabst Wonder Cheese" called Wisconsin "America's fairest dairyland." "Made…
Wise Latina
Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor was born in the Bronx, New York, in 1954, from parents of Puerto Rican descent. In Sotomayor's 2009 Senate confirmation hearing, a 2001 statement that she…
Wisenheimer
A "Wisenheimer" (or "wisenheimer") is a "wise guy," a "smarty pants," a "smart aleck" (see "smart aleck" in this section), a fellow…
Wish Sandwich
A "wish sandwich" was explained in the song "Rubber Biscuit," originally by The Chips in 1956, but popularized by the Blues Brothers (Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi) on the New…
Wishbone (Wish Bone; Wishing Bone)
The "wishbone (also "wish bone" or "wishing bone") is a forked bone, named using the Latin word forcula. The bone has been called "merrythought" in England since…
Wishbone Offense (football formation)
The "wishbone" offense is an offense that sets up like a "Y" or "wishbone." It is primarily a running offense. University of Texas Coach Darrell Royal used the…
Witch of Wall Street
The moniker "Witch of Wall Street" is usually associated with Hetty Green (1834-1916), who was one of the world's richest women during his lifetime. Many stories were written about…
Witness (1998): Washington Post writer Shirley Povich
No one would help me to find living witnesses. No one in New York City and no one in New Orleans. Many people who could have contributed to this story are now dead. The New Orleans stablehands were…
Witness (2006): Joe Zito
In 2006, the Society for New York City History (SNYCH) changed its website. No longer did it declare that "the Big Apple" came from a 19th century French whore. The horseracing theory was…
Wok Chi (wok energy)
Entry in progress -- B.P. Wikipedia: Wok heiWok hei (Chinese: 鑊氣; Jyutping: wok6 hei3) literally, the "breath of the wok", a poetic phrase Grace Young first coined in her cookbook,…
Wok Hei (“the breath of a wok”)
Entry in progress -- B.P. Wikipedia: Wok heiWok hei (Chinese: 鑊氣; Jyutping: wok6 hei3) literally, the "breath of the wok", a poetic phrase Grace Young first coined in her cookbook,…