Mismatch Point

Not to be confused with sprezzatura, which is the art of unstudied elegance, spezzato literally translates as "broken in two." Quite simply, it describes a combination of jacket and trousers that's not a matching suit.

"Mastering the Mismatch," Off Duty, Nov. 17

The word "spezzato" is also used in the musical term coro spezzato, or "broken choir," which is used for the practice of having choirs separated across large spaces, singing alternately for a kind of stereo effect. St. Mark's in Venice has double choir lofts used for this kind of singing.

Catching a Financial Wave

In surf lingo, Billabong director Paul Naude is an ace—a surfer who goes solo. The company's stock shot up 10% Monday after Billabong said Mr.

Naude, a former pro surfer, is considering a buyout bid.

"Heard on the Street: Billabong's Choppy Sale," Money & Investing, Nov. 20

Other surf-lingo terms for people include "gremmie" or "grommet" (an inexperienced surfer), "kook" (someone who doesn't follow surfing etiquette), "barn waller" (a surfer with poor style) and "ho-dad" (a hanger-on who has a habit of annoying surfers).


The city of Cincinnati—whose population grew to 160,000 in 1860, from 2,500 in 1810—became known as "Porkopolis" because of the number of hogs its slaughterhouses processed annually.

"The Days Of Porkopolis," Bookshelf, Nov. 20

Meatopolitan monikers are fairly popular: there is a Baconopolis event in Seattle (and Cincinnati has also been called Baconopolis); the city of Napier in New Zealand has been called Muttonopolis, and Long Point, Ontario, on Lake Erie, has been called Duckopolis (for the quality of the duck-hunting).

Outgoing Personalities
exit hosts

I was the first one in my family to ever go to college. In college, I worked as a security guard, golf trainer and bouncer (we called them "exit hosts").

"Ingersoll-Rand CEO: Find People Smarter Than You," At Work blog, WSJ.com, Nov. 21

A bouncer is also known as a "chucker-outer" (in Australia; a "chucker-out" in the U.K.) and a "half ouncer" (in rhyming slang). An archaic term for a bouncer (especially one employed by a brothel) is "bully back."
