Proper capitalization of titles



Which is correct, re capitalization of the word "mayor"?


San Francisco Mayor John Doe ...


San Francisco mayor John Doe ...




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etymology - Origin of "s--t eating grin"

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The term a hot minute can be found all over blogs and in casual speech, meaning essentially, "a long time." The term is mostly slang, but seems to have become popular enough to appear on sites as reputable as PBS.org. Delia pretends to be mad about it for a hot minute but gets over it pretty quickly because the love of her life is finally home. I can't find it defined in reputable dictionaries, but The New York Times confirms the meaning in this article about slang uses of the word "hot." Hottie is still bandied about on campus by not-quite-with-it seniors, and a hot minute is defined as “a long time.” There is life left in the cleaned-up meaning of hot mess, which has come to mean “disheveled” or “incompetent,” as in “I was a hot mess this morning before I hit the shower.” The term reminds me of "A New York Minute," which means the exact opposite, "a very short time." So what is the origin of the term "a hot minute," and how lo...
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etymology - Why "silver-tongued" for someone who is convincing?

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etymology - Origin of "queer as a clockwork orange"

While reading a recent Ken Follet novel, I came across the following, spoken in a gay bar set in early sixties London: "I am queer as a clockwork orange, a three-pound note, a purple unicorn, or a football bat." Previous to this, I had thought that "clockwork orange" was a phrase made up by Anthony Burgess to describe something that is impossible as a title for his 1962 novel. Checking further, I found that Burgess had actually borrowed this phrase from something he supposedly overheard in a pub. From the 1986 introduction " A Clockwork Orange Re-sucked " I don’t think I have to remind readers what the title means. Clockwork oranges don’t exist, except in the speech of old Londoners . The image is a bizarre one, always used for a bizarre thing. “He’s as queer as a clockwork orange” meant he was queer to the limit of queerness. It did not primarily denote homosexuality, though a queer, before restrictive legislation came in, was the term used for a member o...
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usage - "there doesn't seem" vs. "there don't seem"

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meaning - What is meant by "don't piss on my boots and tell me it's raining"?

I have heard a couple of times recently the phrase "don't piss on my boots and tell me it's raining", usually in the context of a heated argument so I've hesitated to ask speaker what exactly he meant by it. Can anyone here help? Answer It suggests that the person you're upset with is harming you, making an unbelievably brazen claim that they are not, and that you have seen through their meagre attempt at deception. There are a few variant forms. There's pee versus piss for varying the level of crudity, and even spit to avoid the subject of urine entirely. The thing being urinated (or spat) on can be a boot, shoe, leg, back, face, etc. Some examples: Gal, you can't spit in my face and call it rain. [spoken to one who is trying to deceive.] Boy, you can't piss on me and tell me it's raining. (from Honey, hush! An Anthology of African-American Women's Humor by Daryl Cumber Dance, 1998, p88) Senator : The war's over. Our side won the ...
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