Word: americanize
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...They Know It's Christmas?" by Band Aid); a novelty track ("Mr. Blobby" by, er, Mr. Blobby, "Can We Fix It?" by Bob the Builder); or, for the past four years, a song by the newly minted winner of The X Factor, Britain's wildly popular version of American Idol. Indeed, the chances of any act upsetting X Factor creator and judge Simon Cowell's latest protégé has been so unlikely that bookmakers wouldn't even offer odds on it. Until...
...they note, the level of antibodies does not always translate to actual protection against the flu. "Lab studies are a proxy and work well," says Dr. Anthony Fiore, at the CDC's National Center for Infectious Diseases, who wrote an editorial accompanying the study in the Journal of the American Medical Association. "But until you can show that a single dose is as effective as two, it's probably too soon to pull away from the two-dose recommendation." (See the top 10 medical breakthroughs...
...Macy's Re Bill Saporito's the Moment [Nov. 30]: It's ridiculous to encourage Americans to spend themselves into further trouble this holiday season. It used to be "American" to spend more than you had. Retailers have had their way for years. Now that Americans are more frugal, stores weep about their lost 30% markups. Does anyone really care about that now? Most people are trying to hold on to their homes, their savings, their retirements. There is nothing wrong with a little Pilgrim virtue when it comes to saving more and spending less. Bruce McPhee West Yarmouth, Mass...
Asterix and the Barbarians Re Leo Cendrowicz's article "Indomitable Gaul" [Nov. 30]: Asterix' broad appeal in France stems less from a symbolic political struggle against globalization and capitalism than from a cultural struggle against invaders, be they Roman conquerors, American pension funds or Chinese truffles. Patricia Tutin, PARIS
There are certainly other factors at play here besides just a tough job market - more stay-at-home dads, more rich loafers, more prison inmates. But it also may be a sign that these are in fact the worst times for American workers since the 1930s. Which helps explain why there was so little excitement about that drop in the unemployment rate...