Word: peculiarities
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...should not react to undesirable trends in the rulings of the Supreme Court by advancing proposals which would undermine the basic fabric of American democracy. As Hamilton wrote, our Republic is and must be based on the conviction that "the interpretation of the laws is the proper and peculiar province of the courts...
...these are the best of times for airline companies--rising stock prices and record profits--the opposite is true for passengers. In most service industries, the customer comes first. But because of the nature of airlines--huge, expensive jets whose fixed costs can't be adjusted for demand--a peculiar paradox emerges. "The policies and procedures at the major airlines are geared to produce a system that meets the needs of the airline and not the customer," says Michael Boyd, an aviation consultant in Golden, Colorado...
...Pugh had used the word "damn" in a phone conversation, and his service was discontinued. Pugh challenged the company in court but the judge ruled against him: "The telephone," wrote the judge, "reaches into many family circles. It must be remembered that it is possible, from the peculiar arrangement of the instrument, to have a communication that is intended for one individual to reach another. All communications, therefore, should be in proper language...
...judge's basic argument was that the telephone was qualitatively different from earlier modes of communication. He decided to abridge the freedom of telephone speech because of the medium's peculiar invasiveness into private life. Whereas speech on the town green or in a newspaper is decidedly public and can be screened out of the home, speech by telephone is more intrusive and less in our control...
...first and most important teachers. Among other things, they appear to help babies learn by adopting the rhythmic, high-pitched speaking style known as Parentese. When speaking to babies, Stanford University psychologist Anne Fernald has found, mothers and fathers from many cultures change their speech patterns in the same peculiar ways. "They put their faces very close to the child," she reports. "They use shorter utterances, and they speak in an unusually melodious fashion." The heart rate of infants increases while listening to Parentese, even Parentese delivered in a foreign language. Moreover, Fernald says, Parentese appears to hasten the process...