lights-out machine noun a machine controlled by a computer that does not require a human operator or supervision and can operate throughout the night
John Hill’s 30 employees design and assemble plastic injection molds. That requires direct labor. The company does use lights-out machines to make the parts for those molds.
[WNYC: Marketplace (NPR, financal news) 1 Dec 2011]
lit flick noun informal a film adapted from a novel of some literary merit
Classic lit flick: Stanley Kubrick’s one-time banned A Clockwork Orange starring Malcolm McDowell
[www.metro.co.uk 8 Nov 2011]
negawatt noun a notional unit of power which represents the amount of energy saved through a particular measure
Energy conservation has been dubbed the fifth fuel. Negawatt is environmental scientist Amory Lovin’s term for a unit of energy saved.
[The Observer (UK broadsheet) 6 Nov 2011]
POP noun an acronym that stands for ‘persistent organic pollutant’
In what concentrations those POPs will end up climbing the food chain scientists don’t yet know.
[Natural History (US natural history magazine) Oct. 2011]
I’m confused by “lights out machine” since the term “lights out” also means “unconscious,” usually referring to advanced intoxication or the result of fisticuffs.
For the detail folks, “Marketplace” is produced by KPCC in California (WNYC is one of the many stations that carries it) and distributed by American Public Media, not NPR.
Also, do we need yet another acronym for “POP” ?