A Louse in a Wrestling Jacket - 4 Oct. 2010

<p>A California college student is campaigning for international scientific authorities to adopt the slang term hella- as an official prefix indicating a huge number. Will he succeed? Also, how to pronounce niche, the regional terms doppick and nixie, the origins of towheaded and frenetic, and a phrase familiar to many African-Americans, but little-known outside that community: I couldn't buy a louse in a wrestling jacket.<br /><br />...<br /><br /><br />Whether it's bytes of data or intergalactic distances, humans are accumulating ever more massive amounts of data. But how do we use language to describe such mind-bogglingly huge numbers? There's mega, as in mega-millions, and giga, as in gigabytes, but a California college student is urging international scientific authorities to adopt hella- as a prefix to indicate a huge number: 10 to the 27th power. What are his chances for getting this slang term officially adopted as a unit of measurement?<br /><br />Someone who's flaxen-haired is said to be towheaded. Martha explains what kind of "tow" is involved.<br /><br />Here's a variant of a phrase that's familiar to many African-Americans, but virtually unknown to most others: I'm so broke I couldn't buy a louse a wrestling jacket. What's its meaning and origin? It's also heard "buy a flea a wrestling jacket" or "buy a mosquito a wrestling jacket."<br /><br />Quiz Guy John Chaneski has a special inspiration for this week's puzzle: His wife, author Jennifer Michael Hecht, is one of five judges for the nonfiction category of the National Book Awards. He's crafted a quiz based on some of the 500 titles in contention.<br /><br />http://bit.ly/dmnW2T<br /><br />A veterinarian in Pennsylvania Dutch Country runs into some strange terms. What's wrong with a dog that's doppick, or a cat that's nixie? What does it mean to have your animal dressed?<br /><br />The pronunciation of the word niche has changed over the years.<br /><br />Grant and Martha talk more about the challenges dictionary editors face when trying to define n