New-To-Me Phrases, November 2, 2025
McShiny * Lox-smith * Moneycrisp * Mr. Trash Wheel * BIG TURD * Hooters for butts * Give your money away, shorties
The Phrases, With Context
Did you have an awesome Halloween? I hope so. Our kids are grown, but one does cosplay for the holiday and we hang out by the fire table handing out candy to the littles, tweens, and teens. I got my husband to wear a T. Rex inflatable, which brought every toddler in the neighborhood and myself tremendous joy. One highlight was Buddy the Elf on rollerblades—you can cover a lot of candy-asking territory on wheels.
Even our resident two-year-old turkey tried to get in on the candy action:
This week, we have more New York references than I realized when I started writing this edition, nautical nicknames, some butt stuff, and more.
Let’s get to it!
1. McShiny
This one’s for you if you could stand a little joy. My friend Leah, who writes Meets Most, a thoughtful and sharp newsletter about tech, shared this on Instagram, and isn’t it delightful?
These have been around for a few years—one (Tooth Ferry) was mentioned on an episode of Only Murders in the Building, but I didn’t realize that second graders had named it.
Other ferry names include:
Friendship Express
City Fishy
Melting Pot
Koalafied Cruiser
Dream Boat
In short, second graders rule.
2. Lox-smith
Speaking of NYC, Saul Zabar, founder of Zabar’s (an institution even I, an uncultured rube, had heard of) died this fall at age 97. One headline called him the “longtime lox-smith of iconic Upper West Side grocer.” We love a clever headline!
3. Moneycrisp
I did not realize that competition among apple growers was so fierce, nor that people’s lust for pricier-but-extremely-fussy-to-grow Honeycrisp apples ran so deep. We love a subculture here at NTMP, so why not apple growers and apple fans, too?
While farmers might lament growing Honeycrisps, production is on the rise. Honeycrisps, known by some farmers as “moneycrisps,” can fetch handsome paydays. (via WSJ)
That WSJ piece also shared that an apple breeder from Washington State University developed the Cosmic Crisp variety, which I actually like more than Honeycrisp. Science is so cool!
4. Mr. Trash Wheel
My friend Jeff sent a photo of this majestic vessel decked out in NFL regalia during a recent trip to Baltimore:
What in the solar-paneled riverboat barge is going on here? It turns out that Mr. Trash Wheel has his own website, and it’s kind of amazing.
Seriously, introduce me to their copywriting team:
Mr. Trash Wheel is a semi-autonomous trash interceptor that is placed at the end of a river, stream or other outfall.
Far too lazy to chase trash around the ocean, Mr. Trash Wheel stays put and waits for the waste to flow to him.
Sustainably powered and built to withstand the biggest storms, Mr. Trash Wheel uses a unique blend of solar and hydro power to pull hundreds of tons of trash out of the water each year.
What the image my friend sent doesn’t show well is that MR. TRASH WHEEL HAS GOOGLY EYES. In fact, there’s an entire family of trash wheels with their own bios that you need to read.
Here’s part of the bio for Professor Trash Wheel:
Likes: Women in science, Beyonce, Eleanor Roosevelt, Thomas Dolby and sea otters
Dislikes: Low tides, strong winds and the patriarchy
One more excellent reason to visit Baltimore.
5. BIG TURD
No one was more furious than me to learn—in my late 50s no less, on Instagram—that the word ‘Saturday’ contains the word ‘turd.’
I could’ve made so many jokes when I was a kid! Or last week, for that matter!
Anyway, I spotted this image on Bluesky, and: LOL. I captioned the screenshot BIG TURD.jpg and it’s been taunting me from my MacBook desktop all week:
It’s a good thing I never screenshare my desktop on work Zoom calls.
6. Hooters for butts
In nearly every good TV show, the chemistry between the actors and the creativity of the writers combine to create a standout episode. The one where an orangutan escapes on Grace and Frankie or the Greg Pikitis Halloween episode of Parks and Rec are good examples of this. Long Island Living is just such an episode of Only Murders in the Building. As pop culture writer Tom Smyth wrote for Vulture:
I think the murder mystery element of this show can sometimes overshadow just how dense it is with jokes. It’s not a whodunnit that’s funny, it’s a comedy about a whodunnit — often overflowing with jokes in every possible nook and cranny, despite its deathly subject matter.
In this episode, Melissa McCarthy brilliantly plays a lonely Long Island housewife with obvious relish that helps make this episode such a banger. At one point she complains that her husband spends all of his time at a place called Can-Cans. When someone asks what Can-Cans is, she replies, nearly breathless with rage, “Hooter’s for butts.” An A+ concept joke.
7. Give your money away, shorties
I know this isn’t technically a phrase but I wanted to write about it because it is great. While accepting an award at the WSJ. Magazine Innovator awards, 23-year-old Grammy-winning singer Billie Eilish called out the billionaires in the room for not sharing their wealth:
We’re in a time right now where the world is really, really bad and really dark and people need empathy and help more than, kind of, ever, especially in our country. I’d say if you have money, it would be great to use it for good things, maybe give it to some people that need it.
Love you all, but there’s a few people in here that have a lot more money than me. If you’re a billionaire, why are you a billionaire? No hate, but give your money away, shorties.
Standing ovation from me. My only note for Ms. Eilish is to omit “no hate,” but she’s young; she’ll get there eventually. People magazine reported that Mark Zuckerberg, who attended the event, did not applaud. Very on brand for him.
Bonus Bits
1. Consider a donation to PanCan this month+
I know with SNAP benefits ending for no good damn reason whatsoever, there are a lot of calls on social and in the news to donate to food banks right now—a move I also highly endorse1.
That PSA aside, I also wanted to highlight that November is Pancreatic Cancer Awareness month. The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCan) encourages people to “shine a light” on this disease by becoming aware of risk factors and advocating for research and early detection measures. I have a friend living with pancreatic cancer and let me tell you, this one is a real asshole. (The cancer, not my friend. She is awesome.)
One day we may have a preventative or a cure for pancreatic cancer, and that can only come through funding scientific research, a concept our current government does not seem to value. Please consider donating to PanCan this month, including a recurring donation if you can swing it. No amount is too small. Thank you!
2. Friend this!
A few weeks ago, the founder of tech wearable Friend flooded NYC transit with ads about the wearable device that listens to everything you do and creates affirming feedback that’s supposed to substitute for human companionship.
Wired.com wrote a review of the device titled “I hate my friend,” and New Yorkers seem to agree.
That’s it for this edition! Remember to keep making it weird and stay furiously curious!
If you weren’t aware, giving money to national and regional food banks like Feeding America or the Chicago Greater Food Depository is a smart move because they can stretch those dollars further by buying in bulk and buying what their recipients need most. Donating money or items (including toiletries) to local food pantries (many of which are supplied by food banks) is also a great idea. Contact your local place to see what’s needed.
My mom is a huge fan of the Cosmic Crisp apples! I do her grocery shopping and the first time they were on her list, I accidentally got Honeycrisp - because not everywhere has the cosmic crisp! I don’t really eat apples, so I was pretty clueless. I have now identified the two local stores that sell the cosmic crisp. She had me get her a bunch of extra ones when my brother and his daughter were visiting from Colorado- and now she has made every family member taste them! LOL (they are pretty good)