Though he didn't gussy up his music, he knew how to keep people engrossed all the same: A master of stride and boogie and bebop, he'd string his listeners along just by dancing around the theme, and then at just the right moment, he'd lower the boom, delivering a line so dazzlingly improbable that the common response was a gasp.

NPR: A Jazz Genius Goofs Off

The feature is nice to have, especially if you somehow manage to bust the boom mic somewhere along the line.

ENGADGET: Tritton Warhead 7.1 Wireless Surround Sound Headset for Xbox 360 review

Elsewhere another boom was set up as a second line of defense.

NPR: Oil Leak: Miss. River At Vicksburg Remains Closed

The demolition of the Third Avenue Elevated subway line set off a building boom and a white-collar influx, most notably of young educated women who suddenly found themselves free of family, opprobrium, and, thanks to birth control, the problem of sexual consequence.

NEWYORKER: Looking for Someone

The Scottish government followed it up by releasing analysis in which it said Scotland could be in line for a "renewed oil boom".

BBC: Nicola Sturgeon

Once seen as the next dragon in Asia's long line of miracle stories, Vietnam seemed ready to boom in the late 1980s.

CNN: Stops and Starts

This, they hope, will enable it to cash in on the boom now being enjoyed by Kashgar, 490km along the new line to the north-west.

ECONOMIST: Xinjiang

The line-up was completed by guitarist Del Marquis (Derek Gruen) and drummer Paddy Boom (Patrick Seacor) - the only straight man in the group.

BBC: The Scissor Sisters at the Brit Awards

Political stability, a young well educated population and the rise of Asia as an economic dynamo have created a boom in one of the largest Muslim countries in the world, which also sits on the fault line between two continents.

BBC: Could airport hub capacity see UK lose out to rivals?