Again and yet again the voice says you are at the head of the queue - by now you have spilt your coffee and the cat has been kicked away from under the table.

BBC: THE UNANSWERED CALL

Whether it's a dad joining conference calls by cellphone during the family vacation, teenagers texting under the table or moms checking Facebook from the soccer sidelines, technology intrudes upon family life in most American homes.

WSJ: When Twittering Gets in the Way of Real Life

Beachface dewatering: a technique whereby water is continuously pumped away from the beachface, thereby lowering the water table under the beach.

UNESCO: L O S S A R Y

It is hard now to believe that in 1902 a tiger was shot under the billiard table (that the big cat emerged from a circus rather than virgin rain-forest, and was shot by a school headmaster, makes the story no less exotic).

ECONOMIST: Pukkah hotels

One day, not long after she had endured yet another session under the surgeon's knife, he took a mirror from her dressing table and thrust it in front of her face to reflect the livid scars and the bruising under her eyes.

CNN: Books - Excerpt: 'Flint'

They knew where it was coming from, but do you think we ever slid a reporter information under the table that undercut the opposition?

FORBES: In Defense of Burson-Marsteller, Sort Of

Most significant to the street changers: an increase in how much foreign currency individuals traveling abroad can buy legally from banks, a move that would threaten their substantial under-the-table business.

CNN: A Message To Investors

When our cameras inevitably emerged from our purses to capture the moment, our young guide quickly placed his glass of Efes on the ground under the table.

FORBES: The 'Fakey-Fakey' Lives Of The Social-Networked Society

But even acclaim from a chef couldn't compare with what else was happening at the table: Three kids, all under the age of 10, had tried the mussels.

NPR: Mussels Made Easy