Nuts and Bolts: stripping.

 You didn't think that grammarians are interested in stripping, did you? But they are.

And there's a lot of it about.

The theory of stripping (when you're talking about language) can be complicated, but basically it's an extreme form of gapping, which is missing out a chunk of a sentence because you're already said that bit.

Mary smiles adoringly at babies, and Ann cats.

is saying that Mary smiles adoringly at babies and Ann smiles adoringly at cats. But all that's left of the last bit is a single word. That's stripping.

Would you like to eat, or dance?

Chloe can help Zoe put on her bridesmaid's dress, then Zoe Chloe. 

...which is a rather neat example of stripping while putting the clothes on.

Only grammarians could imagine something like that.

Word To Use Today: stripping. The word strip comes from the Old English bestriepan, which means to plunder.