"You mean ex-wives?"

"I had come here to Tambura for its parasites, the way some people go to Tanzania for its lions or Komodo for its dragons. In New York, where I live, the word parasite doesn't mean much, or at least not much in particular. When I'd tell people there I was studying parasites, some would say, "You mean tapeworms?" and some would say, "You mean ex-wives?" The word is slippery."