Tall is small only at poorly equipped Starbucks. My regular order is a double short non-fat latte. It irks me on business trips away from Seattle finding stores that don't even have small cups, and I have to tell the barista to use a tall but only fill it part way with milk.

Ah me, life is hard. But upon I reading this Slate article, although having not read the Fish opinion, I suggest Slate solicit Fish to be a regular contributor. It sounds like his writing style would fit well.