Bean Counter (an accountant)
A "bean counter" (or "bean-counter") is an accountant or someone else who checks numbers (usually financial numbers), as if that person is counting beans.…
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“Spill the beans” (to reveal a secret)
To "spill the beans" means to reveal a secret. "Spill the beans" has been cited in print since at least 1899, when it was cited in horse racing, meaning something similar to…
Softball Question
A "softball question" is a question that is easy to answer. Political candidates usually like softball questions because answering them makes the candidates appear strong and in control.…
“On the same page” (teamwork saying)
To be "on the same page" is for several people to work together for a common goal. The saying possibly originated from the arts. Actors in the theatre must all be on the same page of a…
Five-Second Rule (for food dropped on the floor)
A "five-second rule" (sometimes given as a "three-second rule") holds that if you pick up food within five seconds of it falling to the floor, that food is still safe to eat.…
“The camera looks both ways” (photography adage)
"The camera looks both ways" is a photography adage popularized by the Canadian nature photographer Freeman Patterson. In his book, i>Photography for the Joy of It (1977), Patterson…
Foie-mageddon (foie gras + Armageddon)
The state of California instituted a first-in-the-nation ban on foie gras on July 1, 2012. Foie gras lovers dubbed it "foie-mageddon" (foie gras + Armageddon) by June 2012 as the last…
“Knee-high by the Fourth of July” (corn-growing adage)
"Knee-high on the Fourth of July" is a popular American agricultural saying that has been cited in print since at least 1854. If a corn crop had reached the height of…
“Solo home runs don’t beat you” (baseball adage)
"Solo home runs/homers don't/won't beat/hurt/harm/kill you" is a baseball saying cited in print since at least 1986. A solo home run accounts for only one run, leaves no runners…
Treason magazine (Reason magazine nickname)
Reason magazine was founded in 1968 as an American libertarian monthly. People who believe that Reason no longer represents true libertarian ideals have nicknamed it Treason (or tReason) magazine.…
Beltway (“Inside the Beltway,” Beltway Insider)
Interstate 495 (Capital Beltway) is a 64-mile Interstate Highway that encircles Washington, DC, that was finished in 1964. The terms "iinside the Beltway" and "outside the…
Comstockery
"Comstockery" is a word named after Anthony Comstock (1844-1915), who created the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice in 1873. In 1873, an amendment to the Post Office Act made…
Beltway Bandit
Washington, DC, is encircled by Interstate 495 (Capital Beltway). Many government workers retire on a pension and then set up consulting firms along the Beltway. These highly paid individuals --…
Stato Institute (Cato Institute nickname)
The Cato Institute is a libertarian think tank founded in 1976 and located in Washington, DC. Some critics believe that Cato isn't truly libertarian enough and is too statist, supporting a…
Beltwaytarian
Washington, DC, is surrounded by a highway called the Capital Beltway (Interstate 495). Someone who is "inside the Beltway" is a Washington (or federal government) insider; someone…
“Walk softly and carry a bent stick” (archery adage)
Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919) wrote in January 1900, "I have always been fond of the West African proverb 'Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far.'"…
EuroStash (developing a basketball player in European leagues)
A "EuroStash" (or "Euro stash") is when a National Basketball Association team drafts a player to play in the European leagues (like a minor league baseball farm system) until…
“Hockey players have fire in their hearts and ice in their veins”
"Hockey players have fire in their hearts and ice in their veins" is a saying on many lists of hockey quotations and is one that has been printed on several gift items. The saying has…
“Skiing is the only sport where you can spend an arm and a leg to break an arm and a leg”
"Skiing is the only sport where you can spend an arm and a leg to break an arm and a leg" is a jocular saying about skiing that has been cited in print since at least 1990 and that has…
“Skiing is a dance, and the mountain always leads”
"Skiing is a dance, and the mountain always leads" (or "Skiing is the ultimate dance, and/but the mountain always leads") is a popular skiing saying. Jim Bowden, of Colorado,…