babysit
v.— «Some airline industry officials said the proliferation of smaller planes is also a result of airlines’ efforts to protect their slots. In a practice known as “baby-sitting” slots, they are scheduling more frequent flights than they need to certain destinations to ward off competition, the officials said.» —“Agency Seeks New Solution to Congestion at La Guardia” by Patrick McGeehan New York Times Aug. 26, 2006. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Asthenosphere, a geologist’s term for the molten layer beneath the earth’s crust, sparks a journey that stretches all the way from ancient Greece to the author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Plus: What the heck is a dogberg? It’s when...
A young caller from the Hudson Valley of New York wonders about his grandmother’s use of stemwinder to praise a speech she thought was excellent. In the early 1800s, people used pocket watches that had to be wound with a tiny key. Once someone...