backdoor pilot
n.— «The episode will serve as what is known as a “backdoor pilot” for the spinoff, which would be exec-produced by “Grey’s” creator Shonda Rhimes.» —“A special delivery on ‘Grey’s Anatomy’: It’s a pilot” by Lisa de Morae Los Angeles Times Feb. 23, 2007. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Aaron in Los Angeles, California, notes while using public transit in Britain he and other passengers were instructed to alight from the front, meaning “exit the car from the front.” Alight comes from an Old English word alihtan, literally, to...
People who hunt treasure with metal detectors have a lingo all their own. Canslaw means the shreds of aluminum cans left after a lawnmower ran over them. And gold dance? That’s the happy jig you do if you find something far more valuable than...