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
A Kentucky listener says her father often prefaced statements with the phrase I tell you what’s the truth. This regionalism appears in the Dictionary of Southern Appalachian English (Bookshop|Amazon). A shorter version is I’ll tell you...
In the 15th century, the word respair meant “to have hope again.” Although this word fell out of use, it’s among dozens collected in a new book of soothing vocabulary for troubled times. Plus, baseball slang: If a batter...