backyard syndrome
n.— «The early-March snowstorm that creamed the Eastern seaboard largely missed Vermont’s big skiing areas. But resort operators were delighted nevertheless, because the storm whetted the appetite of all those coastal skiers. The industry calls it the “backyard syndrome,” and it can either feed or starve the sport in a given year. The backyard syndrome stipulates that if you can’t see snow in your backyard, you won’t think of going skiing, whatever the economy.» —“America’s Ski Resorts: Saved by the Snow” by Sean Gregory Time Mar. 4, 2009. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Samantha Harvey’s novel Orbital is a sensuous, exhilarating meditation about the strangeness of life on a space station, with its mix of tedious tasks and jaw-dropping views. And: a musician who rode the rails in his youth shares the slang he...
Jim in Columbia, South Carolina, has noticed sportscasters’ use of the phrase on the season with reference to a period of time. This construction shows up in the sports pages as early as the 1880s, first referring to a team’s revenue and...