barbecue stopper
n.— «Is housing affordability the new barbeque stopper? After yesterday’s figures confirming that housing prices are getting further and further out of many people’s reach, moves are gathering pace to set up an inquiry into the issue.» —“Federal Cabinet discussing the problem of housing affordability” by Catherine McGrath Australian Broadcasting Corporation July 29, 2003. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
What’s the origin of the phrase a country mile? Vida from Rochester, New York, says her husband often uses it, as in “go about a country mile and then make a left.” The expression goes back at least 300 years in the United Kingdom and has long meant...
Is there such a thing as a “neutral” accent, and if so what does it sound like? And that quirk in the way southern Californians talk about freeways. They’ll say things like take the 405 and get on the 8. Why the definite article...