big snip
n.— «The choral tradition has seen a preference for male alto voices.…With few volunteers for “the big snip” these days, they also make convenient stand-ins for the castrato voice—all the rage in vocal music of the baroque to early classical era—while lacking the penetration, power and high notes of these neutered men.» —“Classical CDs” Daily Yomiuri Dec. 8, 1998. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
In 1916, a small-town newspaper in Pennsylvania printed a fanciful item about a local gathering with a guest list that included, among others, Miss Ella Vader, Mr. Ray Zor, and other punny names. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of...
Stacey from Chelsea, Massachusetts, says her grandfather, a Russian immigrant who grew up on New York City’s Lower East Side, used to warn his grandkids with what sounded like Don’t be a come-upper after he’d cleaned the apartment. The expression...