black spider memo
n.— «The notes, mostly hand-written, are known to recipients as the “black spider” memos in which Charles enthusiastically details his beliefs on particular political topics, using lots of underlining and exclamation marks. His aides have strongly defended his right to correspond with ministers, asserting that it is “part of his role” as King-in-waiting to represent to the Government views that might otherwise not be heard.» —“Ministers bombarded by his ‘black spider’ memos” by George Jones, Brendan Carlin Telegraph (U.K.) Feb. 22, 2006. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
A lifeguard in Central Florida is perplexed when his fellow lifeguards indicate they’ve heard a radio transmission by responding with a phrase like Tower Two copies rather than Tower Two, copy. Which is correct? They both are. The word copy in radio...
Roderick in Jacksonville, Florida, says patients in his cardiac electrophysiology practice often look at the tangle of EKG wires on their chests and joke that now they’re wired for sound. What’s the origin of this phrase? Although to wire meaning...