bleed the beast
v. phr.— «In the polygamous community of Colorado City, a practice known as “bleeding the beast” is allegedly taking place. Activist for victims of Polygamy, Flora Jessop, who alerted authorities to the polygamist prophet Warren Jeffs’ move to Texas, says city officials are taking in large sums of federal money and then using that money to fund things that the government never intended to fund.» —“Jessop: Colorado City squandering federal funds” by Mike Watkiss KTVK-TV (Phoenix, Ariz.) Feb. 10, 2006. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
The words tough, through, and dough all end in O-U-G-H. So why don’t they rhyme? A lively new book addresses the many quirks of English by explaining the history of words and phrases. And: have you ever been in a situation where a group makes...
When there’s no evening meal planned at home, what do you call that scramble to cobble together your own dinner? Some people apply acronyms like YOYO — “you’re on your own” — or CORN, for “Clean Out your Refrigerator...