Blunkett
n.— «My best friend has been with her boyfriend for over two years and when she lightly dropped a hint of something more permanent in the New Year, he freaked. She is now back on the singles market. After all that investment—emotional, physical, even material. So I’m coining a new phrase for the pre-Christmas break up—it’s called a Blunkett. Everyone I know is having a Blunkett. The tears, the regret …Now, the worst thing about a Blunkett is not only that you hit the Christmas parties flying solo. You also need to start planning early to avoid a truly miserable New Year’s Eve.» —“Welcome to the restive season” by Xanadu Times (U.K.) Dec. 20, 2004. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Susan from Virginia Beach, Virginia, shares the phrase her mother used when the kids refused to eat: It’ll grow hair on your back teeth. This supposed motivator likely blends two older traditions: a German idiom, Haare auf den Zähnen haben...
Why do speakers of the same language have different accents? A lively new book called Why We Talk Funny offers a linguist’s look at how and why accents develop. And: If you’ve “stood up” at a wedding, were you supporting the marriage or objecting to...