Bradley effect
n.— «In Virginia, “I think a lot of people cast their votes on race, and it’s something that’s not easily measured by polls,” said pollster Brad Coker. “People are not going to freely admit they’re racists to strangers.” The theory even has a name: “The Bradley effect,” for Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley, a black Democrat who led in the polls in his 1982 race for governor only to lose narrowly to his white opponent, George Deukmejian.» —“Election Poll Problems: Did Some Voters Lie?” by Gary Langer in New York Associated Press Nov. 8, 1989. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Lucy in Louisa, Virginia, recalls that if her mother was exasperated when the kids were misbehaving, she’d announce I’m going to put you both in a wet paper bag and see who falls out first! This is part of a complete episode.
Related
Rose in Lebanon, Virginia recalls a phrase passed down from her great-grandmother: The night before the first day of school, parents would come into the children’s bedroom and say in a singsong voice: School butter, school butter. This...