brownout
n.— «The San Francisco Fire Department, with the OK of Mayor Gavin Newsom, has been taking certain engines and trucks out of service on a rotating basis since last summer. The “brownouts,” as they’re called, save money on staffing costs. If there aren’t enough people to staff the rigs on regular duty, brownouts are enacted to reduce the need to call firefighters in on costly overtime.» —“Firefighters hot about brownouts” by Rachel Gordon San Francisco Chronicle Mar. 11, 2005. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
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