bubble under the lino
n.— «Senator CROSSIN—Perhaps you had better let A-G’s know. That might be just a dent in the whole-of-government strategy that is not quite working this week. Mr Vaughan—It might be a bubble under the lino.» —“Estimates” by Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee Official Committee Hansard (Canberra, Australia) Feb. 15, 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...
The new Downton Abbey movie is a luscious treat for fans of the public-television period piece, but how accurate is the script when it comes to the vocabulary of the early 20th century? It may be jarring to hear the word swag, but it was already at...