carpet grazing
n.— «Once a guilty pleasure of the dinner hour, television is now a shameless suppertime centrepiece as Canadians gather expressly to enjoy their favourite shows—as well as an informal TV-side buffet. “Carpet grazing,” as the food industry calls it, is credited with a sharp rise in the sales of appetizers and party foods, and reaffirming the concept of appointment television.» —“Plain-Jane TV dinner now life of the party” by Misty Harris Edmonton Journal (Alberta, Canada) Mar. 29, 2006. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
A Kentucky listener says her father often prefaced statements with the phrase I tell you what’s the truth. This regionalism appears in the Dictionary of Southern Appalachian English (Bookshop|Amazon). A shorter version is I’ll tell you...
In the 15th century, the word respair meant “to have hope again.” Although this word fell out of use, it’s among dozens collected in a new book of soothing vocabulary for troubled times. Plus, baseball slang: If a batter...