cat funds
n.pl.— Note: “Cat” is short for “catastrophe.” «A ticking countdown to hurricane season will color Washington this week, when state officials overseeing these so-called “cat funds” will meet with lawmakers drafting the legislation. The timing is critical for several of these states, whose public funds are running on empty.» —“Fla. finds state allies in renewed push for federal hurricane insurance help” by Evan Lehmann New York Times April 21, 2009. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Sure, there’s winter, spring, summer, and fall. But the seasons in between have even more poetic names. In Alaska, greenup describes a sudden, dramatic burst of green after a long, dark winter. And there are many, many terms for a cold snap...
Responding to our discussion about thin places, those spots where the boundary between this world and other realities seems narrow or permeable, a listener in Kirkland, Washington, sent us some eloquent thoughts about her own experiences of that...