cathedral thinking
n.— «Rogers described how he has embraced something called “cathedral thinking” and he was calling on the valley to join him. I cringed at first mention of the term, worried that he was going to digress into some awkward religious metaphor. Instead, Rogers talked about a recent visit he’d made to Europe where he visited a number of the great cathedrals. It struck him that the person who often envisioned these great buildings didn’t live to see them built. Instead, they articulated a powerful vision that galvanized people to work on something that took generations to realize.» —“We need some old world thinking” by Chris O’Brien San Jose Mercury News (California) May 25, 2008. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Wendy from Falls Church, Virginia, asks about a gesture corresponding to the exclamation Shame, shame! that involves scraping one index finger over the other, almost as if peeling a carrot. A German name for a similar gesture actually translates as...
Why does the term vegetarian cause so much confusion? Some people assume it means avoiding red meat but still eating chicken. And is there a term for a vegetarian who also eats fish and poultry? Plus, screwball comedies from the 1930s mix slapstick...