center of gravity
n.— «The bread basket, an area of 45 square miles in northeastern Iraq, had been one of Al Qaeda in Iraq’s few remaining “centers of gravity,” as U.S. military commanders termed it—a place the group had fled to once it was forced from Anbar province.» —“After Al Qaeda” by Lennox Samuels Newsweek Jan. 22, 2008. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
When there’s no evening meal planned at home, what do you call that scramble to cobble together your own dinner? Some people apply acronyms like YOYO — “you’re on your own” — or CORN, for “Clean Out your Refrigerator...
A librarian opens a book and finds a mysterious invitation scribbled on the back of a business card. Another discovers a child’s letter to the Tooth Fairy, tucked into a book decades ago. What stories are left untold by these forgotten...