Cindrella syndrome
n.— «Although many of these new rules may not take effect until the last days of the Bush administration or the first days of the next presidency, White House officials say they are the result of a deliberate and patient process, not the “Cinderella syndrome” of rushing to act before the next Inauguration Day.» —“A Legacy Bush Can Control” by John M. Broder in Washington, D.C. New York Times Sept. 9, 2007. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Grace in Abilene, Texas, says her grandmother, who was of German descent, would tell children to stop sulking or pouting with a word that sounded to Grace like “mooksie.” Her grandmother was probably using a form of the German dialectal terms...
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...