circuit breaker n. a rule or law that puts protective measures in place once a certain level of financial activity has been reached; (specifically) a law that provides tax refunds once a maximum of property taxes have been paid; a rule that shuts down or limits trading action when a stock market’s value or activity changes more than a certain percentage. Editorial Note: In Australia and New Zealand an additional meaning of the term is used, given by the Macquarie Dictionary as “an event, activity, etc., which acts as a distraction from previous preoccupations and tensions.” (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Ron in Gloverville, South Carolina, wonders about the phrase since hatchet was hammer, which some use to mean “for a long period of time,” as in My family has lived here since hatchet was hammer. Another phrase he’s heard indicating the same thing...
A listener named Tami contacted the show by WhatsApp to say that whenever someone would be talking about a subject that nobody else knew anything about, her father-in-law would respond with I had one of those, but the wheels came off. This is part...