circuit breaker
n.— «The same kind of proposal is offered for property taxes, with a special commission endorsement of the “circuit breaker” provision of Wisconsin and Minnesota laws that give low-income elderly homeowners and renters credits against income taxes or outright refunds for sizable portions of the taxes they pay for shelter.» —“Income Tax Rise Urged On States” in Washington, D.C. New York Times Feb. 12, 1969. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
The word filibuster has a long and colorful history, going back to the days when pirates roamed the high seas. Today it refers to hijacking a piece of legislation. Plus, the language of yoga teachers: When doing a guided meditation, you may hear...
After our conversation about towns with extremely short names, many listeners wrote to tell us about Why, Arizona. Others pointed out that there are towns called Ely in Iowa, Minnesota, and Nevada. Other super-short appellations include Rye, New...