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
Sara in Madison, Wisconsin, was reading an old edition of The Joy of Cooking and came across a recipe that described a cake’s ingredients as earrings for an elephant. She couldn’t discern whether the authors meant that was a good thing...
Sean in Oneonta, New York, says that when he was growing up in New Jersey, his family would pile in the car and set off on a surprise adventure, whether a short distance or long, and the kids would be told only that they were going on Buxtehude...