creeping crud
n.— «Mr. Chrapko agrees. He says he has detected a “steady drift towards communism.” Later, he will describe this as “the creeping crud.”» —“An old-fashioned Western meeting—on separating” by Richard Cleroux Globe and Mail (Toronto, Canada) Nov. 24, 1980. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
The Very Hungry Caterpillar (Bookshop|Amazon) had an earlier title: A Week with Willie the Worm. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “The Very Hungry Caterpillar’s First Title” Here’s another book title that didn’t make it, A Week with...
Mary from Greensboro, North Carolina, asks about an expression her Canadian mother used when Mary’s room looked particularly messy: A cow couldn’t find her calf in here! The more common A cow couldn’t find its calf in this room! was popularized by...