creeping crud
n.— «Ms. Camp charged that this “creeping crud of a policy” is having a negative effect on women’s health, child health care programs and other health operations.» —“Population Fund Cut May Increase Abortions, Maternal Deaths” by Randolph E. Schmid in Washington, D.C. Associated Press Nov. 12, 1987. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Many of us struggled with the Old English poem “Beowulf” in high school. But what if you could actually hear “Beowulf” in the English of today? There’s a new translation by Maria Dahvana Headley that uses contemporary...
Have you ever googled your own name and found someone else who goes by the very same moniker? There’s a word for that: googleganger. Plus, the language of hobbyists and enthusiasts: If you’re a beekeeper, perhaps you call yourself a...