dead wagon
n.— «Allis, who said he had been without a business for the past seven months, told how he had received an offer of $100 a week from Fay to ride a “dead wagon” distributing cheap milk to grocers served by recalcitrant dealers.» —“Threats on His Life Disclosed by Groat” New York Times Oct. 25, 1929. (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...