dollar-a-year man
n.— «Before his death in 1955, the Pictou-born man was one of the country’s top corporate lawyers, known for driving around the streets of Halifax in the city’s first Rolls-Royce limousine. During the Second World War, Mr. Stewart was in charge of the country’s coal supplies, working for the federal government as what was known as a dollar-a-year man.» —“A pioneer remembered” by Chris Lambie Chronicle Herald (Halifax, Nova Scotia) July 1, 2008. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
The words tough, through, and dough all end in O-U-G-H. So why don’t they rhyme? A lively new book addresses the many quirks of English by explaining the history of words and phrases. And: have you ever been in a situation where a group makes...
A librarian opens a book and finds a mysterious invitation scribbled on the back of a business card. Another discovers a child’s letter to the Tooth Fairy, tucked into a book decades ago. What stories are left untold by these forgotten...