farming one’s insurance
n.— «Other growers and government officials said some of the farmers who started growing sweet potatoes had never grown them before. Others planted in areas known to be wet. Still others didn’t take care of their crops, saving money on fertilizers and other production costs, only to turn around and file insurance claims when their yields were poor—a practice known as “farming your insurance.”» —“Sweet Potato Experience: ‘Farming Your Insurance’” by Gilbert M. Gaul in Whiteville, North Carolina Canton Repository (Ohio) Oct. 15, 2006. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Grant recommends the children’s book Dreams of Green: A Three Kings’ Day Story written by Mariel Jungkunz and illustrated by Mónica Paola Rodriguez (Bookshop|Amazon), about a girl and her family who move from Puerto Rico to Ohio and find ways...
David says that when he was growing up in Akron, Ohio, his family referred to the grassy area between the sidewalk and street as the devil strip. He’s since moved to Nashville, Tennessee, where he doesn’t hear that term. There are lots...