grow teeth
v. phr.— «If the law grows teeth, either by the power of taxation or by outlawing home taping, it could curtail the sale and import of cassette recorders and parts for their repair, thus bringing this rapidly growing field to a virtual halt.» —“Sound; Home Taping. The Legal Issue Comes To A Boil” by Hans Fantel New York Times Aug. 29, 1982. (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...