half-a-loaf
n.— «If you already have a prepaid funeral, you would be able to do a “half-a-loaf.” The “half-a-loaf” is a method of gifting where you give away half of your assets and keep one-half to pay for the disqualification period for having given the other half away. Timing is critical in doing the “half-a-loaf” and if you wait too long, the only other option would be to give the proceeds to the nursing home.» —“Life Insurance and Medicaid” by Ronald H. Surabian Elder Law Center (Saugus, Massachusetts) Oct. 28, 2004. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
In the 15th century, the word respair meant “to have hope again.” Although this word fell out of use, it’s among dozens collected in a new book of soothing vocabulary for troubled times. Plus, baseball slang: If a batter...
The term skycap for workers who help with luggage at an airport was coined by analogy with redcap, a term for porters on trains who wore red caps. Skycap was the winning entry in a contest. Another contest, held in 1923, gave us the word scofflaw, a...