helicopter research
n.— «I made them a promise that we weren’t going to practice what is known as “helicopter research,” where you go into a community, get your research data, publish a paper and walk away.» —“Two hospitals work with Senecas” by Don Glynn Niagara Gazette (New York) Apr. 11, 2007. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Twice a day the River Thames recedes, revealing a muddy shoreline. Hobbyists known as mudlarks stroll the surface searching for objects that have found their way into the river over the centuries, everything from ancient Roman jewelry to modern...
Many of us struggled with the Old English poem “Beowulf” in high school. But what if you could actually hear “Beowulf” in the English of today? There’s a new translation by Maria Dahvana Headley that uses contemporary...