home brew
attrib.— «Dr. Hudis is an adviser to Genomic Health, a California company that sells a similar test called Oncotype DX. Genomic Health operates under federal rules that allow tests developed by and performed in a single laboratory—as opposed to test kits that are widely sold to hospital labs and doctors’ offices—to be offered without F.D.A. approval. These tests are called “home brew” tests. But the F.D.A. said in September that it intended to require approval for certain particularly complex home brew tests—those that examine multiple genes or proteins and use an algorithm to compute a result.» —“Test to Predict Breast Cancer Relapse Is Approved” by Andrew Pollack New York Times Feb. 7, 2007. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Sigrin writes from Albany, New York, that she misheard our earlier conversation about the expression shaving yak hair meaning “performing a monotonous, tedious task.” At first she thought we said shaving gnat hair, which she figures is...
Sean in Oneonta, New York, says that when he was growing up in New Jersey, his family would pile in the car and set off on a surprise adventure, whether a short distance or long, and the kids would be told only that they were going on Buxtehude...