hot bed
v. phr.— «While prisoners are out, their cells will be given to other inmates in what is called “hot bedding.” That will allow prison bosses to increase the total number of inmates in the country’s two open prisons from the current 400 to around 475, taking pressure off other overcrowded prisons such as Barlinnie, Greenock, Aberdeen and Inverness.» —“Prisons chief fears ‘week-at-home’ scheme will increase reoffending” by Michael Howie Scotsman (Glasgow, Scotland) May 6, 2006. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
The haunting new novel Clear (Bookshop|Amazon) by Carys Davies is set amid the Scottish Clearances of the 19th century, a relentless program of forced evictions that drove whole communities of tenant farmers off the land. The story concerns a...
Mary Beth in Greenville, South Carolina, wonders: Why do we say four-oh-nine for the number 409 instead of four-zero-nine or four-aught-nine? What are the rules for saying either zero or oh or aught or ought to indicate that arithmetical symbol...