jumping visa
n.— «Two Vietnamese detainees escaped from Maribyrnong Detention Centre on Saturday and a third broke his leg trying to jump the fence yesterday. The two scaled the facility’s fence following a volleyball game. “They got a jumping visa,” a detainee said of the term used to describe their escape.» —“Detainees escape centre” by Sarah Smiles The Age (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia) Jan. 13, 2009. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
The words tough, through, and dough all end in O-U-G-H. So why don’t they rhyme? A lively new book addresses the many quirks of English by explaining the history of words and phrases. And: have you ever been in a situation where a group makes...
When there’s no evening meal planned at home, what do you call that scramble to cobble together your own dinner? Some people apply acronyms like YOYO — “you’re on your own” — or CORN, for “Clean Out your Refrigerator...