late train
n.— «All aboard! Houston Mayor Lee Brown’s late train chugs out on Feb. 3 at the Westin Galleria Hotel. It’s a fund-raiser for Brown’s campaign. Anyone who didn’t contribute the maximum amount to Brown’s coffers can curry political favor—or just show support and admiration—by tossing in some bucks now. That includes people who backed Rob Mosbacher and now don’t want to lose their clout totally because of their stake in City Hall policies, politics or contracts. In the campaign business, it’s called a “late train” fund-raiser.» —“Most action in the primary is on Republican side of the ballot” Houston Chronicle (Texas) Jan. 9, 1998. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
The admonition Don’t Mess with Texas may sound like a tough guy’s warning, but it started out as an anti-littering slogan more than 40 years ago. In the 1980s, the Texas Department of Transportation launched the campaign to cut roadside litter that...
The expression to run the traps means “to perform due diligence” or “solicit a wide variety of opinions” or “investigate every angle thoroughly.” This metaphor derives from the literal sense of running the traps, which refers to hunting and fishing...