lights-on bill
n.— «If they can’t overturn Pawlenty’s decision, two key lawmakers said the Legislature simply will return what is known as a “lights-on bill,” which would fund the Transportation Department at its most basic levels. “The only alternative we have is sending a lights-on bill,” Rep. Bernie Lieder, DFL-Thief River Falls, said on Tuesday. “And we’re ready to do that.”» —“Is it now ’lights out’ for the transportation funding plan?” by Mike Longaecker in St. Paul West Central Tribune (Willmar, Minnesota) May 16, 2007. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Aaron in Los Angeles, California, notes while using public transit in Britain he and other passengers were instructed to alight from the front, meaning “exit the car from the front.” Alight comes from an Old English word alihtan, literally, to...
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