old and cold rule
n.— «If you plan to use the vacation home as the relinquished property, do not use it personally for at least two years, and two tax returns. The IRS has adopted what is known as the “old and cold” rule. If you engage in a transaction for the purpose of avoiding the payment of tax, and the transaction occurred more than two years ago, the IRS will generally not pursue the matter.» —“Housing Counsel: IRS Monitoring Starker Exchange” by Benny L. Kass Realty Times May 1, 2006. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
In a sweaty letter to a friend while vacationing on the island of Elba, poet Dylan Thomas wrote colorfully and expressively about a terrible heat wave, complaining that, among other things, “My brains are hanging out like a dog’s tongue...
Sean in New York City is curious about the expression the business end, as in the business end of a gun. It’s simply “the end of an object that fulfills its function or purpose,” such as the business end of a shovel, the business...