old man’s friend
n.— «Pneumonia was even called the old man’s friend. Infectious diseases with their usually gentle dying process provided the major cause of death until antibiotics were discovered.» —“Society should accept that euthanasia is a ‘personal decision,’ report says” by Roger Dobson British Medical Journal (U.K.) Feb. 22, 2003. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
She sells seashells by the seashore. Who is the she in this tongue twister? Some claim it’s the young Mary Anning, who went on to become a famous 19th-century British paleontologist. Dubious perhaps, but the story of her rise from seaside...
A hundred years ago, suffragists lobbied to win women the right to vote. Linguistically speaking, though, suffrage isn’t about “suffering.” It’s from a Latin word that involves voting. Plus: military cadences often include...