operation nose peg
n.— «Election 2005 has been dubbed “operation nose peg”: an electorate sniffy about rewarding Prime Minister Tony Blair’s support for the Iraq War, but not all that impressed with the alternative. Journalist Polly Toynbee coined the phrase, and it has spread like wildfire through the blogosphere.» —“All aboard for Operation Nose Peg” by Elisabeth Lopez The Age (Sydney, Australia) May 5, 2005. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Jim in Columbia, South Carolina, has noticed sportscasters’ use of the phrase on the season with reference to a period of time. This construction shows up in the sports pages as early as the 1880s, first referring to a team’s revenue and...
The slang phrase someone ate and left no crumbs means the person did something really well. In a previous call, a listener who works in theater noted the use of ate to mean “did something well,” as in they really ate that haircut! This...