rat
n.— «State officials who are seeking to find pork-filled amendments say they are currently on “rat patrol.” Legislators sometimes disagree whether a bill is a rat or simply represents an effort to help someone who has been genuinely wronged by the system.» —“Special deals have some legislators on ‘rat’ patrol” by Christopher Keating Hartford Courant (Conn.) June 13, 1993. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Advice about college essays from the winner of a top prize for children’s literature: Kelly Barnhill encourages teens to write about experiences that are uniquely their own, from a point of view that is theirs and no one else’s. Plus, why do we say...
While compiling the Oxford English Dictionary, lexicographer James Murray exchanged hundreds of letters a week with authors, advisors, and volunteer researchers. A new collection online lets you eavesdrop on discussions about which words should be...