rat spill
n.— «But worse than an oil spill, in the view of wildlife biologists working furiously to protect millions of exotic animals, the freighter, if it got close enough, could cause an even greater environmental calamity: a rat spill.…Scientists say they now fear rat spills more than oil spills, which can eventually be cleaned up.» —“In Alaskan Islands, Fearing a Spill That Comes on Legs” by Sarah Kershaw in St. Paul, Alaska New York Times Dec. 28, 2004. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
The word filibuster has a long and colorful history, going back to the days when pirates roamed the high seas. Today it refers to hijacking a piece of legislation. Plus, the language of yoga teachers: When doing a guided meditation, you may hear...
After our conversation about towns with extremely short names, many listeners wrote to tell us about Why, Arizona. Others pointed out that there are towns called Ely in Iowa, Minnesota, and Nevada. Other super-short appellations include Rye, New...