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
Language is always evolving, and that’s also true for American Sign Language. A century ago, the sign for “telephone” was one fist below your mouth and the other at your ear, as if you’re holding an old-fashioned candlestick...
A listener in Unadilla, New York, says her husband, whose family is French-Canadian, uses the phrase That burns my onions when something irritates him. There are several kitchen-related metaphors used to express anger, including that steams my...