Reagan’s Bind
n.— «“Reagan’s Bind” describes the conundrum in which one is unable to explain or defend one’s actions except by ascribing them to either: A) malicious intent; or B) glaring stupidity and/or incompetence. To be caught in Reagan’s Bind is like being pinned in wrestling, or checkmated in chess. Actually, in terms of chess, it’s a bit more like realizing that the knight placing your king in check is simultaneously threatening your queen.» —“Reagan’s Bind” by Fred Clark Slacktivist Dec. 12, 2003. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
It was a dark and stormy night. So begins the long and increasingly convoluted prose of Edwards Bulwer-Lytton’s best-known novel. Today the annual Bulwer-Lytton Contest asks contestants for fanciful first sentences that are similarly...
After hearing our conversation about how dictionaries decide on a preferred pronunciation, and specifically about how to pronounce aioli, Vern from San Diego, California, wrote to say that a friend once made fun of him for pronouncing grimace with a...