retail jail
n.— «In a recent story about Home Office plans to ease the burden on police by creating so-called “retail jails” in shopping centres, the phrase “custody suites” was used. I’ve heard of bridal suites, a three-piece suite even, but custody suites? I think most people associate the word suite with a certain amount of comfort, luxury even. Perhaps would-be criminals have also heard about these suites, and want to find out for themselves if they’re actually as nice as they sound.» —“In a manner of speaking, we’re in danger of talking utter gibberish” by Chris Bond Yorkshire Post (United Kingdom) Apr. 2, 2007. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Sure, there’s winter, spring, summer, and fall. But the seasons in between have even more poetic names. In Alaska, greenup describes a sudden, dramatic burst of green after a long, dark winter. And there are many, many terms for a cold snap...
Melissa in Charlotte, North Carolina, remembers her grandfather would describe something excellent as better than snuff, but not near as dusty. The snuff in this case refers to finely ground smokeless tobacco. It arose at a time when snuff was...