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
The proverb when in Rome, do as the Romans do suggests one should respect local customs and traditions, but also more generally that sometimes it’s better to go along with a group’s consensus than resist and make a fuss. But why in Rome and not in...
Diane, a bridge player from Wilmington, North Carolina, asks about sitting with the bathtub, a phrase her friend uses for a lopsided game where one pair keeps getting the good cards. The phrase appears in newspaper columns about bridge starting in...