rice bowl
n.— «To be sure, there remain hotbeds—maybe “rice bowls” is more apt—of interest in IED and IPS in and out of the Navy.…Several government officials conclude that Secretary Danzig’s corporate approach cannot work unless the service overcomes its penchant for rice bowls, and a single agency has the responsibility and authority to make decisions and allocate resources.» —“Where is the all-electric Navy?” by Scott C. Truver United States Naval Institute: Proceedings Oct. 1, 2001. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, a word-pecker is “a person who trifles or plays with, or quibbles over, words.” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Word-Peckers” I always love it when I’m looking through...
How do dictionaries define colors? And why are some of those definitions so confusing, like “stronger than carmine” and “bluer than fiesta”? Dictionary editor Kory Stamper explains it all in her new book. Plus, the story behind the expression more...