roadblock
n.— «The great advantage Reagan enjoys is the three-network whammy, what Matthews calls a “roadblock.” When Reagan speaks on all three networks at once, he is making it very difficult for viewers to avoid him, but the Democrats rarely enjoy this advantage when they finally get air time to make their responses.» —“Panning The Reagan Show TV Privileges Abroad, House Democrats Charge On the Air” by Tom Shales Washington Post Oct. 3, 1984. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
A Kentucky listener says her father often prefaced statements with the phrase I tell you what’s the truth. This regionalism appears in the Dictionary of Southern Appalachian English (Bookshop|Amazon). A shorter version is I’ll tell you...
In the 15th century, the word respair meant “to have hope again.” Although this word fell out of use, it’s among dozens collected in a new book of soothing vocabulary for troubled times. Plus, baseball slang: If a batter...