sand spur
n.— «In personality profiles newspapers use what some refer to as “sand spurs,” referring to little foibles of the person that show him or her as real, rather than just the subject of PR flackery. In Troutman’s case, instead of a “sand spur” he might say it is more like a 3-inch thorn from his very first bill in the Legislature.» —“Learning Grandfather’s Lessons Well” by Bill Rufty The Ledger (Lakeland, Florida) Mar. 24, 2008. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
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