sausage boom
n.— «Containment booms, which prevent oil from floating free on the surface, and sausage booms, which are stuffed with absorbent material to soak oil from the water, are being used around the ship, and near shore.» —“Oil spill total reduced in R.I. as probes widen” by Matthew Brelis, William P. Coughlin in Newport, Rhode Island Boston Globe (Massachusetts) June 26, 1989. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
In 1971, when a new public library opened in Troy, Michigan, famous authors and artists were invited to write letters to the city’s youngest readers, extolling the many benefits of libraries. One of the loveliest was from E.B. White, author of...
What exactly is a planet? Controversy over this question led to Pluto’s redefinition, along with a brand-new English word. And: Some people now use the phrase all the things! to mean and whatnot or you know what I mean. This new sense of all...