self-licking ice-cream cone
n.— «However disappointing Colin Powell’s knee-jerk saluting of the commander-in-chief, at least Powell had been around and knew something of the world. (Rumsfeld, of course, is good riddance.) But what you now have around the president is what we call, in intelligence parlance, a self-licking ice-cream cone.» —“Why the Iraq Study Group Won’t Get Us Out of Iraq” by Ray McGovern Counterpunch Nov. 14, 2006. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
A caller from Russia wonders about the English idiom can’t walk and chew gum at the same time. What’s so hard about walking and chewing gum? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Walk and Chew Gum at the Same Time” Hello, you have A Way...
Debbie from Memphis, Tennessee, grew up in Arkansas, where she learned the term trade-last, which refers to “a quoted compliment offered in return for the recipient first offering one to the speaker.” Although those from the American South may...