self-licking ice cream cone
n.— «This is the “self-licking ice cream cone” approach to analyzing results of experiments or exercises: decide what result you want to achieve and then build an event to meet success. This approach, however, does not provide the Army with an accurate assessment of the hypothesis being tested and is therefore flawed.» —by Williamson Murray Army Transformation: A View From The U.S. Army War College July, 2001. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
John in Omaha, Nebraska, wonders about a phrase that encourages someone to attend an event or risk being left out or feeling uncool: be there or be square. Don’t fall for the fake etymology about people wearing boxes on their heads! Ditto for...
Cat hair may be something you brush off, but cat hair is also a slang term that means “money.” In the same way, cat beer isn’t alcoholic — some people use cat beer as a joking term for “milk.” And imagine walking on a...