self-licking ice cream cone
n.— «The “self-licking ice cream cone” that is the Congress of the United States prevents the closure of redundant factories and is satisfied by minor reforms, such as procuring a few items “off the shelf.”» —by Stephen B. Wickman in National War College The Emotional Base Of America’s Military-Industrial Complex (Washington, D.C.) Apr. 24, 2003. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
If you speak a second or third language, you may remember the first time you dreamed in that new tongue. But does this milestone mean you’re actually fluent? And a couple’s dispute over the word regret: Say you wish you’d been able...
A flashlight doesn’t flash. It provides a steady beam of light. So why is it called a flashlight? The earliest versions lit up only briefly before the batteries gave out and required a recharge, so they were literally “flash lights...