shock probation
n.— «A state district judge in Texas on Thursday revoked Taylor’s probation from a state felony drug possession charge, sentencing him to two years in jail. She then suspended the sentence for five years under a process called “shock probation,” sending Taylor to jail for five months. He will remain on probation after his release.» —“Idlette, a former Deacon, indicted on rape charge” Winston-Salem Journal (North Carolina) Feb. 16, 2008. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
It was a dark and stormy night. So begins the long and increasingly convoluted prose of Edwards Bulwer-Lytton’s best-known novel. Today the annual Bulwer-Lytton Contest asks contestants for fanciful first sentences that are similarly...
The words tough, through, and dough all end in O-U-G-H. So why don’t they rhyme? A lively new book addresses the many quirks of English by explaining the history of words and phrases. And: have you ever been in a situation where a group makes...