shotgun method
v.— «The shotgun method used to be used. The doctor poured a great number of different herbs into a glass on the theory that some of them would do some good.» —“Edwards Was Re-Elected” Lincoln Daily News (Nebraska) June 12, 1916. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
What’s up with ketchup? The shifting history and spelling of the name of this condiment. For centuries, ketchup was a fishy sauce originating in Asia—the tomatoes came only later! Plus, a new book shows what’s lost when a language dies: when there...
Kate in Omaha, Nebraska, wonders about the expression Doctor of Humane Letters, an honorary degree conferred by Creighton University. The words humane and letters in this case mean something slightly different from their modern meanings. The older...