Oriana, a biochemistry professor in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, uses aliquot for a chemical solution divided into equal portions. The verb works for the dividing, and the noun for each portion, whether it’s sodium chloride in a lab or, more loosely...
blue-bird n.— «Her quota production is correct, but since she was the first salesperson in the company, she got a lot of “blue-bird” sales that came to her because she was the first, and for a while, the only salesperson in the company» —by Tony...
self-licking ice cream cone n.— «Analysts are concerned not with a policy audience, but with the readership among their peers in the intelligence community and with fulfilling their quota of reports and assessments. Despite an elaborate...
tuna laundering n.— «Despite international quotas, the appetite for bluefin tuna is so insatiable that in the Mediterranean it is on the verge of extinction, according to the World Wildlife Fund. To curb quota violations and what the industry calls...
creamy layer n. (in India) the wealthiest citizens in the lowest castes. Editorial Note: This term has come about because of discussions about assigning quotas, or reservations, for certain jobs to guarantee that they are given to individuals in...
creamy layer n.— «The court said the “creamy layer” of the affluent among lower castes should not benefit from reservations but rejected the economic criterion in blocking the 10 percent quota Rao had set apart for the poor among upper castes.» —in...