A ham-and-egger job, meaning a weak effort or a dud, comes from boxing, where a ham-and-egger fighter doesn’t have much fight in him, it’s just someone doing it to earn a meal. The idiom goes as far back as at least 1918, when it showed up in a U.S...
pian-a-thon n.—Gloss: a marathon session of piano-playing, usually as a celebration or fund-raiser. «Enthused by the Department of Music’s recent purchase of 32 Steinway pianos and its designation as an all-Steinway school, they’ll perform for 32...
late train n.— «Within a month after Clements lost, Mark White, the victor, held a series of “get on board the late train” fund-raisers that produced $3 million from many of the original Clements backers.» —“Economic Ills Strain Alliance Of Oilmen...
late train n.— «All aboard! Houston Mayor Lee Brown’s late train chugs out on Feb. 3 at the Westin Galleria Hotel. It’s a fund-raiser for Brown’s campaign. Anyone who didn’t contribute the maximum amount to Brown’s coffers can curry political...
