three plastic animals rule n. the legal determination that secular symbols in a government-sponsored year-end seasonal display (such as a Nativity scene) can mark it as not endorsing a specific religion or religion in general. Editorial Note: Two relevant Supreme Court cases are Lynch v. Donnelly (1984) and County of Allegheny v. ACLU (1989). Generally, such cases are related to maintaining the separation of Church and State. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
When a teenager went a week without talking as part of a school project, he noticed a surprising side effect: Instead of rehearsing a response to what other people were saying to him, he was focused on listening — and feeling smarter as a result...
The expression to run the traps means “to perform due diligence” or “solicit a wide variety of opinions” or “investigate every angle thoroughly.” This metaphor derives from the literal sense of running the traps, which refers to hunting and fishing...