war baby
n.— «As predicted, hemp proved little more than a “war baby,” a term for an industry wholly dependent on the peculiar economics of wartime. The Lexington mill closed in 1945.» —“Hemp once grown around Lexington to support war” by Bill Steinbacher-Kemp Pantagraph.com (Bloomington, Illinois) June 23, 2007. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Brian from Lafayette, Indiana, wonders why chicken is abbreviated CHX in the restaurant industry. Using X as a substitute or shortener has a long history. Medieval scribes sometimes drew a line through the final stroke of an abbreviated word. This...
In 1916, a small-town newspaper in Pennsylvania printed a fanciful item about a local gathering with a guest list that included, among others, Miss Ella Vader, Mr. Ray Zor, and other punny names. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of...