widow
n.— «Every senior official at the Holy See has a close group of collaborators whom he tries to take care of as best possible before he takes his leave. In common parlance, these are referred to as “widows.” The most famous, of course, are the gang of four aides to Giovanni Benelli who were quickly moved up the rungs before the Great Sostituto’s departure for Florence in 1974, a group known collectively as “the widows of Benelli.» —“And Now, Equal Time” by Rocco Whispers in the Loggia Feb. 8, 2005. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, a word-pecker is “a person who trifles or plays with, or quibbles over, words.” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Word-Peckers” I always love it when I’m looking through...
How do dictionaries define colors? And why are some of those definitions so confusing, like “stronger than carmine” and “bluer than fiesta”? Dictionary editor Kory Stamper explains it all in her new book. Plus, the story behind the expression more...