witness post
n.— «In recent years the state of Louisiana has embarked on the grueling process of improving its infrastructure maps. People trudge through marshes looking for so-called witness posts, aboveground markers for pipelines. After one such study, notes Roland Guidry, Louisiana’s oil-spill coordinator, “some of the companies were flabbergasted that their pipelines were over a quarter of a mile off from where they thought.”» —“The next energy crisis” by Nicholas Varchaver Fortune/CNNMoney Aug. 2, 2007. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Rod in Alexandria, Louisiana, says that in his real estate business, cut to the chase means to “get to the bottom line.” In the early days of the movie industry, when a sagging plot could be livened up by cutting directly to an exciting...
National Book Award winner Barry Lopez had wise advice for young writers. First, read widely and follow your curiosity. Second, travel or learn a foreign language. And third, find out what you truly believe, because if you’re not writing from...