rubber room
n.— «He cites the process in New York city, where the best they can do with teachers that are incompetent, violent or sex offenders is to put them in what is called a “rubber room,” a segregated space where they do no work all day while still getting full pay because the process for dismissal takes years.» —“Do not believe everything that you’re told” by John Christie Kennebec Journal (Augusta, Maine) July 2, 2006. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Nancy Gabriel from Ithaca, New York, recalls her father’s no-nonsense responses to minor injuries when she was a child: After making sure she was really all right, he’d say, It’s far enough from your heart; it won’t kill you. Other times he might...
Amir from Chicago, Illinois, grew up hearing the word brolic, meaning “extremely muscular, physically imposing” from his father, who grew up in the Farragut Projects in Brooklyn. The word has clear New York City roots, with an early notable...