lights-on bill
n.— «If they can’t overturn Pawlenty’s decision, two key lawmakers said the Legislature simply will return what is known as a “lights-on bill,” which would fund the Transportation Department at its most basic levels. “The only alternative we have is sending a lights-on bill,” Rep. Bernie Lieder, DFL-Thief River Falls, said on Tuesday. “And we’re ready to do that.”» —“Is it now ’lights out’ for the transportation funding plan?” by Mike Longaecker in St. Paul West Central Tribune (Willmar, Minnesota) May 16, 2007. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
A stereotype is a preconceived notion about a person or group. Originally, though, the word stereotype referred to a printing device used to produce lots of identical copies. • The link between tiny mythical creatures called trolls and modern-day...
Is there such a thing as a “neutral” accent, and if so what does it sound like? And that quirk in the way southern Californians talk about freeways. They’ll say things like take the 405 and get on the 8. Why the definite article...