mother pipe
n.— «You transport oil and gas by piping them. You know that there is what is called the mother pipe in the oil and gas industry, which is only 30 per cent of the value of the pipe. You buy the pipe and you come here and do what is called threading and coating.» —“Govt’s local content policy working in Onne free zone—Abe” Vanguard (Lagos, Nigeria) Feb. 29, 2008. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
She sells seashells by the seashore. Who is the she in this tongue twister? Some claim it’s the young Mary Anning, who went on to become a famous 19th-century British paleontologist. Dubious perhaps, but the story of her rise from seaside...
Ribbon fall. Gallery forest. You won’t find terms like these in most dictionaries, but they and hundreds like them are discussed by famous writers in the book Home Ground: A Guide to the American Landscape. The book is an intriguing collection...