snooker clause
n.— «It is called a “snooker clause” in legislative parlance—a last-minute insert into a dense and hurried midnight bill that, if ever disclosed after passage, always leaves legislators shocked, shocked at how such an undemocratic bit of mischief ever came to be.» —“Snookering the Taxpayers” New York Times Nov. 24, 2004. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
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It’s hard to imagine now, but there was a time when people disagreed over the best word to use when answering the phone. Alexander Graham Bell suggested answering with ahoy! but Thomas Edison was partial to hello! A fascinating new book about...