wire brush treatment
n.— «His “snowflake memos” are notorious within the Pentagon, as is his combative style of debating and discussing issues. Civilians and military personnel refer to it as getting “the wire brush treatment.”» —“Rumsfeld Staying Put” by Tom Bevan Yahoo! News Apr. 19, 2006. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
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...
The edge of the Grand Canyon. A remote mountaintop. A medieval cathedral. Some places are so mystical you feel like you’re close to another dimension of space and time. There’s a term for such locales: thin places. And: did you ever go...