wonder bank
n.—Gloss: an organization in Nigeria that falsely promises high returns on low investments, a trick similar to a pyramid scheme. «While not saying the wonder banks were out to dupe the people, the banker said what they promised was just too outrageous and a right-thinking person would not fall for that. “If it was possible for an organisation to return N100,000 on a N27,000 investment after four weeks, then why would people need to work?,” the banker asked.» —“Tears, regrets as ’wonder banks’ suspend operations” by Adewale Oshodi Nigerian Tribune (Ibadan, Nigeria) Oct. 3, 2007. (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...