involuntary lateral arabesque
 n.— «The BBC has a tried-and-tested mechanism for removing editors who are deemed to have failed. It promotes them into utterly meaningless positions, a practice sometimes referred to as an “involuntary lateral arabesque,” or “taking ermine.”» —“Today tries to build a new tomorrow as editor moves on” by Tim Luckhurst Guardian (U.K.) Feb. 26, 2006. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)

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