Defined as a small group of companies that acts like a cartel to fix prices and stifle competition. Usually applies to gas stations and supermarkets, but can be applied to any industry with a small number of players.
When an independent gas station tried to start a price war with its major competitors, the oligopoly colluded to squeeze the smaller player out of business.
by BlastFurnace November 22, 2023
A botched attempt by former Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien in late 2002, demanding evidence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
"Well, I don't know ... a proof is a proof. What kind of a proof? It's a proof. A proof is a proof, and when you have a good proof, it's because it's been proven."
by BlastFurnace February 18, 2024
A merger of the words "racially" and "marginalized." Refers to someone who is pushed to the fringes of society because of his or her race.
At a debate, one of the participants refused to acknowledge his opponent came from a racialized community, saying instead that racism was a state of mind and not real.
by BlastFurnace September 20, 2023
Derisive shorthand for former Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper, as in "Prime Minister Steve."
A socially liberal think tank in Canada wrote an analysis about how the policies of PMS still affect the country, years after he left public office.
by BlastFurnace December 17, 2023
An approximate way of doing something based on presumptions rather than fact. Contrary to popular belief, the idea the law once allowed a husband to beat his wife as long as the device was no thicker than his thumb is false, as such assaults were outlawed for centuries in common law, although the ban wasn't generally codified in written law until the 1980s.
A driver kept going 5 mph over the speed limit, thinking the police had a rule of thumb that it was a waste of time to give out a ticket to anyone going anything lower than that.
by BlastFurnace February 27, 2025