a sequence of events wherein each event sets a new, higher standard that will act as a precedent for all subsequent events.
-As far as I know, this phrase has never been coined or defined before.
Bob tells funny stories and does spontaneous imitations at work. each one is a little funnier than the one before. his co-worker's expectations track with his performance so that now he has to maintain the gradient of improvement every time he opens his mouth or, - and this is the key- they will respond as if it was less funny than it really is. He has trapped himself in a system of ascending precedents.
an automobile (Mercedes SLR, Ferrari Enzo, Lamborghini Gallardo, etc) costing as much as a house, purchased when the debt-ladden physician-in-training finally obtained his/her license as an attending physician, hence just enough cash to burn for a show car.
This phrase is usually used by a young single male medical student to remind himself of the bright but distant future, when his present involves no presitge, no girlfriends, and no cash-money
med student cire: man, i looked like an idiot when my attending pimped me about 2 biochemical pathyways, 3 rare hereditary diseases, and the brachial plexus, also, i couldnt answer 1/3 of final exam questions today, and 14 skinny blonde chicks rejected my sexual advances.
medical student gnohz: don't worry, when you finally get your attending-level car, the universe will correct itself.