BURIED SHOVEL

n.

A tool that is required to perform a certain task, but that is only available after you perform that task.

"A number of readers wrote in to complain about the 'buried shovel' trick: modem vendors whose installation help is available only by modem, or hard drive vendors who include installation manuals as files on the drive."

— Fred Langa, "What's Up, Docs?", Windows Magazine

Idioms

Sociology (General)