A
metaphor to describe an
entity that exists only for its own benefit. A quick web search seems to show this phrase is commonly used by
policy wonks and
pundits to describe
government institutions. In his article "The Intelligence Gap: How the digital age left our spies out in the cold"
1,
Seymour M. Hersh wrote this about the
NSA: "One former official described the
civilian leadership as 'a self-licking ice-cream cone', with little tolerance for
dissent or information it did not wish to hear."
1The New Yorker, December 6, 1999, pp. 58-76.