Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Balaam

Balaam ({not transcribed}) , noun

A paragraph describing something wonderful, used to fill out a newspaper column; -- an allusion to the miracle of Balaam's ass speaking. [Cant] — Numb. xxii. 30
Collocations (1)
Balaam basket or box (Printing) , the receptacle for rejected articles. — Blackw. Mag