The greatest example of off-season creep is the NFL, a near-religion which has successfully repositioned itself from a fall-to-winter pastime to a daily relationship, to be attended to constantly.

WSJ: Jason Gay: Do Sports Fans Need an Off-Season?

The budget will still creep up in real terms until it flattens off in 2015.

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Tammy, who had handled the household finances since the day they were married, let the balances on the credit cards creep up, always intending to pay everything off with the coming bonus.

NPR: Weak Housing Market May Not Be Signal to Buy

"That was the balance, the more you creep in, the more you risk tipping him off, " a U.S. official said.

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Parts of the two states could cool off by the weekend, but temperatures are likely creep back up by next Monday.

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