The story
Named after US advice columnist Dorothy Dix (1870–1951), who reputedly invented some of the more interesting readers’ questions she answered, + -er.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
dorothy dixer
Today it means: A question asked of a minister by a member of their own party, to give the minister the opportunity to promote the government's work, criticise the opposition, etc. Full definition →